George Romero had him write the story and musical score for Dawn of the Dead. John Carpenter and Brian De Palma have acknowledged borrowing his cinematic methods–having the camera take the point of view of the stalker, for instance, or creating tension through the use of claustrophobic settings. Who is he? Italian director Dario Argento, whose style-over-substance horror films–two of which are showing at the Film Center this weekend–quietly earned him a cult following back in the 70s. “All my techniques force the audience to confront the strong emotions deep from the soul,” says the 51-year-old filmmaker. “Sometimes these emotions can be unpleasant and distasteful, but life is much more than just normal good feelings. No?”
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As a teenager Argento was a frequent moviegoer, one especially drawn to the work of expressionists Val Lewton, Jacques Tourneur, and Edgar Ulmer. “They created mystery and terror through light and shadows. The plot really didn’t matter. It was an excuse for the characters to share their dreams and nightmares with the audience.”
In Suspiria Argento’s over-the-top art direction is practically the story itself. A boarding school in the Black Forest where rebellious young girls vanish mysteriously is gradually transformed from art nouveau womb to crimson death trap, a visual metaphor that spawned imitators including The Amityville Horror. Yet there’s an element of tongue-in-cheek in the drawn-out, visceral killings. “Like in the spaghetti westerns. I learned from Sergio to exaggerate, to embellish,” says Argento. “I always push the accelerator.”
