“Very strong, very brutal”: Dario Argento names his favourite movie he’s ever made
Before slashers were one of horror’s most coveted subgenres, Italian filmmakers like Mario Bava and Dario Argento were making giallo movies. These films were visually impressive, often utilising bright colours and obviously fake blood, as well as blending murder mystery, sexploitation and suspense. A masked or gloved killer was typically responsible for the grisly murders committed on screen, paving the way for similar slasher tropes in movies like Halloween and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Argento made his first movie, The Bird With the Crystal Plumage, in 1970, after working with directors such as Sergio Leone as a story writer. It was the first of many Argento movies to feature a foreign protagonist (typically American or English) arriving in Italy and subsequently getting caught up in a series of murders. This motif has appeared in several of his other films, such as Suspiria (although it is set in Germany, not Italy), Inferno, Tenebrae and Deep Red.
By using an outsider figure, Argento emphasises feelings of alienation, vulnerability and unfamiliarity, making the looming presence of a killer even more threatening and terrifying. We align ourselves with the protagonist, regardless of where we’re from, entering this unknown world with them.
Deep Red is one of Argento’s most accomplished works, epitomising the giallo genre through its exploration of one man’s quest to investigate who is behind a series of killings committed in Turin. The murderer wears black leather gloves, often resorting to particularly brutal weapons, such as butchering a woman with a meat cleaver.
David Hemmings, who had starred in several iconic ‘60s productions, such as Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blowup and Roger Vadim’s Barbarella, starred as Marcus, an English musician who witnesses the first murder and embarks on a journey of uncovering the mystery behind the string of vicious crimes. Paired with a fantastic score by Goblin – who often provided the soundtrack for other Argento movies, most notably Suspiria – and stunning sets and cinematography, Deep Red is a beautifully twisted watch that claws under your skin and leaves you deeply unsettled.
Argento once picked the film as his “favourite movie” he’s ever made. The filmmaker really identifies with Marcus, explaining, “The character David Hemmings plays is very much based on my own personality.”
Argento called Deep Red “a very strong film, very brutal,” which “upset” the censors. “It was cut by almost an hour in some countries,” he explained. This is true – the BBFC edited out many scenes of animal cruelty, with Argento also cutting out some scenes himself. Thus, fans of the movie are able to find several different versions of Deep Red, depending on the format.
The film came in 1975, just a few years before John Carpenter’s Halloween, which was responsible for kickstarting the American slasher craze. Yet, the film might not have been the same if not for the influence of Deep Red, which he cited as an influence. Halloween’s opening sequence – a child murders his sister – echoes Deep Red’s opener, which sees a bloody knife drop by the feet of a young child.
The film is favoured by many other directors, too, such as Guillermo Del Toro, who admires the fluidity of the camera and the way Argento makes “a big European city feel ancient and evil,” he told Shudder.
Watch the trailer for Deep Red below.
