The Bird with the Crystal Plumage

early dario argento, has the building blocks of his later work right here - daring style, stylish serial killer, bloody kills, sexy skin, and occasionally dodgy acting and dialogue. it also has a truly preposterous plot resolution. the literally one of its kind bird from the title and the main character having a friend who conveniently recognizes the sound it makes are only the tip of the iceberg here, which is a remarkable feat even for the genre. i'm deducting at least half a star for one scene: giulia's overreaction to the killer's attempt of entering the house crossed the line from read more

man, i really wanted to love this. especially after really disliking inferno. i think a lot of what killed this was the absence of goblin's usual gripping music. even argento's best films (suspiria, deep red) need goblin's extra push to really make the scenes come to life, and this film's peaks never even reach the consistent tone of these films. the entirety of what makes an argento film is his style of filmaking. the crazy camerawork and editing give his films such a unique personality and while it occasionally gives some scenes a spark, it's not as good or well-used as his aforementioned... read more