User Reviews

I've noticed that a lot of people are taking Opera to task for the way Betty reacts to the murders. I think they are basing these complaints on how they imagine a "normal" person would react. The thing is...Betty is not a "normal" person, due to traumatic events in her childhood. She has problems way way before the movie ever even starts...and by the end of Opera...in my opinion...she has become totally unhinged.

---------------------SPOILERS--------------------------------------- You have to keep in mind that when she was a very small child she witnessed her mother's lover commit at least one brutal murder while her sadomasochist mother was getting off watching it.

She was raised by a woman who achieves sexual release tied up watching girls get hacked, slashed, and strangled to death. That does not make for a healthy home life. I think it's pretty easy to conclude that her mother would have employed all sorts of emotional manipulation and negative reinforcement to ensure that her daughter never snitched on her. It is also likely that at her impressionable age, Betty might have been deeply confused by what she saw. Is this just something that adults do, etc.

Betty obviously looks up to her mother...I mean...she's become an opera singer just like her. If mommy likes it it can't be bad, can it...mommy can't be bad, can she? She couldn't tell the police on her mommy or this mysterious hooded fellow she associates with mommy.

Betty has a lot of deep-seated emotional issues. Her mind has for years been trying to block out the memory of what she saw her mother doing...but it keeps coming to the surface, manifesting itself in the form of horrible nightmares, skull-throbbing migraines, a dependence on relaxation techniques, and sexual frigidity She associates brutal violence/bloody death with sex on a subconscious level. There's an inner struggle between the part of Betty that has confused murder/sex and the part of her which believes these things to be wrong.

After she's seen her boyfriend murdered by the hooded man...she calls the police, yet is unwilling to give her name. The part of her that thinks murder is wrong forces her to make the call, but the part that is ambivalent won't allow her to admit personal involvement. The ambivalent part of her takes control before she can go all the way. So she walks away from the phone in the rain...and when she's picked up by the director she's acting surprisingly calm, not as upset as you would think a "normal" person would be...because the part of her that's been blocking stuff since she was a child is trying its damnedest to block the horror of what she's just witnessed.

The state of affairs in her life all contribute to an impasse within Betty's psyche. Her singing career is starting to bear fruit...she's going to be a great opera singer like her mother was. But is she going to become like her mother in all ways? In the darker ways? Or will she be able to make her own path? Add this to the re-emergence of the hooded man murdering everyone around her.

It's not until the hooded man kills Daria Nicolodi's character that Betty really takes an active role in defeating the killer. Here's someone who loves Betty, who's supported her wholeheartedly in her emerging career, who is in fact a maternal figure in Betty's life now since mommy's dead. Imagine how terrible it would be to lose your real mother and then to see the woman who is the closest thing you have to a mother get shot through the eyeball.

I could go on...but I won't. The main gist of what I'm saying is that the character of Betty is a lot more complex than most of the reviewers on here have been willing to acknowledge.

Opera is one of Argento's best...and not just for the visuals alone (although they are truly magnificent) and not just for the inventive murders (although they are). There is a depth here...and attention needs to be paid.

When the diva of a daring production of Verdi's Macbeth directed by Marco (Ian Charleson) has an accident, the young opera singer Betty (Cristina Marsillach) successfully replaces her. Soon a psychopath obsessed by Betty kills her boyfriend, the production assistant Stefano (William McNamara); her costumer designer Giulia (Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni); and her agent Mira (Daria Nicolodi). Inspector Alan Santini (Urbano Barberini), who is her fan, gives protection to Betty, but the murderer always gets close to her. Who might be the killer?

"Opera" is a giallo version of The Phantom of the Opera by Dario Argento. The story has many flaws, but technically the film is wonderful. The camera work is fantastic, exploring unusual angles and movements. The cinematography is outstanding using beautiful bright colors. The music score is magnificent. And the special effects with lots of gore are top- notch, with usual murders. The cast has good performances and the film never disappoints. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Terror na Ópera" ("Terror in the Opera")

Dario Argento's movie about a young opera star that gets stalked by an obsessive fan, who might have a link to her past and more specifically to her mother.

