Tenebre is a low quality foreign slasher type joke of a film, but has its entertainment value.The story and the acting are quite simply a zero score out of whatever scale you want to use and the murder scenes are extremely poor. It is basically a showcase of beautiful braless women, silly music and various locations and camera angles. Lara Wendel was particularly nice as Maria and I found myself amused enough not to trash the film completely. Though the many reviews of actual praise in film making, are absurd. Style no problem, thrilling mystery, gripping story and suspense, you've got to be kidding.

I watched this movie based on its reviews on IMDb, and i have to say, its the most disappointed I've been in a movie in a long time. How anyone can take this movie seriously is beyond me. The acting is beyond belief bad, its up there with the worse acting I've EVER seen in ANY movie. Come on, who can really take this seriously. It was also so obvious from the beginning that the author was going to be the murderer, doesn't take holmes or dick van dyke to figure this one out. I also found the music very annoying and not fitting with what was actually going on, add to that the dodgy attempts at being artistic with the camera and this really is an awful movie. I wasn't sure if it was a kind of comedy/ thriller at first. The acting is that bad, i didn't know if the viewer was even supposed to be taking this serious, but apparently you are. I love 80s movies, but this one is really dated and really painful viewing. I even found the toxic avenger more realistic. The best part of the movie was getting to see the girls knickers while she was getting chased by the cleverest dog on the planet. I suppose they had to throw that in just to try and keep some people watching.

An American writer named Peter Neal is stalked by a mysterious serial killer that is using Neal's novel as inspiration for his murders. Neal is immediately suspected of murders by the police. I've seen this three times. Every time I've watched it, my opinion on it hasn't changed. I think it is a "good" , but not great film. It moves a little too slowly for my liking at times. Argento's direction is as wild and stylish as ever. His use of colors, POV shots, among other crafty things, never fail to astound me (Check out that amazing chase scene involving a rabid dog) , I just wish he paced this film better. When it is good, it is very good. When it isn't, it turns into tedium. The gore is very explicit. An arm is chopped off in very bloody detail, the finale is loaded with blood as well. I'm not going to spoil all the goodies for you. You'll be satisfied, trust me. Argento also has a penchant for the bizarre as well. Wait until you see a dream sequence that commences periodically in the film. The killer at the end is actually somewhat surprising. It was a twist I didn't expect. The acting is fine for this sort of thing. Anthony Franciosa is solid as the lead. John Saxon has a part in this well, adding some class to the proceedings. Overall, I do like this movie. it has more than enough good things to make it worth your while, I just don't put it anywhere near the level of Suspiria or Deep Red like others do7.3/10

As a long time Argento fan I have seen most of his work, but for some reason this film has been off my radar until recently. I have to say though after a recent viewing (I have now seen it twice), this may be a masterwork. Susperia and Deep Red may have street credit, but for my money, THIS is the one that is the true giallo.It keeps the viewer wound up until the end. It is TRUE suspense. I am a grown man, who has seen all matter of exploitation, but true tension takes skill and that is exactly what Argento delivers in Tenebre. As the film moves on the suspense and levels build so high as the mystery of the whodunit unravels I literally had to get up and take a peepee break. If you are a fan of Argento and haven't seen this you must now. Also fans of Hitchcock and De Palma would be interested.The film is a high wired dance of the macabre. With excellent photography as usual from this bunch, featuring a 2 and half minute tracking shot which took 3 days to film. There are occasional times when plot elements seem far fetched, but that's a giallo for you. You have to suspend very little disbelief to enjoy this one, and when you do, you are thrust right into the jaws of an angry barking dog. See this.