Time: 126 Minutes
Cast:
David Hemmings as Marcus Daly
Daria Nicolodi as Gianna Brezzi
Gabriele Lavia as Carlo Manganiello
Macha Méril as Helga Ulmann
Eros Pagni as Police Supt. Calcabrini
Giuliana Calandra as Amanda Righetti
Clara Calamai as Martha Manganiello
Director: Dario Argento

A psychic medium (Macha Méril) is brutally murdered, and musician Marcus Daly (David Hemmings) feels a need to solve the case, since he was the one who discovered the body. Working with him is reporter Gianna Brezzi (Daria Nicolodi), who hopes for a big scoop by solving the case. When one of Marcus’s own friends ends up murdered at the hands of the same killer, the resourceful pair realize they must work fast to uncover the murderer’s identity or they might serve as the maniac’s next victims.

I had been meaning to watch more movies from Dario Argento, he’s one of those horror directors I had been hearing a lot about. I had only seen Suspiria from him, which I really loved. Within his most popular movies, I decided to check out Deep Red next.

Coming into the movie as someone who watched Suspiria before, Deep Red is comparatively more character driven and restrained. The movie takes its time and builds up a lot of suspense and tension, especially with its unsettling scenes. It’s a murder mystery about a musician investigating a series of murders; the twisty plot was riveting and the mystery is compelling and intriguing, culminating in a satisfying conclusion.

The acting is strong. David Hemmings and Daria Nicolodi are great in their lead roles, though I wish we got a lot more of Nicolodi. Macha Meril, Gabriele Lavia and Clara Calamai are good in their supporting roles.

Dario Argento excellently directs this. It’s a gorgeous looking movie with striking cinematography. The camerawork is meticulous with lots of symmetry, great zooms and tracking shots. The aesthetic is great and colourful. It relies so much on colour schemes and lighting techniques. At the same time, I’d say it is more grounded in reality than Suspiria. There’s plenty of memorable and unsettling imagery. The killing scenes are memorable, iconic and standout, the blood is bright red, the camerawork is creeping and builds up a lot of suspense. Finally, the score from Goblin is tremendous and fits the movie excellently.

Deep Red is a great, atmospheric and visually stunning horror mystery, with Dario Argento’s fantastic direction being the highlight.