What's great about Opera is its visual effects, its passion for the craft of making movies. The camera angles are inventive, as is the way the camera moves. The gory special effects are ahead of their time and the whole film has this feel of oppression to it. Like no one can be trusted and that there are ghosts hiding within the walls.

Not to say the story is terrible. It's just that it's rather blatantly ripping off Phantom of the Opera. One might argue it's paying an homage to a giant of the genre, but it still leaves the film lacking in originality.

But still, this is supposed to be an exploitative horror film and in that regard it delivers beautifully. The acting is on the right side of corny, the special effects and the gore are beautifully realized and the film's mood is just about perfectly morbid. I especially like the theater as a setting, with ravens and all.

Is it the best Dario Argento film there is? Nah, probably not, but it is a great find for all fans of old-time horror films.

Good Gialli with imaginatively staged murders by the master of horror . The setting is a production of Macbeth at La Scala Opera House .A bizarre staging of Verdi's Macbeth is plagued by a deranged and depraved fan bent on killing the people , but the show must go on . When the former star of a production is run over by a car , a young singer called Betty (Cristina Marsillach) is hired by the entrepreneur and she gets her big chance . Then , the young opera singer becomes the target of a psycho . Betty chooses not to go to the police and instead confides in Marco (Ian Charleson) , the director of Macbeth, about the incidents . Shortly after , the weird psycopath committing ominous killings in Argento's unmistakable style . Later on , Inspector Alan Santini (Urbano Barberini) arrives at the opera house to investigate the strange happenings .A star is born tonight... will she live to see tomorrow? The last note is a real killer.

Eerie and ghastly Dario Argento full of obsession , scary murders , bloodcurling madness and shocking death scenes . It is a nice Giallo plenty of grisly killings , suspense and bizarre intrigue . Dario Argento's great success is compelling directed with startling visual content . This frightening movie is plenty of thrills, chills, body-count and strange color with phenomenal results . This is a classic slasher where the intrigue,tension, suspense appear threatening and lurking in every room, corridors , Opera house , and luxurious interior and exterior. Italian horror-meister Argento's always fluid camera achieves spectacular frames , but the ludricous , lurid screenplay make this one for Argento buffs and connoisseuurs only . As always , though , the most terrifying things are the astonishing murders , being very well staged . Argento goes straight for the eyes and throat in this stylishly sick terror movie . All the trademarks are here : minimal summary , stunning set pieces , baroque camera movements , striking cinematography and mysoginist violence . The movie belongs to Italian Giallo genre that was invented by Mario Bava (Black Sabbath) along with Riccardo Freda (Secret of Dr. Hitchcock) , they are the fundamental creators . These Giallo movies are characterized by overblown use of color with shining red blood, usual zooms, and utilization of images-shock . Later appears the maestro Dario Argento with his typically stylish Giallos, he is another essential creator of classic Latin terror films . Argento's acceptable direction is well crafted, and as always more inclined toward violence and lots of killings . This genuinely mysterious story is well made and is one of the best ¨Giallo¨ with oneiric, effective aesthetic . And the operatic scenes employ the voice of Maria Callas . Being available in an edited R rated version and the film had an alternate ending at some points . Breathtaking scenes starred by crows , about 140 crows were used, but only 60 sum were ever retrieved ; it would take hours for everyone to re-capture the crows after they were released in the opera house for filming . The others apparently escaped from the opera house during filming . And surprising ending , in fact , the final of the movie is inspired by the ending of Thomas Harris's book "Red Dragon". So-so acting by Cristina Marsillach as a young opperata of Verdi's Macbeth is stalked by an associated with her to claim her for himself . He is accompanied by a fine support cast such as Ian Charleson in his last theatrical film , as he died of AIDS , Urbano Barberini , Barbara Cupisti , William McNamara , Antonella Vitale and Daria Nicolidi , director's wife , though she had ended her long-time relationship with Dario Argento two years earlier. And Vanessa Redgrave was attached to appear as Mara Czekova, but dropped out shortly before production began , then this character was then reduced to a minor one. And Dario Argento as Narrator and filmmaker Michele Soavi as Inspector Daniele Soave .

