Dark Glasses
vision distributionThe cinematic landscape is one that is still changing and evolving with every year providing a new piece of identity for the media form. Because of this, it is often possible to trace the evolution of media and track the influence specific individuals have had on various genres and styles. There is no arguing that for the horror genre, Dario Argento is one of the most influential modern creators. Largely defining the giallo genre with classics such as Suspiria and Deep Red, Argento was once looked at as a master of cinema. In his later filmography however, Argento has fallen on rough times with his previous feature, 2012's Dracula 3D, being seen as one of his worst. A decade later, Argento is back on the big screen with Dark Glasses. Following a blind prostitute named Diana (Ilenia Pastorelli) who believes a serial killer is after her, Dark Glasses largely represents a return to form for Argento who looks to return to his more grounded giallo roots with the project. While a clear step up from the filmmaker's recent disasters, Dark Glasses still leaves plenty to be desired.
If there is one thing that Dark Glasses does right, it is the style of the film and the filmmaking behind the camera. A more focused and crafted effort from Argento, who seems genuinely quite intent on recapturing the glory of his prime, there is an inspired effort to breathe life into the giallo genre by providing a strong example of what the style can be. Blending erotic tension with camp elements, the energy and flow of Dark Glasses is rather flawless. Capitalizing on a shorter 86-minute runtime, Dark Glasses is able to be focused without any need for filler or stuffing.
The actual content of the film is also rather captivating. Ilenia Pastorelli is powerful in the lead role with the perfect blending of fighting spirit and innocent fear. The choice to also focus more on the mental side of the threat is a worthwhile one. Rather than seeing the villain clearly murder his female victims, the film is rather restrained and plays into the possibility that this all might be something in Diana's head. There could just as easily be no killer out there as there could be one leading both the characters and audience down an engaging rabbit hole of psychological terror that feels refreshing. This all comes together to create a strong build going into the film's grand conclusion.
It is this third act where the film really begins to fumble. The actual conclusion of the feature is awful with a terribly rushed sprint that leaves the audience underwhelmed and unsatisfied. Spending 75-minutes building up a threat only to get through both the realization and dispatching of the threat in 5-minutes is beyond frustrating and leaves the film on a completely cold note. All this journey, all this build, all these emotions, they all end up leading to so little that it begins to reflect badly on the journey itself. Without a worthy conclusion, it is hard to say that these characters or their drama ends up feeling worthwhile to experience at all. Whether it would come from expanding the runtime or cutting other scenes to give the film more space, this is a feature that demands a proper third act to wrap up its brooding terror yet this is something that the film refuses to actually give itself.
Dark Glasses might not be a disaster, but make no mistake that this is far from being another Argento classic. The first 90% of the feature is a strong giallo psychological thriller, but the conclusion is nothing better than amateur. It is a rushed and cheap ending that threatens to spoil the entire project and considering the payoff, it is hard to say that any part of the feature is really worthwhile by the end.
