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Dario Argento’s DEEP RED This Weekend Midnights at The Moolah
“I can feel death in this room! I feel a presence, a twisted mind sending me thoughts! Perverted, murderous thoughts… Go away! You have killed! And you will kill again!”
Dario Argent’s DEEP RED (1975) screens Midnights this weekend (July 8th and 9th) at The Moolah Theater and Lounge (3821 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63108) as part of Destroy the Brain’s monthly Late Night Grindhouse film series.
Like all Dario Argento’s films, you have to be ready for completely off-kilter characters and plot machinations. Once you have excepted those eccentricities, though, DEEP RED is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have watching a horror film and I think it’s Argento’s best. I saw the 90 minutes cut of DEEP RED at least a half dozen times (mostly at the Drive-in under its alternate title THE HATCHET MURDERS) before I saw the full, 127-minute version when it was finally restored by Anchor Bay on VHS in the ‘90s. The longer version certainly fills in some of the plot holes, but the shorter variant is the film I fell in love with and is the one I still prefer. That said, if you’ve never seen DEEP RED on the big screen, you owe it to yourself to catch it this weekend at The Moolah, when Andy at Destroy the Brain will be showing the longer cut..
Unlike most who-dunit/slasher films, the killer in DEEP RED is not easy to recognize. Also unlike many films from this genre, it is truly frightening in its set pieces.DEEP RED contains excellent performances from David Hemmings as the pianist searching for answers, Daria Nicolodi as the reporter always willing to give Hemmings a helping hand, Gabriele Lavia as Hemmings alcoholic friend Carlo, and Clara Calamai as Carlo’s mother. The driving Goblin score blares as whoever gets in the killer’s way meets an ugly end by sledgehammer, scalding water, knitting needles, knives, etc. Oh…there is also a head flattened by a truck and decapitation by necklace.
Bottom line, a true masterpiece from one of the greatest genre directors ever to get behind the camera.
TICKETS ARE $7 AND YOU CAN BUY THEM ONLINE VIA MOOLAH’S WEBSITE.
THE PSYCHOTRONIC PRE-SHOW STARTS AROUND 11:30P WITH THE FILM STARTING AT MIDNIGHT.
The Moolah Theatre & Lounge serves alcohol until 2:30AM! Feel free to show up early and stay late to have some drinks and get friendly with the amazing Moolah staff.
A Facebook invite for Friday night’s event can be found HERE
https://www.facebook.com/events/1159617057393966/
A Facebook invite for Saturday night’s event can be found HERE
https://www.facebook.com/events/247691892253045/
Destroy the Brain’s site can be found HERE
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