Phenomena

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Phenomena

R

1985

1h 50m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

73%

Tomatometer

22 Reviews

67%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

An American (Jennifer Connelly) at a Swiss finishing school calls on insects to help a paralyzed scientist (Donald Pleasence) fight a monster.

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Budd Wilkins

Slant Magazine

Eschewing fussily prepared three-act structures and stopwatch-timed story beats, Dario Argento’s films unfold according to their own distinctive logic.

Mar 21, 2023

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Nicholas Royle

Time Out

Between shots of stunning mountain scenery there are paranormal breezes, unfeasibly bright night-lighting and buckets and buckets of maggots.

Feb 9, 2006

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Jon Pareles

New York Times

The best acting is by an expressive, resourceful chimpanzee -- definitely the year's Best Supporting Primate.

Aug 30, 2004

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James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

constantly skirts the edge of being something unique and enthralling, but at each turn Argento turns up the volume a bit too loud or piles on just a bit too much, even for those who appreciate his elaborate excesses

Rated: 2/4

Mar 27, 2023

Full Review

Chris Alexander

Alexander On Film

As troublesome as this sentiment may sound, SUSPIRIA and DEEP RED might be Argento’s most important movies, but their formidable powers dim substantially when stacked up against to the berserk and rapturous mutant anomaly that is PHENOMENA.

Dec 8, 2022

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Even folks who don't generally like movies that can broadly be categorized as "gore" or "slasher" flicks should be able to get a kick out of the works of Dario Argento, and Phenomena represents as good a starting point as any.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 28, 2020

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Sams K

Very interesting story, one of the most important works from Argento, but I think the music is sometimes misused. A great movie that you can't miss.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/11/24

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Eduardo S

É um filme muito bom e muito viajado, com uma ótima direção, tirando as partes em que a música muita das vezes não combina com a situação, o filme estrela Jennifer Connelly em um de seus primeiros papéis no cinema que não está ruim mas também não está maravilhosa ainda assim é um filme muitíssimo divertido com alguns diálogos inúteis mas outros que parecem ser mais vão ser usados no futuro, enfim, adoro esse filme e as vezes também gosto da trilha sonora.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/19/24

Full Review

RANDY F

This was one of many Argento films that was screened in a festival of his work in NYC some years back. Of all of his films that I saw at the festival, Phenomena was the film that got the biggest and most vocal reaction from the audience. Everyone had a great time. It's the film I choose to show people when I want to introduce them to the work of Dario Argento: it's almost the "greatest hits" of his style, his viciousness, and certain iconography ( like maggots, faces pushed through glass, and big scissors used in awful ways) that pop up in a lot of his films. It's also sort of bonkers in a truly great way. What other film could you find a girl who has telepathy with insects, a psycho killer, and a chimpanzee with a razor blade? He really throws in everything except the kitchen sink in this film. To truly glorious results. Plus the music score by Goblin is just phenomenal. A great film and a great horror film. My favorite of all the Argento films.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/21/24

Full Review

Nathan B

This is my first time watching a film from "legendary" filmmaker Dario Argento. He definitely has an unique style but I would consider pretty unfocused. The cinematography is good for the most part but the editing is so random. Some of old school music works but the 80s rock used in some scenes is totally out of place.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

07/09/24

Full Review

Adriana C

Good movie terrible soundtrack

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/19/24

Full Review

Jonathan O

Phenomena is really a phenomenal supernatural horror thriller with really creepy crawling scene that make you skin crawl.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/07/24

Full Review

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Synopsis

An American (Jennifer Connelly) at a Swiss finishing school calls on insects to help a paralyzed scientist (Donald Pleasence) fight a monster.

Director: Dario Argento
Producer: Dario Argento
Screenwriter: Dario Argento
Production Co: DACFILM Rome
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 14, 2017
Runtime: 1h 50m

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