Dario Argento’s 1985 horror film starring pre-Labyrinth Jennifer Connelly is a treat on 4K UHD. The green hillside and rushing river looks like National Geographic nature footage.
Argento’s closeups of eyes and lips are even more intense in 4K. When light shines on Connelly as her hair blows in the wind, she practically glows, a look captured in the packaging artowrk.
But it’s Argento so it’s not all pretty. The maggot infested skull, muddy pit and all the insects have spared no gory detail. The chimpanzee’s big pink butt stands out too,
The sound is either mono or stereo, but it will sound good in a nice sounder setup.
A comparison of the three different cuts is helpful but I have to disagree with the critique of the Creepers cut. All due respect to Argento, but the tight cut moves. The slow burn is fine but Creepers is hardly a hatchet job. It’s not a Once Upon a Time in America or Brazil situation.
Author Derek Botello gives a commentary on the international cut. Botello digs into the Argento family and other movies, and a moderator keeps it moving. They also suggest Creepers is harder to follow and that’s inflating the directors cut a bit. It’s clear in Creepers too
The two hour documentary Of Flies and Maggots from 2017 lives up to its name because it goes in depth about the flies and maggots. If you ever wondered how they worked with insects before CGI, you’ll learn, as well as pre-CGI camera effects.
It includes some archival materials like Argento in 1984 talking film stock and equipment, behind the scenes shots of the crane shot intercut with the shot in the film, mechanical effects and the bee.
It gives Fiore Argento time to share all her experience. Stories of chimpanzee trainer beating him for misbehaving are not great.
The Jennifer music video is in VHS quality like old MTV but it is a compelling silent Connelly performance.
The commentary by Troy Howarth on the integral cut is both informative on the film’s background and a solid aesthetic critique of the film’s strengths and weaknesses. Howarth keeps it consistent throughout the two hour cut, too.