Inferno (1980)

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 HALLOWEEN REVIEWS 2026

Writer/Director: Dario Argento

Stars: Leigh McCloskey, Irene Miracle, Eleonora Giorgi, Daria Nicolodi, Sacha Pitoeff, Alida Valli, Veronica Lazar, Gabriele Lavia, Feodor Chaliapin, Jr.



Various characters converge on an old hotel in New York, which may be the abode of one of a trio of witches who exert tremendous influence over the world. 



I’m trying to give Dario Argento a chance, but I’m finding that his aesthetic is just not for me. 



Even his masterpiece, “Suspiria,” struck me as an overwrought, confused, dull exercise in storytelling (albeit with a good climax), but “Inferno” is no “Suspiria.” 



I’ve read what his admirers say about his brilliant palette of colors, and yes, it is very pretty to look at. 



They also applaud his sense of dream logic, which just strikes me as a lack of logic. 



His characters always seem to be wandering through labyrinthine buildings and crawling through glass. 



I am also struck by his affinity, which I’ve also noticed in the other gialli I’ve seen, for long sequences of terrified women confronting a terrible fate; they seem borderline pornographic but, even worse, they are boring.



































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