Deep Red (1975)

- Profondo rosso
Argento: The Master of the Giallo, 5 November 2005

During a demonstration of her psychic ability, a woman senses the presence of a killer in the audience. Later that night, she is attacked and brutally murdered in her apartment. Marcus Daly (David Hemmings) witnesses the murder of the psychic and goes to the apartment to help/investigate. He later tells the police that he saw something when he entered the apartment, but he's not sure what it was. With the assistance of a female reporter, Daly begins looking for clues to the killer's identity. As he gets closer to the truth, the body count begins to rise. Can he remember what he saw in the apartment and stop the killer before he becomes the next victim?

With Deep Red, Dario Argento created what may be the best Giallo ever produced. Mario Bava may be credited with developing the rules and structure of the Giallo in Blood and Black Lace, but Argento succeeded in making the sub-genre his own. Everything about the movie is nearly perfect. And Argento does something that quite honestly few Gialli have accomplished – actually create moments of real horror (or at least a few chills). The scenes where Daly is investigating the rundown, rambling villa has some moments that always bring me to edge of my seat. As for the mystery, Deep Red features what I feel is one of Argento's best plots. And the fact that Argento gives you everything you need to solve the mystery will leave you kicking yourself for not seeing all of the significant clues. Argento takes a big chance by giving the solution so early on, it's just that no one seems to pick-up on it during a first viewing. Brilliant!

There are two different versions of this movie available – the original extended version and the cut American version. This is one of the very few movies I know of where people I respect actually prefer the cut version. Either version is watchable so it's really just a matter of taste. For the record, I prefer the extended version. Whichever cut of the film you select, make sure to watch in widescreen. There's a lot of vital information that's cut from the sides of the full-frame transfer.

9/10