“Dario Argento’s PHENOMENA (1985) Unrated UK Director’s Cut”
March 7, 2019
Phenomena
7:00 pm
Directed by Dario Argento
Containing Jennifer Connelly, Daria Nicolodi, Donald Pleasance
As we approach the 35th Anniversary of Dario Argento’s insect horror fantasy, come celebrate the unrated director’s cut that inspired Jim Henson’s LABRYiNTH! Presented by MiDNiTES FOR MANiACS. Hosted by Jesse Hawthorne-Ficks.
At a girls’ school in Switzerland, boarder Jennifer Connelly discovers that she possesses the ability to telepathically communicate with insects, a skill that comes in handy when she joins forces with entomologist Donald Pleasance and his pet chimpanzee to unmask a murderer running amok. Boasting the most outlandish premise that Argento ever dared, as well as startling soundtrack cues from Iron Maiden and Motörhead. (Metrograph)
Dario Argento’s original cut of Phenomena, released in Italy in 1985 with a 116 minute run time, is now often referred to as the “integral cut.” When New Line Cinema purchased the film for release in the US, in an attempt to obtain an R rating, they not only cut the film down to 83 minutes, but reordered many of the sequences and changed much of the music—this cut, retitled Creepers, was the last of Argento’s films to get a wide release.
A film by Dario Argento. Starring Jennifer Connelly, Donald Pleasence, Daria Nicolodi. 1985. 116 min.