The Unenthusiastic Critic is bugging out, as our Halloween Movie Marathon continues with Dario Argento's Phenomena (1985), starring Jennifer Connelly and Donald Pleasance.
We're jumping right to the movie this week, without a lot of preliminaries, because there's just so much to discuss about it. After all, this is a movie in which Jennifer Connelly has the ability to control insects, and that's not even the strangest thing about it. There are also decapitated and defenestrated women, deformed and murderous children, a razor-wielding chimpanzee on a mission of revenge, and enough corpses and maggots to fill an entire swimming pool.
Join us as Michael introduces Nakea to all the bugf*ck insanity of Argento's weirdest movie.
Program
00:00: Prologue: from the Phenomena DVD Commentary Track
00:45: Cultural Osmosis: Pre-Viewing Discussion
07:51: Interlude: Original Trailer for Creepers (aka Phenomena)
09:05: The Verdict: Post-Viewing Discussion
1:02:24: Outro and Next Week's Movie
1:04:44: Outtake
Notes and Links
—Movie Reviewed: Phenomena (dir. Dario Argento, DAC Film, 1985).
—Prologue: Dario Argento and Loris Curci on the Phenomena Commentary Track (Anchor Bay DVD, 2008).
—References and Resources: "The 17 Horror Films of Dario Argento, Ranked From Worst to Best," Rob Hunter, Slashfilm; "Review: Phenomena," Ed Gonzales, Slant; Ed Gonzales, Slant; "Phenomena (1985) Blu-Ray Review: Argento at His Most Bewildering," Luigi Bastardo, Cinema Sentries; Comment by "Dimitris" on "31 Days of Horror: Day 11: Phenomena," Bryce Wilson, Things That Don't Suck; Review of Creepers, Jon Pareles, New York Times.
—Find additional episodes, leave a comment, or make a donation to support the podcast at unaffiliatedcritic.com.
—Email us, or follow us on Twitter and Facebook. (Suggestions of movies to watch for future episodes are very welcome.)
—Saint-Saens' "Danse Macabre" by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
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