Opera (1987)

Dir: Dario Argento

Ultra-gory slashfest from Italian maestro Argento finds him on fine form, stylistically, as his trade-marked black gloved killer stalks the corridors of an opera house, slaughtering its staff and forcing beautiful prima donna Christina Marsillach to watch with needles taped under her eyes. The gore set-pieces are endlessly imaginative and shot with a near-pornographic enthusiasm. The cinematography is colourful, vibrant and frequently breathtaking. Sadly, the screenplay teeters only between the mundanely predictable to the barely coherent and lets the whole side down. The ending, in which Argento draws inspiration from "The Sound of Music", is laugh-out-loud funny but I doubt he meant it be that way. **