Phenomena (1985)

Phenomena (1985)

1985 R 116 Minutes

Horror | Thriller

A young girl, with an amazing ability to communicate with insects, is transferred to an exclusive Swiss boarding school, where her unusual capability might help solve a string of murders.

Overall Rating

6 / 10
Verdict: Good

User Review

  • Phenomena may not be phenomenally scary, but bathes in a pool of decomposing B-Movie corpses. My first Argento experience and the my first film within the giallo horror sub-genre, a specific Italian production that excels in body horror. And oh my, what a bizarre experience this was. I've heard about Argento's filmography through the grapevine on various occasions, so naturally my expectations somewhat exceeded the actual result. Surrealism at its most grotesque. An exchange student travels to Switzerland where she soon discovers, with the help of a local entomologist, that she is able to communicate with insects. She partners up with a fly (hang in there) to try and solve a case where her school friends are being murdered. I mean, I've seen some unusual buddy cop films in my time, but this may just be the most unusual pairing. Her psychic ability with insects allows her to tame, control and summon them. Surprisingly the entomologist, a professor of science might I add, is absolutely fine with this concept and in fact assists her as opposed to oh I don't know...conducting experiments on her? An incredibly bizarre plot, yet seems utterly fitting given the 80s aesthetic tone and heavy metal soundtrack. B-Movie galore, and that includes the mostly horrific acting. From maniacal villainous laughs to horrifically monotonous lines of dialogue, the majority of performances were more lifeless than a dead fly. Cheap visual effects are kept to minimum here, only decapitated heads and melting faces are on show. That's all part of the Argento charm, his stylised techniques accompanied with Albani's cinematography make for some visually charged scenes. The story is rather unfocused, with only the third act really captivating me. And, let's be honest, it's not really a horror film. More of a fantasy mystery. Perhaps I'm not well acquainted with the B-Movie charm just yet. So whilst this may not be the excellent terrifying film I was promised by many, due to borderline terrible acting and inconsistent pacing, it has prolonged my intrigue to view Argento's other films.