The Cinematheque

“Inferno is a masterpiece … Perhaps the most underrated horror movie of the 1980s.”

Kim Newman, The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural

Part two of Dario Argento’s witch trilogy, this follow-up to giallo classic Suspiria expands the myth of The Three Mothers and reimagines the parameters of the horror cycle’s visually slick, surrealist universe. Set in New York, where Mater Tenebrarum, the Mother of Darkness, wields her power, Inferno follows a young poet who starts noticing strange smells around her building and uncovers a book suggesting sinister forces at play. Featuring witchcraft in its evillest form, this often-overlooked installment of Argento’s witch saga delivers all the occult thrills of its predecessor—and then some. Whereas dance was the magical conduit in Suspiria, here it is architecture that becomes the physical extension of the witch. Horror lurks in secret passages, walls, and cellars as characters explore the apartment building’s strange allure. Amplified by Keith Emerson’s chilling score, Inferno is the stuff of nightmares.

In Italian and Latin with English subtitles

“Horror cinema at its most baroque … Argento’s best work is far behind him, but this alone justifies his cult reputation.”

Nigel Floyd, Time Out

“Perhaps [Argento’s] most visually striking [and] baroque film, a riotous rococo masterwork.”

Greg Cwik, MUBI Notebook