Deep Red
Director: Dario Argento
Release year: 1975
After making a couple of thrillers for television and a hard-to-find historical comedy that was a commercial flop, Argento returned to Giallo with a twisty, colourful, Goblin-scored mystery. Whenever the killer is about to strike, the bass jumps in and things get funky. It’s completely charming and made me smile every time.
David Hemmings plays pianist Marcus who sees the psychic living in the apartment below him murdered. He teams up with Gianna, a reporter, to investigate (played by Daria Nicolodi, who would become a creative and life partner to Argento, including mother to their daughter Asia), while also trying to look out for his troubled friend Carlo.
Marcus has more personality and humour than Michael Brandon’s Roberto in Four Flies on Grey Velvet, and his relationship with Gianna is played for laughs at times. There’s more comedy here than in Argento’s previous three Giallo films. Dolls are a recurring motif, even though the killer doesn’t have a particular connection with them — I suspect they just fitted with the aesthetic Argento was after.
There are (as you’d expect) beautifully staged set pieces where people die in gruesome ways. The killer’s unmasking works brilliantly. The tone shifts between horror, mystery, arthouse and comedy, and, along with the captivating performances, this unusual mix makes Deep Red exciting, strange and singular.