INFERNO

The second part of Dario Argento's landmark "Three Mothers" trilogy, kick-started by SUSPIRIA in 2007 and belatedly ended in 2008 by THE MOTHER OF TEARS, INFERNO was bafflingly banned upon its release and classified as a video nasty by the BBFC and the Department of Public Prosecutions. The decision was overruled a couple of years later, around a quarter of a century ago, but the film has never been released uncut in the UK ... until now.

Rose (Irene Miracle) is a student in New York. Obviously bored by living alone in her oversized apartment, she translates an alchemist's book on the fabled Three Mothers and becomes intrigued by the revelation that one of the keys said to gain access to these witches may be hidden nearby.

After posting a letter to her brother Mark (Leigh McCloskey), she pays a visit to the local antique store and quizzes creepy shopkeeper Kazanian (Sacha Pitoeff) on the book's contents. He's vague and unfriendly, so Rose bids a hasty retreat. However, outside the shop she notices a cellar door and a strange odour emanating from it. Hold on a minute: the book said one of the keys was lurking in a cellar with a peculiar stench about it!

In one of the best scenes, Rose finds the key - thus uncovering the secret dwelling place of one of the Mothers, Mater Tenebrarum. But she soon regrets her discovery ...

Cue Mark, a music student based in Rome. He's received his sister's concerned letter but is distracted from reading it mid-music lesson by the presence of an alluring female who disappears as swiftly as she appears. Leaving the letter behind as he leaves the lesson disorientated, it is subsequently picked up and read by friend Sara (Eleonora Giorgi).

Sara is sufficiently fascinated by the findings in Rose's letter that she promptly sets out to investigate the legend of the Three Mothers for herself. Arriving in New York, she finds the book and makes a startling discovery of her own (leading to another masterfully controlled build-up of terror).

It's not a good day for Sara either, then, but at least she gets to ring Mark and tell him to read Rose's letter before anything dodgy happens. Which, naturally, gets our one-dimensional hero on the case as he rushes to Rome to see if HE can handle the truth ...

Alida Valli, Veronica Lazar, Daria Nicolodi, problematic rats, demonic cats ... I'm sure whoever's reading this knows the drill. If not, and you're a newcomer, please excuse the bad acting, dodgy dubbing and incomprehensible script ...

The plot to INFERNO is filled with "riddles". So says Dario Argento himself, and he's not kidding. Continuity is thrown to the wind and whatever sense the storyline is meant to make is surely restricted to the realm of the director's own inner logic.

More an excuse for an unrelenting torrent of stunning visuals and nightmarish set-pieces, INFERNO is even more of an "absolute" horror film than the thinly-plotted SUSPIRIA. So the nonsensical plot and rubbish dialogue don't really matter: imagine it as a dream committed to celluloid - baroque, beautiful, haunting - and it starts to make more sense. Almost.

But with its startling use of colour, wonderfully histrionic terror sequences, gory murders and brisk pace, the film is a visual triumph. It is a feast for the eyes, and one of the finest uses of colour in a horror film since the best works of Mario Bava (who assisted on some scenes in the film).

The brilliant compositions are complemented perfectly by Keith Emerson's stirring soundtrack. Okay, some will forever remain disappointed by the lack of a Goblin score on INFERNO, but Emerson delivers the goods - particularly on the newly created HD audio mix.

This release is a 2-disc affair, offering a blu-ray disc and a standard DVD as extra.

Arrow's blu-ray presentation of INFERNO on this 50GB disc is great. First off, following polite protestation from fans (spearheaded by the folk over at the Cult Labs forums), the BBFC have gone back on intentions to require a cut to the infamous scene of a cat devouring a mouse and passed the film fully uncut.

The film looks superb in this newly restored 1080p presentation, framed well in a 16x9 enhanced 1.85:1 ratio. Colours on this MPEG4-AVC file are remarkably vivid while never overpowering, blacks are consistently strong and images are natural-looking. A light layer of grain is evident in darker scenes, and as a whole DNR and edge enhancement never become overly obvious. There are occasional soft scenes but they appear to be a genuine reflection of the film elements. Bright, clean and offering fantastic depth, the video presentation is a delight. What's more, closer inspection of this offering against the Anchor Bay DVD reveals a modicum of more information at each side of the screen. Something that will only concern the anal, I assume, but I thought I'd mention it anyway ...

