Mater Tenebrarum: The Second Mother

Video Nasty #26

 

TERROR THAT'S HOTTER THAN HELL!

 

 

Inferno

1980

 

 

COME FACE TO FACE WITH HELL.

 

NTSC Running Time: 106:08

Directed by Dario Argento

Written by Dario Argento, from a story by Daria Nicolodi

Produced by Claudio Argento, Salvatore Argento & Guglielmo Garroni

Additional Effects & Direction by Mario Bava

2nd Unit Direction by Lamberto Bava

Starring: Leigh McCloskey, Irene Miracle, Eleonora Giorgi, Daria Nicolodi, Alida Valli, Ania Pieroni, Gabriele Lavia, and Veronica Lazar

Body Count: 8, plus a bag full of cats (simulated), a mouse (genuine), and [Spoiler Censored]

Availability: Region 1 BluRay/DVD from Blue Underground.

 

 

BBFC Status

 

Why it's a Nasty: Animal cruelty.  But I bet the gore helped.

What was cut: Footage of a cat eating a mouse was excised from the cinema release in March of 1980.  Additional cuts were made for the 1987 video release to a scene purporting to show a cat being abused.  A slightly longer version dropped 8 seconds of cuts for video release in 1993.

Current BBFC status: The uncut version of Inferno was granted an 18 certificate on June 8, 2010.

UK Availability: All-Region BluRay/DVD from Arrow Video

Inferno was seized, but escaped prosecution.

 

You didn't think I'd forgotten my promise to cover the Three Mothers trilogy, did you?  Well, I couldn't wuss out on watching this second film as it's the only one to make the Nasties list...but I hadn't forgotten.

 

In New York City, Rose Elliot (Irene Miracle) is engrossed in an old book titled The Three Mothers which tells of three ancient witches who control the world: Mater Suspiriorum, the Mother of Sighs; Mater Tenebrarum, the Mother of Darkness; and Mater Lachrymarum, the Mother of Tears.  The book is written by an Italian architect who claims to have built homes for all three, one each in Freiberg, Rome, and New York.  She fires off a letter to her brother before having an ominous and surreal adventure that nearly results in her death.

 

In Rome, Mark Elliot (Leigh McCloskey) is a music student who is opening his sister's letter in class when he becomes captivated by a mysterious beauty (Ania Pieroni).  The woman leaves and he pursues, leaving the letter behind.  Sara (Eleanora Giorgi) takes the letter to give to him later, but cannot overcome her curiosity and reads it.  She begins an investigation of her own...

 

My descriptions are somewhat vague for a reason.  You need to see Inferno.  I want you to be interested enough to seek it out.

 

Like Suspiria, Inferno comes from an idea had by Argento's then-girlfriend Daria Nicolodi, who is uncredited on the film.  After fighting tooth and nail to get her writing credit for Suspiria, Nicolodi decided that she didn't want to waste the energy it would take to win a victory over Argento's colossal ego and didn't pursue the matter.

 

Working through a debilitating illness during the shooting, this is nevertheless Argento in top form.  Every nuance of the film seems honed to perfection.  This film does not fuck around.  Inferno captivates.  Everything from sets to cinematography to dialogue are perfectly crafted.  The colors are almost as intense as those seen in Suspiria.  The climax is operatic, though no one sings.  (Leigh McCloskey performed the stunts in the final sequence himself, and it must have been terrifying.)  There are multiple events that would require explanation in any other film, but Inferno's relentless pace and dreamlike atmosphere cause the viewer to accept these happenings as they are without question, a remarkable feat for the discerning filmgoer.

 

Inferno probably would have been left alone by the BBFC despite the gory murder sequences because of its quality.  Anyone can see that this is masterful cinema.  But the inclusion of some intense footage involving animals is something the BBFC still takes a strong stance on, and the film was cut accordingly.  The main focus was the genuine footage of a cat eating a mouse, somewhat clumsily edited in near the end of the film.  It reminded me of a similar scene in The Burning (See Video Nasty #17), and plays as though they happened to get the footage and it was too good not to use.  One character is overly abusive to the neighbourhood cats, slapping them around, then drowning them in a burlap sack, and cuts were made to those scenes when the film went to video.  (The cats were not actually harmed.)

 

Inferno features the work of Mario Bava, who contributed to the spectacular effects at the climax of the film, as well as creating the New York skyline for some exterior shots.  Because Dario Argento was battling acute hepatitis during the shoot and at one point couldn't get out of bed, leaving only Lamberto Bava's second unit filming, rumor has it that Mario Bava (Lamberto's father) also directed the "underwater ballroom" sequence.  No matter what the actual extent of the elder Bava's contributions to the picture, his expertise is nothing but an asset.  Sadly, he died of a heart attack on April 27, 1980.  This was the last picture he worked on.

 

As I said before, you need to see Inferno.  It's a classic of horror cinema and an all-around great film.  The Three Mothers trilogy was left unfinished until 2009 when The Mother Of Tears was released, and I'll be covering that one later.  Until then, frequent your local bookshops.  Find an old book that looks interesting.  But maybe don't take it too seriously.  It could lead to trouble.  I'll be sticking to fiction.  Because my name's Justin.  JustinCase.