It displays a luxurious and evocative photography by Ronnie Taylor . As well as an eerie and chilling musical score from Brian Eno , Roger Eno , Claudio Simonetti and Bill Wyman . The picture was originally directed by the Visconti of violence : Dario Argento ,one of those film-makers who set off simple for frightening us to death . His terror pieces are competently staged with eye-opening flair-play and surprising images .His period of biggest hits were the 70s when he directed the animals trilogy: ¨Four flies over gray velvet¨, ¨The cat of nine tails¨, ¨Bird with the crystal plumage¨, after he directed other great successes movies as ¨Suspiria¨, ¨Inferno¨, ¨Tenebre¨ and of course ¨Deep red¨. Rating : 6/10 decent terror movie . See it , if you must , in the big screen because its swirling camerawork and imaginative nastiness will be partially loss in video or TV. This bloody fun plenty of graphic gore and weirdness may not be for all tastes but to be liked for Argento aficionados especially.º

This is not Argento's best film by far, but if you are a fan of the director, or just a fan of the horror genre in general, this movie is worth a watch. Argento is always original, and Opera is no exception. His death scenes are top notch. Nothing of his that you watch is the same as anything else out there. On top of this, Opera is visually stunning, with beautiful backdrops drenched in lots of color; this is an Argento staple. Subjective shots are constant, which is also an Argento staple, but in Opera it is a little different. With Argento, subjective shots usually show the world through the eyes of the killer and make the audience relate to him or her. In Opera the audience also sees through the eyes of the victim, who is forced to watch everything unfold around her. The problems with this film are the acting and the script. Starting with the former, Argento's young leading lady gave him problems throughout the shoot. She did not take direction well due to her inexperience; Argento claims this is the first time it ever happened to him. With the script, there are holes throughout the story, and everything gets wrapped up a little too neatly as the killer explains why it all happened. The ending is also dreadful. The company releasing the film in America asked Argento to cut the final scene, but the director refused.

Although many have mixed feelings about this latter day giallo thriller from Argento, it still stands as another lavish testament to the cinematic brilliance that is Argento.

A young opera singer has her first break out performance and suddenly finds herself the subject of obsession for a crazed maniac.

In a way, Opera is like a modern-day giallo take on Phantom of the Opera blended with all the glorious style and color that one would expect Dario Argento to deliver. Argento makes terrific use of inventive camera techniques, reoccurring symbols (like those ravens!), Gothic atmosphere, and truly gruesome murder sequences. One scene especially (which involves a peep hole and a gun) will knock viewers right out of their seats! Story-wise the film also manages to be gripping with some strong suspense and given great atmosphere by Claudio Simonetti's gorgeous music score.

The cast does some satisfying performances. Cristina Marsillach is good as our leading lady. The late Ian Charleson does a nice turn as the director, as does Urbano Barberini as an investigator, Daria Nicolodi as Marsillach's agent, and William McNamara as Marsillach's ill-fated lover.

Opera is terrific latter day Argento, and perhaps the last of his great works. It's sure to please his fans and even create some new ones.

**** out of ****

As a classical singing student who also happens to be fond of horror, Opera had a very obvious appeal to me. That the movie centers its plot around a young singer and her debut at a very well shot opera house also helped. However there are quite a few things that hardly strike me as coherent or even well done. The atmosphere of life dedicated to art was approached in a too superficial way that really does not do justice to the complexity and passion that revolve around such a choice.

Of course, that is simply my opinion on the matter, there are yet a few other elements that seem to drag the movie down that do not concern anyone's experience with the world of Opera. First of all, as is already well known about Argento, the plot is inconsistent, to say the least. The main premise is about a psycho killer hell bent on killing people around the heroine. Of course, they could be quite dull just by itself, was it not the ingenuity with which these killings are performed.

