15 thoughts on “My Favorite Dario Argento Films (2024 Edition)”

1. I agree with most of this. I would reverse the positions of Phenomenon and Tenebrae, and discard the masters of horror episodes in favor of including Dark glasses, sleepless, and Trauma.

2. I have only seen numbers 1,3, and 5. and liked them well enough. I find the Giallo films a little similar and sometimes repetitive though.
   Best wishes, Pete.

3. Thank you for your input Steve 🙂 Dark Glasses, Sleepless and Trauma are good, but I would not rank them among Dario Argento’s great films. It might come as a surprise to you, but I actually feel that Argento’s two Masters of Horror episodes had a lot more to offer than any of his post-1980’s work – with the exceptions of his Two Evil Eyes segment and (for 99% of the time) The Stendhal Syndrome. I am not lambasting any of his post-1980’s work, but it is undeniable that as good as they were, they could not measure up to his 70’s and 80’s work. Thoughts? 🙂

   Also, speaking of Inferno, British horror film historian Kim Newman reportedly cited it as “the most underrated horror movie of the 1980’s.” Thoughts? 🙂

4. Hey Pete, If you find elements of the Giallo genre (or sub-genre) similar, it is because it stands as Italy’s equivalent of mysteries, thrillers and (for 99% of the time) horror 🙂 Then again, you probably knew that already 🙂

5. this is bill, not Steve. I thought the first 15 minutes of Dark glasses are as good as anything Argento has done, but i agree that it, along with Trauma and Sleepless, are not among his great films. I would blame their inferiority on the decline of the italian film industry more than on a personal deline as a director. He jsut cant get his crew to pull off the stuff they were willing to attempt during his classic period. Most of the films neither of us mentioned were pretty bad, though. especially phantom of the opera.

6. I have to count myself among those who under rated Inferno. Seeing it again recently, I now realize it is in fact one of the best horror films of the eighties and perhaps Argentos best film, although suspiria will always remain a sentimental favorite.

7. My apologies Bill, I do not know why I called you Steve by accident, must have gotten sidetracked 🙂 I agree with you on everything you just said regarding Dark Glass, Trauma, Sleepless and Phantom of the Opera. Trauma especially interested me because (along with his Two Evil Eyes segment) it has been reported as Dario Argento’s first film to be shot entirely in the United States (in this case, Minneapolis). I have read about Italy’s declining film industry and I believe it really began in the 1980’s based on what I have read. I also agree with you that Dario Argento really does not deserve to be crapped (for lack of better word) on just because his more recent work does not measure up to his 70’s and 80’s work. Thoughts again Bill 🙂

8. Bill, I agree with you that Suspiria and Inferno are great films, but then again, you already knew that 🙂 Aside from the former’s use of color, who can forget the Goblins music score? 🙂 As for the latter, Inferno may just be the purest expression of Argento’s style 🙂 One thing I can tell you is that I can’t wait to compose my list of my favorite George A. Romero films, but that is for another day 🙂 Thoughts again Bill 🙂

9. I believe it was the decline of the italian film insustry that gave rise to the giallo and horror films, which relied upon sensationalism to get the audiences into the theatres. But throughout the 80s there were stilll many exceptional people working in the industry. I only wish top flight directors such as Argento had been spared the neccessity of making genre films and could have had the opportunities to make films that would have stood proudly beside antonioni, fellini, rossellini, pasolini, and the other italian masters.

10. I have never heard of this director or seen any of the movies, unfortunately, and so have nothing to contribute. But I did enjoy the discourse above and learning about him! 🙂

11. Thank you for the kind words Stacy 🙂 One hint I can give you about Dario Argento is that his 1977 horror classic Suspiria was remade in 2018 by director Luca Guadagnino 🙂

12. Yeah! I think my husband actually brought that up with me several years ago. Now that I think back…I think we saw the original. It was SUPER weird, right?! I don’t remember! Except that it was very avant garde….? Which, you know, I’m game for that. Like even though Mother! started to annoy me, that was very different and fairly avant garde in ways, I think. It was pretty engaging.

13. Yeah, it does seem that way Stacy 🙂 As for avant garde, I am not quite sure, but subtly unconventional no doubt. As for Mother!, that film is openly unconventional much like Beau Is Afraid with Joaquin Phoenix.

14. Excellent list, John. Our top are the same, but I might put Deep Red in the third spot. Tough call, because Tenebrae is fantastic. Hmmm, I’ll have to give it some more thought!

15. Thank you for the kind words Michael 🙂 I hear ya about Deep Red and ranking all of them was so hard because the ones under the four star films are all flawless and Deep Red is part of that as you saw 🙂