Inferno

An apartment building in New York. A young man investigating his sister's disappearance learns that Mater Tenebrarum, one of three ancient witches, lives there. The clues come from an old occult text. Dario Argento directed. It is the sequel to Suspiria from 1977 and the second part of the Three Mothers trilogy. Irene Miracle and Leigh McCloskey star. The budget was 3 million dollars, 20th Century-Fox distributed, and it opened in Italy on 8 February 1980. Argento directed much of it while suffering from severe hepatitis, at times unable to get out of bed. His mentor Mario Bava contributed optical effects and second-unit direction, building miniature cityscapes out of milk cartons. Keith Emerson wrote the score. To fit the pace of a taxi scene he re-orchestrated Verdi's Va, pensiero in five-four time. The most cited passage is the underwater ballroom. It was shot in a real water tank with no optical effects. The first reviews destroyed it and its standing rose later. One assessment described it as a dazzling series of set pieces designed to give the impression that the real world is terrifying, beautiful, erotic and dangerous. Who it is for: viewers who love Argento's language of colour and light. Who it is not for: anyone who wants to follow a story. The plot is deliberately scattered and the film runs on dream logic rather than sense.