Snobbin: Beautiful Trash in the Pop Culture Gutter

Dario Argento's cut of the classic zombie film feels more action packed and propulsive because of pacing. However, sometimes the music is too loud, obscuring dialogue, even thought it makes the zombie attacks appear more menacing. An interesting take on one of the best. 

While not a return to the form of his classic gialli days, this fairly straightforward thriller shows that Argento can still make a suspenseful, cinematically interesting picture. 

This theme is a dream was my first thought when I started writing about the Phenomena theme because Goblin's style (Simonetti is the keyboardist and one of the primary composers) has become intricately connected to Dario Argento's mise-en-scene. This connection is especially concrete in  Phenomena stemming   from the film's narrative arc to how Argento utilizes music. In this case, the film does not use the complete Goblin score but instead opts for distracting metal songs by Iron Maiden and Motorhead, which I hated the first few times I watched it. They seem out of place, but on subsequent watchings, I started realizing that they add to the film's disorienting effect. In fact, there can never be enough Goblin/Claudio Simonetti tracks because they bolster the narrative so effectively.  Simonetti's theme for Dario Argento's Phenomena includes everything great about Goblin's music. It starts with repeating keyboard patterns that sound like they could also fit ...

Jean Rollin is my current director of choice. I've been enamored with his beautifully shot, dreamy movies about vampires and existential death. The lovely and horrific images that flit with little apparent reason through his films with zero regard for consequence have me hooked. Of course, I need to watch more of his films to develop an appreciation for the breadth of his work. Most of his films fall into the French genre, Fantastique, which combines elements of horror, science fiction, and fantasy, and can easily hook any horror fan with an addiction to Foreign films. As an avid horror movie buff, with a deep appreciation for foreign horror, I'm surprised that I have never seriously considered Rollin. His bizarre plots are reminiscent of Michelle Soavi's Cemetery Man (a long time favorite) or more straightforward Luis Buñuel. The cinematography is beautiful, and the landscapes are easily as remarkable as early Argento, or the Gothic forest scenes of the best Paul Nasc...

Those who have spent any time around me know that I have never been a fan of Progressive rock. At first mention of genre stalwarts like Yes, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and King Crimson, I clam up, only to have apoplectic fits of rage later at home while jamming out to the Dead Boys. And don't even get me started on Rush -- I could write an entire blog post on their fan base alone. Yet when it comes to horror movie soundtracks, I rave endlessly about the merits of bands like Goblin who epitomize the genre in every way, except for the fact that they made the music (mostly) for the best Dario Argento films, including Suspiria and Deep Red . Their intelligent and intricate, yet propulsive, themes make these great films even better. In fact, those who question Argento's ability as a director must admit that his choice of music is integral to the horror and suspense he creates. Goblin is a huge part of that. Their pieces move the films along by providing tension and drama at oppo...