Mater Lachrymarum: The Third Mother

La Terza Madre

2007

 

IF SHE LIVES, WE ALL DIE.

Thirty years after it began, Dario Argento released the conclusion to The Three Mothers Trilogy.  And while I may be in the minority, I think it was worth the wait.

Sara Mandy (Asia Argento) is a research assistant who opens a long-buried box containing some weird statuettes and a blood red tunic.  Unknown to Sara, the box contains artifacts belonging to Mater Lachrymarum, The Mother Of Tears (Moran Atias), youngest, cruelest, and most beautiful of the ancient witches known as The Three Mothers.  And with the unearthing of the artifacts, she has awoken.  Demons appear in the research facility, tearing the curator apart in a brutal attack that is exceedingly violent, even for Maestro Argento.  Sara escapes with the help of a disembodied voice in her head (Daria Nicolodi, Asia's real-life mother and co-creator of the Three Mothers trilogy), and away we go.  Mater Lachrymarum dons her tunic and Rome is suddenly an orgy of unhindered, disturbing violence.  Mothers murder their children, random rapes and attacks become the norm, and the churches begin to burn.  The Mother Of Tears is ushering in The Second Age Of Witches.

While neither the most artistic (Suspiria) or most accomplished (Inferno) of the trilogy, La Terza Madre (The Third Mother) is still a satisfying end to the series.  Although the lengthy gap between the second and thirds films notes some changes in style and focus for Argento, he is still able to deliver on the eerie, hypnotic feel present in Suspiria and Inferno, while considerably amping up the brutality.  Indeed, while we remember these first two for their gory setpieces, the violent scenes in La Terza Madre are bloodier, more protracted, and take turns that Argento wouldn't have attempted as a younger filmmaker.  And as the behind-the-scenes footage attests, he still likes to get in on the action (Argento is notorious for playing the killer in his films, albeit only his hands are ever shown, wielding all kinds of sharp implements, in this case a meat cleaver).

The acting is strong in some places, weaker in others.  Asia Argento is not the world's greatest actress, but she handles the role of the terrorized Sara just fine, knowing when to scream, when to run, when to look confused, and when to take a shower.  Israeli actress Moran Atias appears as Mater Lachrymarum (a role originated in Inferno by Ania Pieroni, now retired from acting and too old for the part), a role that calls for melodramatic flourishes and gobs of nudity (she is at most semi-dressed in all of her scenes, the constant nakedness drawing a parallel between herself and the deviant sexuality of her followers).  My favorite performer in the film is of course Udo Kier, the brilliant German character actor (previously seen in Suspiria as a college professor who provides key information to Suzy Banyon, whom Kier's character mentions in La Terza Madre, a meta moment that film geeks like me swoon for).  Kier plays Father Johannes, a kindly priest who again provides our heroine with important knowledge she will need to survive.  All in all, the cast is good, but not quite on par with the powerhouse performances found in the earlier Mothers films.  (Incidentally, one of those cast members recently passed away.  We lost Mater Tenebrarum, Veronica Lazar, on June 8th, 2014.  She was 75.)

The score of La Terza Madre is provided by ex-Goblin Claudio Simonetti and his heavy metal combo Daemonia, although the score he provided resembles Keith Emerson's keyboards n' choir noise from Inferno more than it does the Simonetti-penned Suspiria.  Sergio Stivaletti provides the special effects, a genre veteran who has worked with Argento since Phenomena in 1985, and with Argento's brilliant protege Michele Soavi, as well as sitting in the director's chair himself, beginning with The Wax Mask, a project originally intended to be the first collaboration between Argento and Lucio Fulci (Fulci's death sadly kept that dream from becoming reality).  He pulled out all the stops for La Terza Madre, as eyes, limbs, faces, throats and guts are all ripe for destruction.  Mater Lachrymarum shows no mercy, and neither does Stivaletti.  The Italian theatrical cut was shorn of gore to receive the teen-friendly 14 rating, but these scenes were thankfully restored for the unrated home release.

For a long time after becoming acquainted with the work of Argento, I was convinced this film would never be made.  He had at one point been quoted as saying that Inferno was the end of the series since Mater Lachrymarum does make an appearance, thus making it the only one of the films to feature two of the three witches.  It has been reported that as early as 1984, Daria Nicolodi (co-writer of the first two films and the only person to appear in all three) had written a script for the third film, but this was scrapped, likely contributing to (or because of) the end of her romantic relationship with Argento.  Scripts came and went over the years, until Argento finally hired some co-writers and really focused on making it.  The end result is different in tone than his earlier efforts, being blunt and punishing compared to the ethereal wonder of Suspiria and Inferno...but really, what's wrong with that?  It's still very much Argento: a story that never quite makes sense, elaborate sets, the sense that the characters are all alone, never really a part of the real world.  The biggest differences come from the advances in cinema technology, and the use of CGI in one sequence feels totally out of place.  Practical effects bring more to the proceedings, making the otherworldliness of the Three Mothers stories believable in a way that hokey computer trickery can't.  Thankfully, there is only one brief CGI effect in La Terza Madre and it doesn't take you out of the dream too much.

If you've seen Suspiria and Inferno, you'd be crazy not to watch this one.  If you haven't seen Suspiria and Inferno, you'd be crazy not to run right out and watch them right now.  Cheers to anyone who watches the entire Three Mothers trilogy in one stretch.  And now I bid you adieu, for there is much to accomplish on this Summer evening...like maybe taking in another Nasty.  It's been too damn long.  Maybe it's time for some Nazis.  Or cannibals.  Or something malformed and creepy.  And don't open ancient urns from unmarked graves.  I'll heed that advice.  Because my name's Justin.  JustinCase.