124. Dario Argento: Part 1 – The 1970s: Razor Blades, Red Rooms & Red Herrings.

The Italian Horror journey continues as Steven and Sean begin a brand-new five-part retrospective on the work of Dario Argento, charting his theatrical filmography decade by decade. With new episodes arriving fortnightly, we begin where it all started: the 1970s, the decade where Argento emerged with black-gloved killers, garish rooms, impossible camera movements, and enough stylised murder to permanently alter horror cinema.

For this first chapter we focus exclusively on Argento's theatrical horror and thriller output, leaving The Five Days and his television work on the sidelines, as we revisit The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Cat O'Nine Tails, Four Flies on Grey Velvet, Deep Red, and Suspiria.

Ever the movie geeks they are, Steven and Sean come armed with plenty of background knowledge on both the films and Argento himself. Still, we attempt to approach these rewatches with fresh eyes and reassess what still works, what surprises us, and what decades of horror fandom may have built up in our minds.

There’s predictable admiration for Argento’s latter 70s masterpieces, with Deep Red and Suspiria receiving the sort of glowing praise they routinely inspire (expect the usual enthusiastic gushing over Suspiria). Elsewhere, battle lines are drawn over the Animals trilogy, with Steven proudly flying the flag for Cat O'Nine Tails, while Sean showers Four Flies on Grey Velvet with perhaps more affection than anyone reasonably should.

join us as we step into the first decade of one of horror cinema’s most influential and distinctive voices.