Why I Watched It: It was the last movie in the Dario Argento mini-marathon that I borrowed from a friend.What I Thought: I liked a lot better than Deep Red or Tenebre, but it's still not as good as Opera and Suspiria.
Phenomena is your typical story about a boardinghouse girl (Jennifer Connelly!) that defends herself against a family of murdering freaks by using her ESP to control hordes of friendly insects. I know, I know. You've seen the story a dozen times, but give Phenomena a chance if you want to enjoy a fun, campy classic.
The entire production was a refreshing break from Argento's standard formula. Quirky Italian band, Goblin, didn't do the music for one thing. The supernatural additions of ESP and bugs were a nice touch as well. Phenomena also wasn't quite as gory as most of Argento's films and featured a few elements that were uncharacteristically silly.
Like a heroic revenge monkey. Seriously, anyone that can stand a bit of camp absolutely HAS to see the coolness of the heroic revenge monkey! I'll explain by way of example. You remember that part of every action or horror movie when the protagonist is driving the car, swerving madly to knock the killer off the roof? Well Phenomena spices up the old formula by putting the killer in the car, swerving madly to knock heroic revenge monkey off the roof. HRM was such an awesome part of Phenomena that I'm giving the movie a "revenge" tag just for him!
Highlights: Favorite cult actors like Donald Pleasance and Patrick Bauchau, a pre-Labyrinth Jennifer Connelly, and the glorious Monky of Heroic Vengeance!
Who Should See It: Argento fans, horror buffs, Connelly fans, and anyone that wishes to bask in gory hijinks of the HRM.
How Soon: It's on DVD so catch it anytime you want. It would prove a really good choice for any campy horror marathon.
Phenomena
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