Jenifer (2005)

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

i absolutely LOVE Argento. Suspiria is in my top five favorite horror films of all time, and I've enjoyed MOST of his other works. I don't think anybody would dispute though, that as he's grown older, his confidence as a director has waned. Jennifer is undeniable proof of this, although I can't pretend that the blame lays squarely with him. I've always liked Steven Webber as an actor (I thought his Jack Torrance in the made- for-TV Shining was quite good), but he should maybe take a break from writing; the script is almost unbearable. Jennifer is based on a short story which I've never read, so I don't know just how much dialogue Webber ripped from it, still...someone on set should have been smart enough to know that "If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck with a meat cleaver," is just bad writing. And the dialogue isn't the only problem. --------Spoiler -------Why, oh why doesn't he just kill her in the cabin? I mean, seriously...He ties her up, drags her down a ROAD when he has a perfectly secluded house to off her in. C'mon. There are a lot of moments like this, too. A couple logical failings would be forgivable (let's face it, every horror movie has a few) but I was scoffing so much it sounded like I was coughing up a hairball. -------End of Spoilers-------Now, back to Argento. Ultimately, I think he was the wrong director for this. He's not exactly known for subtlety, his earlier works being highly explicit, graphically-speaking, and I think Jennifer would have benefited tremendously from even a tiny bit more delicacy.

Dario Argento is one of the worst directors of all time, his movies being notorious for their blatant disregard for logic and the awful acting, so this was a bit of a surprise.Jenny From De Block is a disfigured mutant/hell-beast with strong nymphomaniacal tendencies. Much like the other famous Jennifers, she's pretty much retarded, ugly, and devours males in large quantites. When she isn't busy riding her current owner, she is into cannibalism, castration, and purring. An episode that is as memorable as it is twisted. It goes a bit too far, especially in its depiction of a young girl getting devoured: that was in rather poor taste (no pun intended).The one major flaw is that the alleged "surprise ending" can be nostradamusified just one minute into the episode. Hence why the director opted for the cop to make the rather inexplicable, silly decision to drag Jenny out of the remote cottage so that he can try and kill her out in the open. I guess the cop didn't want to make the cottage any more blood-soaked than it already was... Duh. Dumb.

So, it has been several hours since I saw this movie, and I still have the horrific images of Jenifer in my mind. I can't believe what a good job they did on Carrie Ann's face. In the beginning, I thought that they would try to hide her face, or just show peeks from underneath her hair, but all of the full frontal shots of her disfigured face were very disturbing; most haunting, in my opinion, were her teeth, tongue, and dripping saliva. I don't really know how to rate this movie, because I found parts of the plot to be very hard to believe. When Steven Weber found her with the cat, and then with the child from next door, I found it very strange that he wouldn't return her to the psych hospital. However, this is the concept of the movie...that she has some strange power over men, mostly sexually, that makes them ruin their entire lives, and die, for her. I think that she must be some sort of demon/devil creature which is conveniently housed inside of a freakishly attractive body....with a "butter face", to say the least. When the camera focuses on her eyes, I think this backs up the idea that she is not just a psychopath, but a truly evil being. Her big, cold black eyes seem otherworldly. To sum this movie up, I don't know if I will be able to sleep tonight...not so much out of horror from the plot/events in the movie, but from the special effects makeup job done on the Jenifer character. This movie is not for people with weak stomachs!!

I have been a fan of "Masters Of Horror" since I first heard about the series and watched the first one. I have found all the episodes to be truly unique, and seldom have I been let down. In all, I'd have to say that three of the episodes have really risen to the top, and my personal favorite would have to be "Jenifer"... A sincerely disturbing piece of horror, "Jennifer" takes us to places we have not, nor are we likely to ever venture again. Combining absolute grotesque-ness with sheer sexuality. I was shocked to learn that Steven (Wings) Weber had written the screenplay, but it just goes to show you what a talented guy he is. The direction of Dario Argento really brings this tale to life, with visuals you are not likely to see again any time soon. The story itself is a bizarre telling of a carnivorous yet gentle demon-like women, whom has the ability to seduce and destroy. The concept alone is a mind boggling triumph in horror writing, but presented to us in this fashion is an absolute treat in itself. If you like your horror a bit on the dark side, then "Jenifer" is a must see for you.... Truly rises to the top.