DVD Review: Door Into Darkness - Page 2

Disc Two begins with “Eyewitness” (“Testimone Oculare”), written and directed by Argento and Cozzi (with Roberto Pariante listed as director — although Argento re-shot most of it himself). Out of everything here, “Eyewitness” is the most giallo-esque installment. The story involves a woman (Marilù Tolo), a disappearing/reappearing body, and a mysterious figure who seems to enjoy playing hell with the poor heroine.

Lastly in the Door Into Darkness legacy is “The Doll” (“La Bambola”), but don’t get your hopes up: it isn’t about a killer doll or anything. Instead, this Mario Foglietti vehicle stars Erika Blanc as the first victim of an recently escaped killer from an insane asylum. And that’s about it, really. Actually, “The Doll” isn’t that bad — providing you like to watch people walk around. OK, so it is bad. Oh, well.

Regrettably, the original film elements from these four features no longer exist, so Mya Communications has gone straight to the RAI TV video masters in order to bring us Door Into Darkness on DVD. To say this series has seen better days would be an understatement, as the full frame 1.33:1 presentations are pretty dull-looking. Of course, there is no better way to see it, so don't start bitching, kiddies. The original Italian mono soundtrack comes through just fine, with optional English subtitles accompanying.

What’s even better than getting Door Into Darkness on DVD? How about the inclusion of Luigi Cozzi’s Dario Argento: Master Of Horror? Yes, that’s right — not only do you get one very rare TV show, but Mya Communications has thrown in the rather rare documentary to boot! Presented in its original 1.33:1 format, Dario Argento: Master Of Horror (1:20:36) is dubbed into English (most of it is, at least) and takes us behind the scenes with Dario on projects like Phenomena and Opera.

The wait is over. Door Into Darkness is here. And, even if you’re not Dario Argento’s biggest fan, this is always better than watching Dario’s god-awful interpretation of The Phantom Of The Opera. Plus, you get Dario Argento: Master Of Horror with this, too. Go on. Get it. You know you want to.

Article Author: Luigi Bastardo

Luigi Bastardo is the disgruntled alter-ego of Adam Becvar, a thirtysomething lad from Northern California who has watched so many weird movies since the tender age of 3 that a conventional life is out of the question. …

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