Phenomena (1985)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Dario Argento

Writers:

Dario Argento (screenplay)
Dario Argento (story)

Release Date:

2 August 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Jennifer Has A Few Million Close Friends. She's Going To Need Them _All_.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Insect | Sleepwalking | Boarding School | Serial Killer | Chimpanzee

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jennifer Connelly	...	Jennifer Corvino
Daria Nicolodi	...	Frau Brückner
Dalila Di Lazzaro	...	Headmistress
Patrick Bauchau	...	Inspector Rudolf Geiger
Donald Pleasence	...	Professor John McGregor
Fiore Argento	...	Vera Brandt
Federica Mastroianni	...	Sophie
Fiorenza Tessari	...	Gisela Sulzer
Mario Donatone	...	Morris Shapiro
Francesca Ottaviani	...	Nurse
Michele Soavi	...	Kurt, Geiger's Assistant
Franco Trevisi	...	Real Estate Agent
Fausta Avelli	...	Schoolgirl
Marta Biuso	...	Schoolgirl
Sophie Bourchier	...	Schoolgirl

Also Known As:

Creepers (USA)

Runtime:

110 min | 116 min (integral version) | USA:110 min (re-release) | USA:82 min (edited version)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian | English | German | Swiss German | Danish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Argentina:16 (re-rating) | Argentina:18 (original rating) | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:R (as "Creepers") (DVD rating) (cut) | Australia:R (as "Phenomena) (DVD rating) (uncut) | Australia:R (original rating) | Denmark:15 (video premiere) | France:-12 | Italy:VM14 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | USA:Unrated (director's cut) | West Germany:18 | Finland:K-18

Filming Locations:

Elios Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

DACFILM Rome

Trivia:

Director trademark: [Dario Argento] Murder victim crashes through window

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After killing the professor, the killer gets in a car and drives away. In the next shot, it shows the killer’s point of view from inside the car as the monkey jumps onto the windshield. But you can clearly see off to the right, a large pine tree branch, and that the car really isn't moving at all.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in La terza madre (2007)

Soundtrack:

The Quick and the Dead

a great and weird film

for years this dario argento film has only been available in america in a butchered 82 minute version called Creepers. anchor bay entertainment graciously decided to rerelease this movie in its almost uncut 110 min. version (almost meaning that it's still missing 6 minutes of dialogue from the italian version) and it is definitely the version to see. jennifer connelly plays a girl sent away to a swiss boarding school where a killer has been murdering girls in various ways. jennifer has the most unique ability to communicate with insects and this ability plays heavily into later events in the movie. donald pleasance plays a retired professor who studies insects who befriends connelly ( and his pet monkey almost steals the film) the events that transpire in the film are surreal yet somewhat coherent. like most of argento's films, notably Suspiria, this movie has an almost dreamlike feel to it. it may not make complete sense at times but the style definitely saves it.

i would have to rank this as my second favorite argento movie (with Suspiria being first and Tenebre being third). and remember not to rent american version titled Creepers and check out the original version.