Let's get this out of the way now: Phenomena is completely all over the place. It is incoherent, confused and essentially sees Argento try and incorporate way too many ideas at one time. But is it actually all that bad? I would suggest not. In fact, a lot of the bizarreness just adds to the fun of it all. Phenomena is about a young girl (Jennifer Connelly in her first starring role) who communicates telepathically with insects in order to track down a serial killer. It also features a wheelchair-bound Donald Pleasance, who speaks with a Scottish accent and hangs around with a razor blade-wielding chimpanzee. It is completely bonkers. Bonkers but fun, and with some great set-pieces, too. The score from Argento's longtime collaborators Goblin is good but the presence of heavy metal tunes from the likes of Iron Maiden is a little jarring. The film was cut to ribbons for its US release, trimmed of over twenty minutes of footage (mainly violence) and retitled Creepers. It was a hit in Italy, however, and the now available uncut version has a cult following.
