No wonder the uncut version of "Tenebr(a)e" had been so hard to find for so many years. It's one of the most extravagantly gory films I've ever seen, with many astonishing bloody sequences (especially that arm amputation...). Argento does know how to deliver some brutal shocks, and he goes over the top in the finale, where he seems to be trying to pack as many grisly murders as he can in about 10 minutes. But as a murder mystery the film doesn't work as well: it's poorly paced, the plot is contrived and the dubbing is so bad that it defeats the characters. At least the music score is terrific and helps push the film along. (**)
