JENIFER (2005) - Review

Jenifer

Horror
58 minutes
Rated: TV-MA

Written by: Steven Weber
Directed by: Dario Argento
Produced by: Lisa Richardson & Tom Rowe

Cast:
Steven Weber
Carrie Anne Fleming

The Masters of Horror TV series ran on Showtime for two seasons in 2005 and 2006. The idea was simple, present a platform where famous horror directors - "the Masters of Horror" - could each direct a 60-minute mini-movie to be presented as an episode within the show. Each episode would be directed by a different horror master and would not relate or tie into other episodes. With it playing on Showtime, the filmmakers essentially had carte blanche as far as explicit content within their mini-movies (although both Argento's episode and Japanese horror filmmaker Takashi Miike's episode received cuts due to content).

When Masters of Horror was beginning to conceptualize and move forward into its first season, the career of legendary Italian horror filmmaker Dario Argento was at a bit of a crossroads. His 2001 giallo film Sleepless had been a major hit for him in his home nation, and even received kinder reviews than any he had been given in the 1990s. However, following Sleepless, Argento made the rather uninspired giallo The Card Player and the made-for-TV movie Do You Like Hitchcock? of the same sub-genre. Both were poorly received, and since their release have been attributed to being forgettable parts of Argento's waning career. Argento needed a hit and because of this he had gone to work on his long anticipated The Third Mother - the sequel to his most famous works Suspiria and Inferno, and the last chapter in his magnum opus Three Mothers Trilogy.

Luckily, Argento was asked to participate in Masters of Horror, and he put the brakes on The Third Mother so he could fly to Vancouver and film his segment for the first season: Jenifer.

Because it was filmed in Vancouver, as opposed to Argento's usual urban settings of Turin and Rome, Jenifer doesn't have the usual look associated with the maestro's work. The setting in the end, however, attributes nothing to the overall tone of the film - which is purely Argento - and it could have easily been set in a number of urban locations.

For the first time in his career, Jenifer was a movie completely scripted without Argento's help. The film struggles with the pacing, rushing to its conclusion so rapidly it barely gives the viewer a moment to catch his or her breath. This really can't be faulted too heavily on actor/writer Steven Weber, since he was limited to the 60-minute time restraint. However, scenes could have been trimmed, re-written, or simply hacked to give Jenifer a smoother, easier flow. Whether this fast-paced nightmare is a plus or minus to the overall work is ultimately up to the viewer.

The story is indeed nightmarish, playing out like a dark fairytale, not unlike some of Argento's best works (Suspiria, Inferno, and Two Evil Eyes come to mind). None of it seems real, and yet at the same time its dreamlike tones make you accept that what you're watching is reality ... at least for the 58-minute running time. Its circular conclusion is both satisfying and heartbreaking, and ultimately serves to further the idea that Jenifer is a bad dream one cannot wake up from. Jenifer ultimately seems less jumbled than previous and later films in Argento's career, with a coherent plot-line followed all the way through. It deals strongly with the Biblically-routed idea that sex is the ultimate sin, the corrupter of man, and it is through women - a fully realized succubus in this case - that a hero is tragically corrupted. It's a fascinating tale that keeps the viewer's attention at all times.

Furthering the film's fairytale quality is the score by veteran-Argento composer Claudio Simonetti. Simonetti uses a whimsical, almost childish, musical score peppered in throughout - making it seem like a Disney film gone horribly wrong. During this time of his career, Argento seemed to be accepting his once self-criticized title of being "the Italian Hitchcock" more and more, and Simonetti's score at times takes on tones reminiscent of Bernard Herrmann's score for Psycho. There is one moment within the film where the score takes on the synth-heavy tones of a 1980s backwoods slasher flick, and it is so jarring it takes the viewer out of the film entirely. An odd miss for Simonetti, but given his disappointing score for Argento's The Card Player, perhaps he too was trying to recover his overall sense of quality at this point in his career.

Argento in his later years played less and less with lighting the way he did in his early works, and that is the case with Jenifer. The film is rather cold, flooded with the natural light of British Columbia, with no sense of a broad color-scheme. There are interesting moments, however, a scene where Steven Weber's character inquires as to the whereabouts of the titular succubus is lit terrifically and showcases Argento hasn't lost his eye for technical magic.

The gore effects are impressive - done by Greg Nicotero - now a legend within the industry. Argento cranks up the dial on the blood and gore, bringing his work back to the shocking value it had in his early days. He's once again unafraid to blur the lines between sex and violence, hoping to challenge his audience and make them uncomfortable seeing the connection played out on screen.

While it is far from his best work, and an argument can be made that it is the least "Argento-esque" entry of his works, Jenifer plays a significant role within the filmography of Dario Argento. It showed audiences he was not afraid to return to the shocking imagery that set his early films apart from others, that he still had his genius, talented technically-oriented eye, and that Argento was ultimately worthy of being called a true Master of Horror.

6/10