Welcome one and all to part 10 of my weekly article series, The 52 In 52. The concept is pretty simple. I have quite a large collection of DVDs and Blu Rays and a lot sit on my shelf gathering dust. Each week I will watch a film I've never seen and review it. Before I begin this weeks post I would like you to check out last weeks post on Quarantine.
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As I mentioned I will be writing about the 1987 Italian horror movie, Opera (Terror At The Opera). Directed and co written by Italian horror maestro, Dario Argento, Opera was released to great success. Opera follows the story of reluctant operatic under study Betty, thrust into the role of Lady Macbeth after the leading lady is struck by a car. It becomes apparent that a mystery killer is making his way to a confrontation with Betty whilst bodies begin to pile up and Betty herself is tortured relentlessly.
I have to admit I had heard very little of Opera until I watched it. I am a fan of Argento's work and was intrigued by one of his films that are lesser known. I really enjoyed Opera a lot more than I was expecting. The Argento calling cards are in place. The use of neon lighting is subtly done in comparison to Suspiria although I did feel that a lot of the scenes in Betty's apartment were a too dark and dimly lit so made me frustrated a little bit.
As with a lot of Argento's work the soundtrack and sound design really drive the film. The musical score was a collaboration between Brian Eno, Bill Wyman and frequent Argento collaborator Claudio Simonetti. There is a heavy operatic score throughout a lot of the dialogue and narrative scenes, for obvious reasons, that are juxtaposed with heavy metal style music during the death and torture scenes. This allows for the scenes of death to be really intense and visually hectic. The use of the Ravens crowing during pivotal scenes was menacing and intense.
I loved the way in which the story and character work were the main focus of the story. Whilst there is a decent amount of gore and death throughout Opera, the style of story is closer to a psychological thriller which I really love about Argento's work.
I really enjoyed the use of first person camera work which showed the audience the point of view of the killer without giving too much away at all. It really helped build the suspense and left me guessing who the killer was until the dramatic reveal scene.
The final scene was a little strange. I was left thinking there was a definitive ending however there is a little twist, whilst entertaining, felt a little tacked on. The final scenes did little more than add an extra 10 minutes or so to the film run time.
Overall I really enjoyed Opera. I have no idea why this film has remained unreleased for so long as it is one of Argento's strongest films. The story is enthralling and entertaining finding a great balance between psychological horror and gore. The score drives the film and helps tell the story well.
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