Door into Darkness

Door into Darkness
ItalianLa porta sul buio[1]
Genre
Created byDario Argento
ComposerGiorgio Gaslini[1]
Country of originItaly
Original languageItalian
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes4
Production
ProducerDario Argento
CinematographyElio Polacchi[1]
EditorsAmedeo Giomini, Alberto Moro[1]
Running time60 minutes
Production companyRAI[2][3]
Original release
NetworkRai 1
ReleaseSeptember 4 (1973-09-04) –
September 25, 1973 (1973-09-25)

Door into Darkness (Italian: La porta sul buio) is an Italian anthology horror television series conceived by Dario Argento. It consists of four one-hour episodes broadcast in 1973.[4]

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten by
1"The Neighbor (Italian: Il vicino di casa)"Luigi CozziLuigi Cozzi

A couple move into an apartment with their newborn. Unbeknownst to the couple, the neighbor upstairs has a terrible secret

2"The Tram (Italian: Il tram)"Dario ArgentoDario Argento

A mystery begins with the discovery of a dead woman's body in the titular location and a detective's thought process on how she got there

3"The Doll (Italian: La bambola)"Mario FogliettiMarcella Elsberger and Mario Foglietti

After a patient of an insane asylum escapes and goes on a killing spree, the police and psychiatrists attempt to work together to apprehend the killer.

4"Eyewitness (Italian: Testimone oculare)"Dario Argento / Luigi Cozzi[note 1]Dario Argento and Luigi Cozzi

Roberta drives home and nearly hits a woman with her car. When checking the woman, she finds a bullet wound in her chest and sees a man approaching her with a gun.

Reception

In a retrospective review, Troy Howarth in his book on gialli stated that "The Neighbor" was a "pleasant diversion" and "The Tram" was the series highlight.[6] Howarth declared "The Doll" as "sluggish and predictable" while "Eyewitness" a "marked improvement" from "The Doll".[6][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Howarth 2015, p. 222.
  2. ^ Heller-Nicholas, Alexandra (1 December 2015). Suspiria. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780993238482 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Gracey, James (21 October 2010). Dario Argento. Oldcastle Books. ISBN 9781842433973 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Cooper 2012, p. 24.
  5. ^ Gracey, James (21 October 2010). Dario Argento. ISBN 9781842433973.
  6. ^ a b Howarth 2015, p. 223.
  7. ^ Howarth 2015, p. 224.

Sources

  • Cooper, L. Andrew (2012). Dario Argento. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0252094385.
  • Howarth, Troy (2015). So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films. Midnight Marquee Press, Inc. ISBN 978-1936168507.
  1. ^ The director of credit for this episode is Roberto Pariante, who had worked as an assistant director on Argento's early feature films. Argento was unhappy with Pariante's work on the episode, however, and took over directing duties after four days, completing the remainder of the shoot himself. He then invited Luigi Cozzi to reshoot Pariante's material.[5]