Dark Glasses (Occhiali neri, 2022)

US Shudder - RLJE Films 2022 Blu-ray edition - REGION A


 

 

A good AND bad slasher giallo from our beloved old horror and gialli master, and that's a positive thing, that
there are some good things to it too. It was a long time since that could be said about a new Argento film.

So, let's start with The Good:

The first twenty minutes of the film were really great with the strangely atmospheric solar eclipse intro scene,
the nasty killing of a poor prostitute was horrible and bloody, and another prostitute, our protagonist of the
film Diana (Ilenia Pastorelli) is introduced to us. She's doing her business in her home and on outcall to hotels
and she's working without a pimp. When fleeing from a violent and perverted client she is attacked by the
"Van Killer" and an intense car chase scene follows which ends with her car crashing into another car.

When Diana wakes up at a hospital she has lost her eyesight, and the couple in the other car are dead with
their 7 year old kid surviving. The Van killer has killed 3 prostitutes before and Diana was supposed to be
the fourth victim. The car chase scene was done nicely with Diana's expressive eyes showing her horror.
I liked Ilenia Pastorelli as Diana, she's beautiful and actually likeable, something Asia Argento also is in her
"normal role" as Rita. You actually care about them and really don't want anything bad to happen to them.
Rita is a blind instructor and gives Diana a seeing eye dog, and Diana decides to take care of the kid from the
car accident, Chin (Xinyu, a good child actor) so ... a blind woman, a dog and a kid vs. serial killer.

Also good were the crisp cinematography from Matteo Cocco and the electronic soundtrack by Arnaud
Rebotini. BUT ... here comes The Bad:

After the fine opening of the film Argento seems to have no ideas. The killer is absolutely uninteresting,
some cops acts bizarre and badly and the whole hour of the slasher killer hunting them is BORING.
And the ending is abysmal, with Argento ripping off the dog scene in Suspiria. No, it's not a homage to
himself but rather looks like a lack of ideas of how to end this film.
But still, the opening was good and i want to look at the film and Ilenia Pastorelli again, and in 4K UHD.

FX veteran Sergio Stivaletti made the special effects and gore.

The US blu-ray presents the film in 2.39:1 widescreen and with italian audio DTS-HD MA 5.1 with english
subtitles. A Behind the scenes featurette only extra. This bluray plays in REGION A

 

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