***Spoiler***

The classic scene in which Betty is forced to keep her eyes open or have then ripped by a set of sharp needles attached to her lids; the mouth stabbing episode, the eye being shot through the peep-hole are all images that have engrossed the catalog of horror/thriller display tactics, having become true objects of a cult.

***End Spoiler***

The soundtrack is also quite effective although I would have used a lot more classical references, but I admit I am partial on this matter. Acting is decent although the terrible lip sync almost ruins it. As for the killer his motivation is not all that easy to decipher and his identity nothing too hard to grasp, if one tries.

I suppose the best way to enjoy this movie, however, is to simply take it as a pure visual feast and not to ponder too much about such matters as plausibility.

Still, in no way can I forgive the terrible atrocious ending, perhaps one of the more contrived cinematographic epilogues ever to strike us blind with its sheer inanity.

***Spoiler***

After we all believed that the killer is dead, action suddenly hops all the way to Switzerland, where we get to see Betty acting suspiciously like the nun from the sound of music. She even runs about the green valleys acting all happy and carefree. Obviously, all is not as well as it seems: turns out the killer is alive and...has eluded the authorities into believing he was dead by casting a theatre dummy into a fire. That is already far fetched, that he would manage to catch up with Betty and kill her manager almost effortlessly is highly unbelievable.

But the worst scene is when Betty confronts the killer, and manages to gain his trust until the police save the day. When asked how she knew the police was nearby she claims she had seen two German Shepard dogs running in a pair, which could only mean the forces of the law would soon follow. How, you ask? I do not know, but apparently this non sequitor satisfied the detective.

And then, to top it all, Betty lies down in the grass and has some sort of random soliloquy about how great life is now, as she pets a lizard and tells it to be "free my pretty one".

Atrocious, horrible, namelessly inconsiderate to one's intellect.

***End Spoiler***

All and all, this is quite an uneven movie, it has its interesting moments but it's far from being great.

I've enjoyed a lot Italian director Dario Argento's early films mainly "The Bird with the Cristal Plumage" and "Deep Red" and a step below "The Cat with Nine Tails" and "Four Flies on Grey Velvet". No doubt the man showed real talent for horror thrillers in those ones with his own scripts (aided by his then wife actress Daria Nicolodi) all based on more realistic plots than those of his later works such as "Suspiria" or "Phenomena" that included supernatural assets like witches or persons communicating with insects. In his later works Argento seems to have lost his "touch" for those creative and original plots (though not his masterful handling of cameras); he focuses instead in most truculent and blood splashing issues as a way to capture the viewers attention ("Tenebbre" is also an example).

"Opera" delivers the director's unmatched shooting style, a correct atmosphere and some good moments (Cristina Marsillac tied up and gagged with pins in her eyes to force her to watch the brutal murders by a sadistic unknown killer, being an example), but the story is weak and lacks the imagination and surprise of Argento's early products. In fact all suspects are murdered one by one until just one of them stays alive and so you can't miss who he/she is.

The acting in "Opera" is average or below, but Argento never cared much about it; the performances were always a secondary issue for him always confident in his most skillful and truly original camera handling.

If you are an Argento fan you probably will not be very disappointed with "Opera" but the director is not as his best here.

Ask yourself: if you were the star opera singer for a production of Macbeth in the West End, how would you handle the following situation: On opening night, a stagehand is murdered. The production continues. After the first performance, you find your bedroom invaded by a masked madman, certainly the same killer who offed the stagehand, and he ties you up, tapes your mouth closed, and attaches needles to your eyelids so you cannot close them without causing permanent blindness.

"This is so you can't look away," the killer explains, before he stabs your boyfriend through the jaw, the knife going right through into his mouth, visible from the outside.

You flee the scene, go to a payphone and make the most perfunctory of anonymous calls to the police about a "murder", but don't mention anything at all about the killer's elaborate treatment of you.

The show goes on.

