A perfect example of a Giallo with all points that make a Giallo like for example POV of the murder weapon, mostly you see a gloved hand with the murder object. Was it all that good, no it wasn't. For me it was a bit outdated. The effects didn't work all the time. The axe going in someone's head is ridiculous easy done and it shows. Still, some killings are brutal and the most famous is of course the hand being axed. The problem is naturally the overdubbing of the voices done in English to get a worldwide release. Some sentences are so funny which wasn't intended or doesn't make a sense at all. So it's better to watch it in Italian with the subs you want. Above mediocre due some scene's clocking in too long. Still, a classic.Gore 1,5/5 Nudity 1,5/5 Effects 2/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

Dario Argento's 1982 horror film stars Anthony Franciosa, John Saxon, Darla Nicolodi and Ania Pieroni. Franciosa plays Peter Neal, an American, best-selling author who travels to Rome, Italy to promote his new horror-mystery novel, "Tenebrae." Soon, a mysterious killer starts slaughtering some of the people Peter knows just like in the novel. Saxon (A Nightmare on Elm Street) plays Peter's agent, Bullmer, Nicolodi not only plays Peter's assistant, Anne, but was also married to Argento at the time and Pieroni (House by the Cemetery) plays attractive thief, Elsa who is one of the victims. This isn't a bad Italian horror flick (except for the dubbing) featuring a decent cast, good, bloody effects and great score. If you like horror or mystery flicks, give this a try.

"Just torture and murder: No character, no plot—I think it's the future." - Videodrome Dario Argento's "Tenebrae" stars Anthony Franciosca as Peter Neal, an American writer of crime fiction. When he journeys to Rome, Neal is startled to discover that someone is committing crimes modelled on the murders Neal has himself staged in print. This killer deems his victims "corrupt perverts" who must be "wiped away".Several self-reflexive moments then occur, Argento mockingly aligning his own perversions with those seen on screen (it is Argento's hands we see committing the film's various crimes). "Why do you despise women so much?" one character then asks, referring to the accusations of sexism oft hurled at Argento. The film then reveals its big twist: it is a sanctimonious art critic who is responsible for the film's murders. This critic, who masks his own hate and bigotry with attacks on Neal's art, then becomes Argento's attack on those who disparage him: I'm not sexist or a homophone, Argento essentially says, you're projecting your own peculiarities onto me! If the film ended here, Argento's self-defence would be silly. But it doesn't, and the film goes on to reveal that there are in fact two murders, one an art critic and one Neal himself. The hate which spurs both killers, then, lies on both sides of the divide: critic and artist, spectator and artwork, screen and audience.The second half of the film then attempts to locate the "cause" of "Tenebrae's" murders. In the critic's case, the killings are spurred by a kind of hard-lined conservatism, mixed with a little influence from Neal's books (one of which is also called "Tenebrae"). In Neal's case, it is proximity to the critic's murders which awakens in Neal a dormant psychosis. But what initially caused this psychosis? Neal was once turned down by a young woman, an incident which pushed him into essentially becoming a sexist murderer (he would later kill his adulterous wife). The film then ends with Neal literally being killed by a "work of art", an incident which complicates arguments made by characters at the start of the film; art is not only something passive, but something capable of influence. It has the power to murder, either by design, or, as Argento's final killing shows, by sheer accident.This "accidental" aspect is stressed by the film. It is sheer arbitrariness which makes someone a victim or killer, regardless of irresponsibility on the part of the spectator or artist. The critic is bigoted regardless of whether or not he appropriates Neal's art, and Neal's art is sexist because he is sexist, he's not sexist because of his art. Other scenes, which show men dying to high heeled shoes, and portray men lusting after and then being assaulted by transsexuals (Roberto Coatti), blur the lines between gender, sexual privilege and sexually based hate. In "Tenebre", everyone is simultaneously suspect, victim and murderer, and everyone holds the potential to be either killer or victim. Indeed, most of the film's killings are preceded by a scene in which another character could have theoretically committed the crime were it allowed to. The end result is a film in which Argento concedes that his critics are absolutely right, but also one which functions as an apologia or rebuttal.Aesthetically, "Tenebrae" is one of Argento's weaker films. Its bravura sequences are few and far between, only one sequence is architecturally interesting, and the film's killings dip too far into blood-porn. "Tenebrae" ends with a shot which would be stolen by Brian De Palma's "Raising Caine", and contains a razor-blade killing borrowed from De Palma's "Dressed to Kill", released two years earlier.7/10 - Worth two viewings.

As a long time Argento fan I have seen most of his work, but for some reason this film has been off my radar until recently. I have to say though after a recent viewing (I have now seen it twice), this may be a masterwork. Susperia and Deep Red may have street credit, but for my money, THIS is the one that is the true giallo.It keeps the viewer wound up until the end. It is TRUE suspense. I am a grown man, who has seen all matter of exploitation, but true tension takes skill and that is exactly what Argento delivers in Tenebre. As the film moves on the suspense and levels build so high as the mystery of the whodunit unravels I literally had to get up and take a peepee break. If you are a fan of Argento and haven't seen this you must now. Also fans of Hitchcock and De Palma would be interested.The film is a high wired dance of the macabre. With excellent photography as usual from this bunch, featuring a 2 and half minute tracking shot which took 3 days to film. There are occasional times when plot elements seem far fetched, but that's a giallo for you. You have to suspend very little disbelief to enjoy this one, and when you do, you are thrust right into the jaws of an angry barking dog. See this.