★ 6 / 10
Made towards the end of giallo maestro Dario
Wayne K
Made towards the end of giallo maestro Dario Argento’s golden age, Opera contain the classic hallmarks of the genre, lots of stylish camerawork, a vivid colour…
Made towards the end of giallo maestro Dario Argento’s golden age, Opera contain the classic hallmarks of the genre, lots of stylish camerawork, a vivid colour palette and a real flair for stylish violence. I can comfortably say it’s a film I enjoyed more for its construction than its content. The film doesn’t have many interesting characters, features a villain with a weak motivation and a lead who, despite being pursued by a sadistic killer, appears to do everything she can to keep herself in harms way. The ending is especially lacklustre, trying to pull of a dramatic twist but doing it with so little explanation or fanfare that it falls completely flat, especially when its rendered pointless only minutes after it happens. I enjoyed the dynamic camerawork which renders the camera a character in itself, both a victim and perpetrator. The mix of classic music and heavy metal is jarring at first but makes more sense as the film goes on, and it’s a neat way to introduce the possibility that the killer could be near. It's a film I’m glad I got to see, but its not one I’ll be rushing back to. As impressive as it’s presentation may be, its storyline left me cold.
★ 10 / 10
A Nightmarish Symphony of Beauty and Terror Dario
Jesse D
A Nightmarish Symphony of Beauty and Terror Dario Argento’s Opera is a fever dream of style, elegance, and brutality, a film that turns the grandiosity of the…
A Nightmarish Symphony of Beauty and Terror
Dario Argento’s Opera is a fever dream of style, elegance, and brutality, a film that turns the grandiosity of the opera house into a blood-soaked spectacle of terror. From its sweeping set pieces to its inventive, almost hypnotic camerawork, Opera is one of the most visually stunning giallo films ever made, a true masterwork of horror aesthetics.
The opera house itself is a gothic marvel, its towering balconies and cavernous stage draped in deep reds and golds, a place of both artistic grandeur and impending doom. The way Argento moves through this space—gliding, swooping, and tracking through its corridors and rafters—gives the film an almost dreamlike quality, as if the audience is caught in an endless nightmare of beauty and violence. And then there are the birds. The infamous bird’s-eye shots, taken from the perspective of the crows, are breathtakingly eerie, soaring over the audience like death itself watching from above.
At the center of it all is Cristina Marsillach, whose delicate features and luminous presence make her the perfect Argento heroine—both fragile and strong, haunted yet defiant. Argento frames her like a tragic opera star, often bathed in ghostly blue lighting or caught in suffocating close-ups, her wide eyes reflecting the sheer horror unfolding around her. And then there’s the peephole kill—one of the most unforgettable shots in horror history. A bullet fired through the door meets its target in grotesque slow motion, an image so precisely crafted that it feels almost like a perverse painting, a moment of carnage frozen in time.
But Opera isn’t just about beauty—it’s about contrast. Argento’s brilliant decision to juxtapose classical opera music with jarring, pulsating heavy metal during the murder sequences adds an extra layer of chaos and unease. The elegance of Verdi and Puccini is shattered by the raw energy of electric guitars, mirroring the way art and violence collide in the film’s world.
The lighting and atmosphere in Opera are also pure Argento magic. Deep blues, rich reds, and bursts of golden light give the film an otherworldly quality, almost like a haunted painting come to life. Shadows stretch impossibly long, reflections distort reality, and even the stillness feels charged with menace. It’s a film where every frame is meticulously composed, every movement designed to unsettle.
In the end, Opera is more than just a giallo—it’s a visual symphony of terror, a film that transforms a place of artistic beauty into a grand stage for nightmares. Few horror films feel as meticulously designed, as lush and eerie, as hauntingly stylish. Argento’s vision is in full force here, and the result is a film that lingers like a ghostly aria long after the final curtain falls.
★ 10 / 10
Success in 1.5 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! F...
Stephen C
Success in 1.5 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Filmed on location all over Italy and dubbed and subtitled in the United States of…
Success in 1.5 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Filmed on location all over Italy and dubbed and subtitled in the United States of America!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
90%
TOMATOMETER
· 21 reviews
79%
AUDIENCE
· 5K ratings
6.9/10
22.1K
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It's in english and says it is.. too bad for those whining