Maybe the next night, or the night after that, you are with a costume designer, and basically the same thing happens. This time you are imprisoned in a glass case and the eye-needle thing has been done again. You watch the murder, get freed, and run away, not even bothering to phone the police this time. In fact, when you encounter an officer in the lobby of a hotel, you seem annoyed at his intrusion in asking you if you are alright, and of course you can't be bothered explaining any of the extraordinary nightmare you have just witnessed, and experienced, for the second time in so many days.

I've heard of movies with Idiot Plots. You know, the ones where the movie would be over in a second if everyone in it wasn't an idiot. I've often heard people say that the heroines of slasher movies are always idiots. The behaviour of the heroine of "Terror at the Opera" can't even be put down to idiocy. It is so unbelievable, and so irritating, that you want to stop watching before it goes into even more imbecilic dimensions.

This is more a slasher than a giallo. There is some vague nonsense about the heroine's past with the killer that isn't explored in any meaningful way. It might, possibly explain her total blase attitude to being tied up, having needles attached to her eyelids and being made to watch people brutally murdered. But then again, it might also... not. Kind of hard to explain her lack of reaction to such a thing, but I digress.

Of course the nonsense from her past which is barely hinted at comes up again at the end, though still making no more sense, and I was just so tired of the movie by that point. I just wanted it to end, which thankfully, it did.

Argento is famously candid about the enjoyment he gets from filming beautiful women dying horribly. It would be hypocritical of any horror fan to condemn him for this. I have to say, though, that "Opera" was the first one of his movies that made me wonder if all he got into the business of filmmaking for was to shoot women getting killed. There's just not much else holding this one together.

In fact, I am quite certain that Argento went into this project with one idea only: the needles taped to the eyelids thing. And this isn't even that good of an idea! It makes the idiot who made those stupid Human Centipede movies seem like a wellspring of creativity by comparison.

Understudy, Betty (Cristina Marsillach) gets her big break, getting to star in a modern stage production of Verdi's Macbeth, after the volatile, original singer gets hit by a car. Betty is nervous, but nails the part. Of course, OPERA is a Dario Argento film, so Betty has more than performance jitters to worry about! Soon, a black-gloved killer begins haunting her and the opera house, causing bodies to pile up. Is the opera suffering from the alleged "Macbeth curse"?

In this wild, gory, inventive riff on PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, Argento takes us along with the psychopath, stalking, creeping, and running through hallways. Down staircases and corridors, we see what the madman sees. Once again, the director captures nightmare on film, turning a giallo into a fascinating viewing experience. It's all about eyes and witnessing in this one! That, and never pissing off any ravens!...

This movie was atmospheric from the beginning. It had very strong suspense scenes that made it to a good horror movie experience. There are several times when I worried for the protagonist victims. That's when I thought: "No, please! Stand it! Don't close your eyes!" There are pretty sadistic torturing scenes in it. You better don't watch it, if you're sensible about that. There is blood and gore, but the atmosphere makes the horror taking an effect on the audience. It's an 80s horror movie gem, which I recommend to watch for horror movie fans! All sensible persons shouldn't watch that.

Not one of Argento's best, but still worth viewing for fans of the genre. Operas greatest assets are the excellent production values and some jaw-dropping kills, as well as Dario's usual craftsmanship behind the camera. However the film is diminished by bland characters and a horribly dated 80's hard rock soundtrack that plays during many of the films key horror scenes, all but ruining the suspense. Opera also suffers from a terrible end segment that feels more than a little tacked on, which is a shame because the intense climax was one of the films standout moments. As I mentioned before fans of the genre will probably be pleased, just don't go in suspecting Susparia 2.

Marsillach is suddenly thrust into the limelight as the latest top opera star, performing a bizarre version of Macbeth. She is pursued by someone who is killing all those close to her.

Whilst Argento uses a simple, perhaps too simple, plot - little more than a series of murders, the style with which he does this is the attraction. Beautifully filmed with a great use of music, camera work, sets and colour which defines the piece. Certainly very over the top gore, some lousy acting / dubbing and a strange out of kilter ending in Austria aside, this ultimately runs rings around your average slasher movie.

