Stylish? Yes. Good? Not so much.

First of all, let me preface this by saying I have seen a LOT of movies, some good, many bad, but most with at least some qualities I could appreciate. This was my first Dario Argento film and therefore I had high hopes for it. What a disappointment! The opening scene was great, but nearly every subsequent scene was plodding and worse, insulting in the most patronizing way! This film makes an attempt to spoon feed you every little plot detail and then compounds the problem by attempting to pound it in to your head repeatedly. What is actually a decent overall story and mystery is thereby spoiled by not allowing you to participate in it. I couldn't wait for it to end, which is not a good thing when watching a film. There were some genuine moments of horror, but too often they were spoiled by lengthy and overdrawn attempts at suspense. It didn't help that the music that would precede the shocking moments was none too subtle and I daresay inappropriate for the mood of the movie. Don't get me wrong. I do appreciate innovation and experimentation, but I couldn't help but be drawn out of any scary mood by this music. However, I did really liked the children's song. It was very creepy. Variations and the like should have replaced the more modern Goblin Soundtrack. What was most maddening of all was the fact that the language kept shifting between Italian and English throughout the film, sometimes in mid scene!!! Overall, I think I see where Argento was trying to go with this film. It's a pity that he didn't trust his audience to be intelligent enough to get there on their own.