One of the few Argento films that I've been fortunate enough to witness on the big screen, INFERNO looks amazing here - as good as any other horror film from 1980 that I can think of, and arguably as good as it did in the cinema.

English audio is presented in 2.0 stereo and a satisfying 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio mix. Again, Arrow have done a marvellous job.

Going the extra mile, Arrow have also provided the option of watching the film with its Italian mono audio mix. Even better, they offer two sets of optional English subtitles - one track that translates the Italian audio, and another that stays true to the slightly differing English language script.

Pop-up menus include a scene-selection menu allowing access to the main feature via 12 chapters.

The first of some highly appreciated new bonus features on disc 1 is a short (17 seconds!) introduction to the film from Daria Nicolodi.

"Dario's Inferno" is a 16-minute interview with the director, who speaks slowly and cautiously about the film's themes and his thoughts on its casting, shooting etc. He then goes on to discuss his later works in this 16-minute featurette.

"Acting In Hot Water" sees co-star Nicolodi reminisce about her time on the film, and makes for an enjoyably candid 19-minute bonus.

Then we have Luigi Cozzi discussing his bizarre ode to the then-unfilmed third instalment of Argento's trilogy, in the 16-minute "The Other Mother: The Making Of The Black Cat".

New Beverly is the setting for the next extra: a 30-minute document of a festival Q&A session between an enthusiastic audience and Miracle, Emerson and the ever-amazing author Tim Lucas. Great stuff.

Aside from the latter featurette (which is in English), all of the above are presented in Italian with optional English subtitles.

There is also an Easter Egg on disc 1. You need to tab down when you've highlighted the "Set Up" option. This reveals the words "Argento Remembers Bava" on the menu page. It's a 5 minute and 28 second extension of the director interview above, where the Maestro discusses the film's title, score, and eventually "memories of Mario". It's all good. This sees Argento speaking in English, which he does quite well.

Disc 2 is a standard definition DVD and provides more value for money, despite the fact that Argento fans are likely to already own the stuff on it.

Beyond the animated main menu page (a reproduction of the new DVD cover art), the fun begins with the excellent 56-minute documentary "Dario Argento: An Eye For Horror".

Mark Kermode narrates this slick and attractive profile of the little fellow, which is interspersed by clips and behind-the-scenes footage. On-screen contributions are entertaining and are provided by the likes of Argento, his daughters Asia and Fiore, George A Romero, John Carpenter and Emerson (I still enjoy Emerson explaining how Argento gets terrified when watching his own films back).

You most likely already have it, but it's always worth watching again and remains a great way of getting in the mood to view some of the Maestro's stuff.

Next up is a 9-minute featurette containing separate interviews with Argento and Lamberto Bava (DEMONS; MACABRE). The pair discuss the handling of rats, cats and ants during the making of INFERNO, as well as the contributions made by the late great Mario Bava. Filmed in 2000, this featurette - which includes Argento's brief introduction to the film - was originally available on Anchor Bay's Region 1 DVD release of the film. I suppose it comes in handy for anyone wishing to upgrade from that ...

The showcase reel of Argento trailers, spanning his career from THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE to MOTHER OF TEARS, is a fun way to spend 39 minutes. It misses out DO YOU LIKE HITCHCOCK? but everything else is present and correct. Again, it's already been seen on a couple of previous Arrow DVD release - but is always welcome, nevertheless.

Extras on disc 2 are rounded off by virtually identical Spanish and International trailers for the main feature.

The packaging for INFERNO is up to Arrow's standard for their recent genre blu-ray releases (CALIGULA; CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD etc). As well as a choice of four different cover designs, you also get a double-sided poster, six postcards reproducing original poster artwork and a booklet with notes by Alan Jones (all of which were unavailable for review).

Arrow must be commended for this sterling set. INFERNO makes it uncut debut in the UK, in glorious high definition and with extras worthy of its legacy. So what if disc 2 is largely stuff fans will already own? Be honest: you'd have bought this as a single disc release? Disc 2 simply becomes the icing on a very impressive cake.

Also available as a 2-disc DVD set.

Highly recommended.

Review by Stuart Willis