*The
Good, the Bad, the Weird, and the Wild is a series of articles that will focus
on one particular person, for example, directors, actors, producers, etc., that
have had a strong career in genre, cult, and arthouse cinema. In these
articles, our writers are asked to choose four films from their filmography.
They will choose one of their favorites (the good,) one of their least
favorites (the bad,) their choice for the oddest film (the weird,) and a fourth
film which will be their ‘wild card’ pick. These articles are meant to be a way
of discussing the work of these directors in perhaps a new and fun way for our
readers - and our writers. Please keep an open mind, discuss, share, and send
in your own suggestions for directors for us to cover.
To say that Dario Argento is the godfather to much of modern
horror cinema is an understatement. Not only does it make an obvious reach for
an Italian film joke (see what I did there) but it also limits his influence,
as Argento's lush color palette, experimental scores, and surreal scripts laid
the groundwork for James Wan's surrealistic grit and Mandy's (Panos
Cosmatos) neon-pastel colorscape, along with numerous other modern classics
that we don't have time to discuss here. Would this have been better if I
had written it at the time of the new Suspiria release? Absolutely. Did
I do that? Not at all. You see, I have an embarrassing confession for you,
the reader: I only had a cursory understanding of Argento prior to starting
this exercise. I considered myself a horror critic but hadn't yet paid homage
to the giallo infused blood god that is Argento. When Matt (our EIC) assigned
this to me, I had no idea what I was about to get into.
With that said; here are my picks for the directorial review
of Dario Argento, master of neon and surrealism.