Usually I float over titles I see on this website and let it be as karma to the film, or whatever, but this one seems to have a bad rep that I intend on redeeming. This film is worth me putting my foot in the door and saying something, I can't physically change your mind, but I can try and push the bad reviewers out of sight (by finding out where they live, kidnapping them with 3 rolls of duct tape per body, some heavy duty garden rope, and dropping them off the shortest peak of Mt Everest.) Some reviews say it's just a film that panders to gore hounds, where others say the story makes not a blip of sense. I recently watched another Italian horror director's (Lucio Fulci)film "House By The Cemetery", and I realised something about the whole genre of Italian Horror, whether it be very grounded Giallo types, or the supernaturally dream like horrors that feel like a hallucination. They're films that go for a "definite feeling", how they get there at the end, however unorthodox or off the wall they are, they achieve dread through little quirks and symbols, artistic motifs, camera shots, music that is genuinely saddening and horrifying. But whatever criticisms you might have about the acting, the strange, unrealistic script, the gore... you get "there". It creeps up your skin. It goes for a densely packed experience, filled with all kinds of dreams, fashion, themes and nightmares. On a documentary about Italian Horror films, it said something very important about the cultural significance of them and it is something that Fulci said: "Violence is an Italian art". There's something about their overbearing, bloody, Roman past, and their highly emotional society, and how even today it is so constricted by religion and class orders, and how this is represented in their horror output as a kind of rebellion. Sure there is worthy Italian comedy, but it's the horror that is done artistically and poignantly, and always in anything gruesome, there is a sense of humour anyway. It seems what they want us to believe is that it comes naturally to them and we should understand that their understanding serves a purpose in the universe.

With "Opera", the setting is that familiar scene of paparazzi, false love, real pain, celebrities, the fans, that cold world where talent, and love for what you do, takes you. Least of all, it's about Guiseppe Verdi's opera- "Macbeth". Actors at odds with their fans, A dark celebration of youth, life imitating art, it could be interpreted many ways, but ultimately I think what's clearest about it is its disdain for celebrity worshiping culture. It's fantastically cynical and has a seething hatred running through it. It's shot like a dream, which is not uncommon for Argento films, but a dream which turns sour for the unsuspecting protagonist who is unsure about the power of her singing talent, but coerced into taking the role of Lady Macbeth. The art direction in this is grey and futuristic looking, everything is the colour of granite, splashed with blue. Every element of the movie is densely layered, the cinematography, the music, the pacing is so tightly packed it's like watching someone get stuck in a black hole where no man has gone before. And that's my last point about this movie and why you should see it... it's a completely original film, an artistic accomplishment in its own right. It's a rebellious statement, it's brutal, it's seductive, it's confidently done, I just hope you read this review before the others and at least give it a chance. Saying it's rebellious has made me realise something: modern horror films are done for the enjoyment of watching them, it's like the makers enjoy it and that carries on, whereas the old films were made by men and women who were fighting in their own small ways, an oppressive society, who enjoyed fear above all else because the horror makes you think, they used their dream like horror as an intellectual and educational tool. This film is still a part of that "Old School". I don't know what to say, maybe my love for this movie is as irrational as the whole Italian horror canon, as the dream-like way in which they shot the films, but as far as going on pure feeling goes, my gut tells me to follow this one, and you should too. Get a creep under your skin, get a view of the world you've not seen, watch this!!

If you're OK with the outlandish work of Italy's premier horror director—able to accept his outrageous story lines and flamboyant style—then you should have a great time with Opera. If you don't, then you won't.

Cristina Marsillach plays Betty, a beautiful young opera understudy who is given a shot at fame (in an avant-garde production of Macbeth) when the star of the show is hit by a car. As any thesp who has 'trod the boards' will know, Macbeth is a production that carries a curse—and Betty soon discovers that the show in which she is now the star is no exception: a killer is systematically offing the staff at the theatre—and poor Betty is forced to watch by the sadistic murderer (who tapes needles under her eyes to prevent her from closing them!).

