// you’re reading...

Reviews

Inferno Blu-ray Disc Review

Inferno [Blu-ray] (1980)

INFERNO (1980, Blu-ray released March 29, 2011 – MSRP $29.98)

MOVIE: ★★★½☆ 
VIDEO: ★★★★☆ 
AUDIO: ★★★½☆ 
EXTRAS: ★★★½☆ 
BLU-RAY: ★★★½☆ 


Any new Argento on Blu-ray from Blue Underground is cause for celebration. And the debut of Inferno is no exception. With a solid transfer and decent collection of bonus features this is the high-def release of the classic b-movie film that fans have been waiting for.

    A young woman stumbles upon a mysterious diary that reveals the secrets of “The Three Mothers” and unleashes a nightmare world of demonic evil. As the unstoppable horror spreads from Rome to New York City, this unholy trinity must be stopped before the world is submerged in the blood of the innocent. Written and directed by Dario Argento, INFERNO is the visually stunning second chapter of the “Three Mothers” trilogy begun with the classic SUSPIRIA. This surreal shocker stars Irene Miracle (NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS), Daria Nicolodi (DEEP RED) and Leigh McCloskey (DALLAS), and features a pulse-pounding original score by Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

Inferno is a fairly satisfying and intelligent horror film but at the same time it’s frustrating as hell. The narrative doesn’t follow as predictable a path as your run of the mill fright-flik, which is refreshing and rather surprising. The pacing, however, is a disaster. Most of the suspense Argento works toward is deflated by shots that linger too long and sequences that take an eternity to play out. Worst of all, as the film pushes toward its climax and the inferno breaks out (sorry, I didn’t think that the fact that there’s an inferno in a film called Inferno was a soilery kind of plot detail) and people start losing their lives, Argento cuts to a lingering, slow sequence of discovery that he doesn’t connect to the blaze in the least, despite the fact that it’s happening in the same building!!

Frustrations aside, I enjoyed Inferno. The production design, the lighting, the atmosphere and mood are second to none. Keith Emerson’s score is sometimes overwrought and laughable but establishes a wholly original and timely tone for the film. I think Inferno, overall, is a highly original and worthy sequel to Argento’s classic Suspiria.

Blue Underground’s Blu-ray edition of the film is an absolute delight, sporting far more detail and greater colour-accuracy than the company’s 2007 DVD. Colour timing also seems more vibrant and rich than Arrow Video‘s recent UK Blu-ray disc, additionally sporting less digital manipulation than its cousin from across the pond (read: no DNR on the BU). Considering the source material and the low-budget conditions under which the film was produced, this disc looks fantastic. The English DTS-HD MA 7.1 audio track is less impressive, suffering from dated sound design and thin response across the board. Not a terrible sound track by any mean, just not as fantastic as the video. The Italian audio is also present on the disc but in lossy Dolby Digital.

I’m a bit let down by the collection of special features on the Blu-ray. There’s some good stuff here – some interviews with the US stars and a sit-down with Argento, the man himself – but nothing that can compete with the ridiculous wealth of goodies on the UK 2-disc set (tons of interview segments with a full feature-length documentary on the second disc, a DVD). Kind of a shame, but at the end of the day, I would recommend the disc with the superior transfer over the one with more extras.

Blue Underground FTW!

Related posts

Discussion

One comment for “Inferno Blu-ray Disc Review”

  1. [...] Hey, didn’t I just review Inferno a few days ago?! [...]

    Posted by Top 10 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of April 26 | April 27, 2011, 5:05 pm

Post a comment