Director: Dario Argento
Year: 1982
Country: Italy
Alternate Titles: Sotto gli occhi dell'assassino; Under the Eyes of the Assassin; Shadows; Unsane
Genre: Giallo
Plot:
After arriving in Rome, an American writer attempting to promote his newest murder-mystery book finds himself stalked by a fanatical fan murdering those who were responsible for the book using the novel itself as inspiration for the spree and must stop the rampage before all around him are killed.
Review:
Quite simply, this is Dario Argento's greatest and most enjoyable effort. A fine characteristic trait of his that is seen in every film is how Argento can move a camera around a scene, as this follows a really enjoyable and unique display, especially during many of the kills here. Rather than simply cut away from one room to another room, this one backs out of the room through the window, then snakes along the outside of the building, going up and down and left and right in a zigzag pattern until we get to the other room, giving it a sense of dread, because it is so unusual to see a shot like that. Others, like the stirring beach encounter or the thrilling sequence out in the plaza hiding the killer walking through the crowd to get at the victim, are filled with unusual camera movements that make for a great time being creative with the camera.
As well, with some of the shot sequences that fully utilize his broad color palette merely complete the visual story here. As is typical of most giallos, there are just exemplary stalking scenes in here that are some of the most chilling, suspenseful scenes shot. The best example is the murder of the young girl who had just ended a date with her boyfriend, left outside a large estate with a vicious guard dog, and after innocently prodding the dog, it leaps a chain-link fence and proceeds to chase her around the neighborhood where it catches up to her at least three times before she stumbles upon the house of the killer and is finally offed.
Other great scenes, from the model alone in her house to the women in the apartment complex and the grisly finale where the lone victim is killed at home and the later chase around the apartment for a great series of scenes that manage to make up an overall thrilling and exciting experience. This is helped along by an incredibly clever storyline that allows for numerous red herrings and clues abound, working with the concept of the book inspiring the killer and causing the rampage while forcing the race to stop them which gives this a pace of keeping this one moving along nicely without slowing down. Another great aspect is that all of the deaths are bloody and graphic in their own way, yet not inappropriate to the scene as well that are really beautiful to behold. Together with the copious nudity and sleaze provided here mixed with its lack of flaws, creates one of his finest achievements and one of Italian cinemas' greatest entries.
Overview: *****/5
Absolutely marvelous Argento offering without any issues at all, this is a nearly-flawless entry and remains one of the best entries in not just his catalog but the genre overall. Anyone out there in the genre, fans of this particular style, or hardcore Argento fanatics will enjoy this one overall while there's not too many out there that would genuinely be turned off by this one unless they're not fans of the style or approach taken here.
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