Directed By: Dario Argento
Starring: Ilenia Pastorelli, Asia Argento, Andrea Gherpelli
Plot Summary: Rome. A serial killer has killed three prostitutes, strangling them with cello ropes. The last rope of the “Cellist” is destined for Diana, a luxury escort who frequents the hotels of Via Veneto. One night, the maniac chases her driving a van, and rams into her, sending her crashing into another car. Diana awakens in a hospital, shrouded in darkness. The diagnosis is final: she lost her sight in the crash. Rita, a young woman from the Blinds’ Society, helps Diana with her first steps in the darkness and in her new life; in the meantime, the police investigate, although unsuccessfully. But it won’t stop there. The Cellist must finish his work. Diana, helped by Chin, an orphaned Chinese boy, can only try to escape. The cat and mouse game has just begun.
When talking about global horror films that are truly transcendent and transgressive works of art, Dario Argento once stood at the very top. At his highest highs, he made genre masterworks such as Deep Red, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, and Suspiria. The latter being considered among the greatest horror movies ever made. Sadly, like a lot of great genre directors of his era, his creative output has been on a decline since the 90’s. Argento fell from the status as master of horror after a string of disappointing films. His previous film, Dracula (2012), was bafflingly bad and holds a 14% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It has been a whopping ten years, but now the director is back with promises of a true return to form with his latest film, Dark Glasses. It’s vital to have this context as there really was a palpable hype around this film. Many fans thought Dark Glasses would finally return Argento to his throne made of blood, bone, and celluloid nightmare-scapes.
The famed director may be a victim of his own success as the marketplace has moved on and other directors have picked up where the Italian horror master left off. Unfortunately, Dark Glasses feels toothless at times and not as cutting edge as his work from the ‘70s and ‘80s. What we get here is a fairly safe modern Giallo that just exists in a kind of middle ground. It has head scratching moments and throughlines, sure, but not so baffling that the audience doesn’t enjoy them for the big swings taken. For example, Argentos’s Phenomena is absurd with a plot that makes very little sense. Yet, it’s endlessly watchable because it has its own internal dream-like logic that helps forgive some narrative shortcomings. There is something creative about Phenomena that is really lacking in Dark Glasses. The plot is not actively terrible, and there are aspects that work very well. The idea of a sex worker and a child going on a nightmarish adventure together is an interesting one, and it is something that almost feels natural for someone as off-kilter as Argento. This unconventional relationship is also smart because it adds good emotional stakes.
Even though this element is very charming, it feels, like many things in this movie, woefully underdeveloped. It does, however, add tenderness to balance out the violence. Speaking of which, while this movie is pretty bloody, it pales when compared to the director’s prime. What appears to be a running theme with Dark Glasses, long gone are the creative kills that were done in deliciously garish and stylish ways. The director also toys around with the subject of female power and how sex work can be seen as empowering. Sadly, this again is never explored which feels like such a missed opportunity.
Unfortunately, the film just feels like it’s kind of there. It isn’t outright awful and does have some interesting moments. However, it’s very tame with a plot that feels incredibly underwritten. Even the visuals, something that Dario Argento was once world famous for, are lacking. There are themes that are compelling, yet Argento never explores them with any meaningful depth. Dark Glasses held such great potential to spark a true comeback for its director, so it is painful and unfortunate to see the film fall flat. Dark Glasses is a big improvement over his most recent output, but it’s not a true return to form.
Dark Glasses is currently playing in select theaters courtesy of IFC Midnight, and it is available to stream on Shudder.
Dark Glasses is a big improvement over Argento's most recent output, but it’s not a true return to form.
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GVN Rating 5
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Big film nerd and TCM Obsessed. Author of The Ultimate Guide to Strange Cinema from Schiffer Publishing. Resume includes: AMC’s The Bite, Scream Magazine etc. Love all kinds of movies and television and have interviewed a wide range of actors, writers, producers and directors. I currently am a regular co-host on the podcast The Humanoids from the Deep Dive and have a second book in the works from Bear Manor.