Stated Dario Argento on the premise for his classic film Tenebre (1982, also known as Tenebrae and the severely butchered Unsane), where a cold, future society sees brutal crimes committed in a seemingly random matter.

The plot for Tenebre seems like a typical Giallo, but the more one watches the film, and reads Argento's sparse commentaries on the meaning of the film, multiple readings can be made of this nasty little thriller.

The films plot involves a pulp writer named Peter Neal who finds himself not only receiving threatening phone calls, but also becoming involved in a criminal investigation when the pages of his latest novel are found stuffed into a dead woman's mouth. Neal becomes obsessed with the case and begins investigating the murder with his staff. This leads to some of Argento's bloodiest and most technically brilliant scenes; relentless until the films hysterical freewheeling conclusion.

The films metallic, cold look ( David Cronenberg's Crash has a strikingly similar look to Tenebre) is a departure from Argento's other works and the society featured in the movie is unsettling. Argento explains the eerie feel of the movie which leads to an interesting revisiting of this film.

"Tenebre occurs in a world inhabited by fewer people with the result that the remainder are wealthier and less crowded...Something happened to make it that way but no one remembers or wants to remember. That was my stance when I made the film but I don't expect the audience to care too much because they can miss it and it won't matter."

One does not need to delve into the psychology of film to enjoy this favorite of Argentophiles. Hyper camera virtuosity and extreme gore are tightly packaged in an intriguing mystery. Some of the many highlights include the classic white T-shirt slashed by a straight razor to reveal the face of a victim, the long POV chase of Maria by both a dog and the killer, the incredible creeping camera that scales an entire apartment complex without the use of edits, and the films show-stopping arm amputation of Jane. Cut from the American version (the horrid Unsane) Anchor Bay's DVD restores the shocking sight of Jane's arm being hacked off by two brutal ax blows, the bloody stump spraying a wall red.

Tenebre is one of Argento's personal favorites and he revealed the origins of the character Neal. While on vacation in L.A. Argento was stalked. "A fan had gotten hold of the number where I was staying and made progressively more alarming threats to my life."