Director/Writer Dario Argento's 5th Film.

Demonstrates a Maturation of Style and Presentation that would, along with Mario Bava, Create the Template for the Slasher and Gore Movies.

That Others could Barely Approach.

An Audacious Use of Staging, Editing, and Violence (always containing "Deep Red" Gore).

Along with Pulse-Pounding Music (usually from the Heavy Sounds of the Group "Goblin"),

was So Strikingly and Shockingly Different that the Films, and Therefore the Creator Argento were Celebrated Universally as a "New Wave".

Having Virtually Invented the "Giallo" (Italian for Yellow that "adorned" the lurid sex and crime paperbacks in Europe) Genre.

Argento Didn't Stop There.

"Giallo" Category Tropes Included a Black-Leather Gloved Serial-Spree-Killer Yielding a Variety of "Killer" Weapons...

Knives, Hatchets, Scissors, Razors, etc.

The Killer's Identity was the Mystery, Usually Filmed Obliquely and Usually Clad in a Dark Rain-Coat.

Argento's First Film, "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage" (1970) Set the Stage.

On What was to Follow in the World of Italian, and then World-Wide Horror.

This Movie, and Mario Bava's "Bay of Blood" (1971) would be Mirrored ad Nauseum in the Slasher Craze.

But Very Few Reached the Pinnacle of Entertaining and Artistic Panache, or Approach the Outrageousness of Argento or Bava.

Many would See Argento's Auteur Accomplishments Reach its Zenith with His Next Film "Suspiria" (1977) as His Masterpiece.

Some Critics and Fans have Proclaimed "Deep Red" as a Better Movie.

But No Matter what Opinion You Have of the 2 Seminal Works, it is Assured that Once You See an Argento Film,

You are Unlikely to Forget it.

This film begins in an auditorium. A lady psychic is doing a demonstration before a large group of folks. She apparently is able to read the thoughts of others--and does so to everyone's amazement. However, the demonstration is disrupted when she begins reading homicidal thoughts--thoughts that freak her out completely. Soon after, the woman is very brutally killed and her boyfriend (David Hemmings) finds her. What is that picture and is it something that would lead to the killer's identity? And, what is Hemmings to do when he thinks that the murderer is trying to kill him as well? He is determined to investigate the crime himself--especially since between the time he first entered the apartment and left, a picture disappeared.

This is a very good film. It does a really great job of setting a scary and tense mood--a trademark of many of Dario Argento's films. The script is also quite good and I have no complaints except for two problems. The music, at times, was very, very annoying--loud and inappropriate for the film. Sure, it was the 1970s, but still--it just didn't fit the mood--particularly during the tense scene where Hemmings is climbing along a ledge. Fortunately, in Argento's next film, "Suspiria", the music is no longer an issue and the film works better. The second complaint is VERY minor and that's near the end. A guy is escaping and all the cops are shooting at him at practically point-blank range--and keep missing him! This is ridiculous, but did also set up the scene for a great death by another means (YUCK--and I mean YUCK!!!)! I would have had the cops shooting from MUCH farther away--then the scene would have made sense.

By the way, this is a VERY bloody and visceral film. The killings are VERY vivid and nasty--really, really nasty. So don't let kids or your grandmother see this film! In fact, if you don't like gore, don't even watch it yourself...though it is a pretty cool film!

Dario Argento's exhilarating suspense thriller has all the ingredients you could wish for in a giallo: a sinister black-gloved killer, a dogged lead investigating a series of grisly murders, elaborate murder set-pieces, grand locations, a pervading and oppressively mysterious atmosphere and style to spare. Argento truly earns his nickname of the 'Italian Hitchcock' with this movie, which the maestro would have been proud of himself.

Having seen and loved this film many years ago, I decided to check it out again recently to see how it holds up. Despite some cheesy special effects work (done by Carlo Rombaldi, so I'll forgive him) and some misogynistic dialogue, it hasn't really dated all that badly. Argento's direction counts for a lot and the murder scenes are inevitably highlights of the film. The bit with that dummy is still an unforgettably chilling moment in cinema.

The film isn't perfect. It's slightly overlong, and there are some lengthy sequences where not a lot really seems to happen aside from a lot of chit-chat. Still, the other parts where stuff is definitely happening, like Hemmings's exploration of a haunted house, are filmed very well generating maximum suspense from the audience. My favourite part of the film is undoubtedly the twist ending regarding the murderer's identity, which makes perfect sense and ends the movie on a real high.