With the help of a little girl who crawls through her air-conditioning ducts, her director and agent, and a few ravens who have seen the murderer's face (!!!), Betty discovers the killer's identity, and the truth about her mysterious past.

Let's face it... Opera is one crazy film, with its preposterous plot-turns, convoluted death scenes, and an ending that beggars belief. And whilst director Dario Argento has never been one for, shall we say, conventional story lines, this particular giallo is so daft, and features so many of his trademark stylish touches (all ramped up to the max), that it's almost as if, with each successive film, he is seeing what he can get away with (at times almost parodying his earlier work).

This is exactly why I find the film such fun!!!

Argento's camera movements are absolutely incredible: gliding, creeping and, in one amazing scene, even swooping around the opera house above the audience; the power of Verdi's music is combined perfectly with the synth majesty of Claudio Simonetti's score, providing a suitably grandiose accompaniment to the sumptuous visuals; and several outstanding set-pieces (featuring Sergio Stivaletti's nauseating gore FX) go to prove that no-one does death better than Argento (check out one character's stunning demise, in which a bullet passes through a spy-hole in a door in slow motion, and straight into their eye!).

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

"Opera" has a very nice and different start and isn't your typical giallo. It's faster and filled with more tension. Sadly, the whole premise of the murders (after the first one) is kind of dumb and detracts from the movie's effort to be scary. It improves a bit after the third murder, when we get a very thrilling set of scenes. Unfortunately, the movie never reaches brilliance as some performances even become cheesy and we are lacking a sympathy for the main character who sometimes acts/seems dumber than she really is. Music is nice. And the movie itself is shot beautifully. But it's main fault is the interaction with the killer. It would have been a lot better movie if the killer remained a completely mysterious figure. Still, it's a decent fun for a horror movie fan and maybe for somebody looking for a nice thriller. 7/10! Not perfect, but good enough for some fun.

I like the authenticity that characterises the "giallo" genre.

"Opera" is a very important film of the genre, emblematic, enterprising and super imaginative. Dario Argento did a great job as a director.

Pros:

* This film contains powerful plot. I like the cliché that many horror films contain opera or generally classical music. Here, opera is not only the main theme of the film, but also the title.

* Very bloody, gory and imaginative deaths scenes, that I found myself to look away. Also, the one killing was not far from the next one. We almost had nonstop the killing spree of the assailant. The effects and blood were very realistic. More realistic than many of the todays ones.

* Beautiful photography that suits in the story of the genre and of course Dario Argento. He didn't disappointed me. It felt so rich. Many ravens, many actors and extras, huge dark opera house, neoclassical flats, beautiful Swiss valley.

* The idea of the needles under the eyes is so scary and prototypical.

* Some hiding and chasing scenes were really creepy and thrilling. I enjoyed them so much.

Cons:

* I hate the dubbing. Just get some Italian actors to do their job. To speak their own language. You don't have to make it in English, as you already have a very beautiful and influential language. You wouldn't have to hire voice actors too. You would save money too.

* Because of the first flaw, I found the acting really poor and this is very sad, because this film has strong positive elements. Almost every actor wasn't good actor. I don't know if I have to blame the dubbing. I'm not sure at all. But as a result, I found the acting poor.

* Tha "marriage" between classical operatic music and metal (in killing and thrilling scenes) was kind of ruining the agony. This film could be easily be way too scarier because of some specific scenes, but the metal music made the film less scary and weird. Certainly something that I wasn't seeking for.

* The killer was kind of predictable.

Overall, we talk about a very nice representation of the giallo genre, a great work of Argento, that needs more recognition because of the aforementioned reasons, with some not-so-big issues.

It's a little different giallo than its predecessors, since the colours were not so bright (as it is usual), but darker, more gothic and spookier. This is really nice antithesis.

Recommended!!