Overview: Italian horror master Dario Argento (Suspiria, Deep Red) elevates the giallo genre to new heights with 1982’s TENEBRAE, a darkly humorous and notoriously grisly murder-mystery that many consider to be one of his finest works.

Now, Synapse Films, in conjunction with Arrow Video, makes this gory suspense classic available for the first time on UHD in a new 4K restoration for TENEBRAE’s 40th anniversary! American mystery author Peter Neal (Anthony Franciosa, Death Wish II) comes to Rome to promote his newest novel, Tenebrae.

A razor-wielding psychopath is on the loose, taunting Neal and murdering those around him in gruesome fashion just like the character in his novel. As the mystery surrounding the killings spirals out of control, Neal investigates the crimes on his own, leading to a mind-bending, genre-twisting conclusion that will leave you breathless!

Co-starring John Saxon (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Daria Nicolodi (Phenomena), John Steiner (Caligula) and featuring beautiful cinematography by Luciano Tovoli (Suspiria), this stunning 4K UHD (2160p)/Blu-ray (1080p) combo set includes hours of extras.

Blu-ray Verdict: Like most actors and directors, they all have their foibles and TENEBRAE happens to be one of Dario Argento’s. It is not a bad movie, it just isn’t up there among his better films, such as PROFONDO ROSSO and SUSPIRIA, in my humble opinion.

Unlike most ’80s horror films, which all seem to be clustered into one category aka schlock, TENEBRAE narrowly avoids that category by crafting Dario Argento’s magnificent camera work and direction into something that is in a league of its own.

For example, watch the scene where the camera examines the apartment building where the two women are murdered. From the moment the killer enters the building, we watch the victims through the windows as the camera glides over the walls like it wasn’t even attached to a piece of machinery.

The soundtrack is also Dario Argento trademark stuff. Synthesizers, church organs and an almost Mike Oldfield-cum-Vangelis-style beat is injected into the film to give it a truly unique sense of atmosphere.

The only thing that drags this film down to basics is the bad acting given by a group of washed-up actors and the who’s that? of Hollywood at that time. Included in this bunch is B-Grade actor John Saxon and none other than Anthony Franciosa himself. Many viewers (including myself) would be surprised to discover Anthony Franciosa playing the lead role in this film.

Indeed, some people may remember him from his short-lived ’60s sitcom, VALENTINE’S DAY. Here in TENEBRAE, Franciosa portrays a famous horror author who travels to Rome to promote his brand new novel aptly titled, yet spelt differently, Tenebre. Unfortunately for him, a serial killer is also on the loose and decides to make a nuisance out of himself/herself by murdering off colleagues and journalists Franciosa associates with.

The killings themselves are fashioned right out of Franciosa’s novel which makes for some rather elaborate death scenes. Unfortunately, the actresses and actors who end up getting brutally murdered are extraordinarily bad actors, their death scenes come off as being unintentionally hilarious. For example, one girl makes the mistake of wandering into the murderer’s home without knowing it after being chased by a dog (in a hilarious timeless scene)!

She also accidentally stumbles upon the killer’s stash of photographs which he keeps of each murder that they commit and she makes the mistake of putting some of them in her pockets. When she tries to escape the house, she accidentally encounters the killer as they arrive home. The killer is profiled as somewhat of a campy lunatic who talks in androgynous whispers whilst slinking around in a ski mask, wielding either an axe or a knife!

The killer shrieks, SPY! as the girl is caught red-handed, and as he chases her across a grassy field, she pathetically throws the crumpled photographs at him as he inches closer and closer while she squeals, “Please no, oh please, I didn’t do anything”!

That all said, the biggest draw of this film is Daria Nicolodi who plays Franciosa’s personal assistant. Many fans of Argento’s films will recognize her as a main staple who also played Gianni Brezzi in PROFONDO ROSSO and Elise in INFERNO. In this film, she is given a role which gives her very little to chew on, but it is the final scenes of the movie where she reaches her peak.

Some good scenes to look out for are moments when a woman’s arm (that is holding a gun) gets chopped off via an axe through a window and a hilarious scene that results in a man getting an axe implanted into his skull! For me though, the best part of this film is the standard Argento plot twist that is revealed at the end of the movie. While it isn’t exactly THE SIXTH SENSE kind of reveal, most viewers who hadn’t already figured it out will be pleasantly surprised, I would like to think.

In closing, I enjoyed TENEBRAE for what it was, but it hasn’t got anything extremely special that distinguishes its difference from all the other countless Italian-produced horror films that were churned out during the ’70s and ’80s. Save for Argento’s brilliant camera direction, of course, as he truly was the master of all this back then, wasn’t he.

Special Features:
4K UHD (2160p) & Blu-ray (1080p) Combo Pack
4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray™ presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio
Original Italian and English front and end titles and insert shots
Restored original DTS-HD MA lossless mono Italian and English soundtracks
English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
Audio commentary by authors and critics Alan Jones and Kim Newman
Audio commentary by Argento expert Thomas Rostock
Audio commentary by Maitland McDonagh, author of Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento
Yellow Fever: The Rise and Fall of the Giallo, a feature-length documentary charting the genre from its beginnings to its influence on the modern slasher film, featuring interviews with Dario Argento, Umberto Lenzi, Luigi Cozzi and more!
Being the Villain, a newly edited archival interview with actor John Steiner
Out of the Shadows, an archival interview with Maitland McDonagh
Voices of the Unsane, an archival featurette containing interviews with writer/director Dario Argento, actresses Daria Nicolodi and Eva Robins, cinematographer Luciano Tovoli, composer Claudio Simonetti and assistant director Lamberto Bava
Screaming Queen, an archival interview with Daria Nicolodi
The Unsane World of Tenebrae, an archival interview with Dario Argento
A Composition for Carnage, an archival interview with Claudio Simonetti
Archival introduction by Daria Nicolodi
International theatrical trailer
Japanese “Shadow” theatrical trailer
Alternate opening credits sequence
“Unsane” end credits sequence
Image galleries