Creepers (Phenomena) (MRA) (1984)

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General		Extras
Category	Horror	None
Rating
Year Of Production	1984
Running Time	82:57 (Case: 73)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Dario Argento
Studio Distributor	MRA Entertainment	Starring	Jennifer Connelly Daria Nicolodi Dalila Di Lazzaro Patrick Bauchau Donald Pleasence Fiore Argento Federica Mastroianni Fiorenza Tessari Mario Donatone Francesca Ottaviani Michele Soavi Franco Trevisi Fausta Avelli
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$9.95	Music	Claudio Simonetti Bruce Dickinson Motorhead

    Often when a title is released for a second time in a given region, it is because the new release is superior; a better transfer, has more extra material or even is an extended cut of the film. I reviewed the original Region 4 disc last year and found it to be a good package in most respects, but does this new release from MRA supersede it? I've made a handy comparison table for you below, outlining the features of each. You be the judge.

    Looks pretty clear cut to me. I've reproduced the plot synopsis of my original review below, for those that aren't familiar with this movie. My entire review of the AV Channel release can be viewed here.

    Dario Argento has a name synonymous with the macabre side of filmmaking, and as a director he has been responsible for some of the most notorious thrillers in the last fifty years. Argento's most well known films Suspiria and Deep Red are still being emulated almost 30 years after their production, and understandably so. The Italian director's unique style is instantly recognisable and combines amazing visual elements that lend themselves to an incredible visual atmosphere. In a trend that is similar to many other renowned horror directors, Argento spent much of his childhood alone and sick, learning to enjoy little interaction with other children. A keen reader from a very young age, he picked up a volume containing the works of morbid poet Edgar Allen Poe, which steered him in the direction we find him today.

    Phenomena stars Jennifer Connelly as Jennifer - a young student who has been sent to an all-girl Swiss boarding school by her rich father. A number of young women have disappeared recently and a serial killer is cited as the culprit, making the atmosphere at the school tense to say the least. Jennifer's sleepwalking problem only makes matters worse, and the staff at the school are less than sympathetic to her condition - labelling her as a diabolic nuisance. While out for a stroll one evening she meets wheelchair bound entomologist McGregor (Donald Pleasance), an expert in the field of insects who helps her realise her unique ability to relate and communicate freely with all kinds of creepy crawlies. With the help of the Doctor and his chimpanzee assistant, Jennifer hits upon a method to catch the killer using her little insect friends.

    Argento's films aren't normally known for their quality acting performances, however Phenomena is certainly an exception. Donald Pleasance (Cul de Sac) and Jennifer Connelly (Dark City) are a superb pair on screen and each give very convincing performances throughout. Argento's wife at the time, Daria Nicolodi, appeared in a great deal of his films during this period and suffers a gruesome death in each and every one. Her final scenes in Phenomena are some of the most memorable of all Argento's films, and equally hilarious. The first assistant director of this film, Michele Soavi, gained a start in the industry under Argento and went on to make one of my all-time favourite zombie films, Dellamorte Dellamore starring Rupert Everett.

    Very few directors seem to have such an instinctive ear for the use of music in their films, and I would concede that Quentin Tarantino has a similarity with Dario Argento in this respect. Prior to Phenomena, a majority of Argento's films were scored by the excellent 70s progressive rock band Goblin, but by the time this film had entered production Goblin had parted ways, so it was left to former Goblin member Claudio Simonetti to compose the film's theme. In addition to Simonetti's haunting contribution, Argento borrowed pieces of music from heavy metal legends Iron Maiden and Motorhead to complete the film's soundtrack.

    Having an entomologist in the plot of the film opens the door for all manner of gross-out scenes involving maggots and creepy crawlies. In fact, the film's English title was originally changed to Creepers without Argento's consent, and much to his dismay - it is pretty lame compared to Phenomena, after all. Connelly reportedly had no problems shooting the film with her insect co-stars and was completely comfortable working with them. Weird!

    Phenomena is a good horror film and was quite popular upon release in Europe and particularly in Japan, where it made Connelly an overnight star. This isn't the best film from Argento's career, but his beautiful style and the great performances of the two leads makes this well above average for this genre.

    If you already own the UNCUT version from AV Channel (still widely available) then this disc might make a nice coaster for your beverage while you watch the proper version.

Video

    This transfer is presented in 1.29:1 and is a pan and scan effort. The original theatrical aspect ratio of the film is 1.66:1. The frame appears to be slightly stretched in a vertical direction. The source appears to be an analogue videotape master.

    Sharpness and general clarity is poor. The image is overly brightened, making shadow detail similarly bad. There are no truly deep blacks to speak of. Colours appear washed out and pale, with no vibrancy whatsoever.

    The transfer is riddled with film artefacting; scratches, hairs and dirt - some of them large. A noticeable amount of telecine wobble is also evident in some scenes. There are many minor magnetic tape errors present, but not any compression artefacting as far as I could tell. Edits are clunky and obvious.

    There are no subtitle streams provided on this disc.

    This disc is DVD5 formatted (single layered).

Video Ratings Summary

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Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
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Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The accompanying soundtrack is a Dolby Digital 2.0 stream, encoded at 448Kb/s. This is effectively a mono effort and sounds wafer thin despite the large bitrate.

    Vocal delivery is distinct but is often let down by the limited fidelity of the source material. A significant amount, if not all of the dialogue in this film has been re-recorded in post production. ADR sync is okay most of the time, and pretty bad on other occasions.

    The pitch wobbles at some points and there are many moments of crackling and distortion.

    The soundtrack score by Claudio Simonetti is a melodic and haunting blend of operatic vocals and rock instruments. The score is used perfectly to guide the viewer through the emotional highs and lows, while the contributions from Iron Maiden and Motorhead are perfect for their chosen scenes.

    Surround processing did nothing to enhance this mono soundtrack.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
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Subwoofer
Overall

    None.

    There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.

    This film was released in Region 1 by Anchor Bay with English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio and a French mono soundtrack. Also included on the disc is an Argento interview with journalist Joe Franklin. Many of the other extras are the same as the Region 4 disc by AV Channel, and the video transfer is similarly non-anamorphic.

    The Region 2 UK release is also non-anamorphic, but has only mono audio.

    The European Region 2 release by Medusa has an anamorphic video transfer, with no English audio. English subtitles are included, and the feature has a slightly longer runtime of 111 minutes (PAL). Judging by other reviews, the additional footage is pretty superficial and of no real concern.

    Region 1 wins for now, however it is clear that a definitive release of this film on DVD is yet to surface.

    The transfer is a censored, pan and scan abomination.

    There are no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall