Opera: Argento’s Stage Stab-athon {Retro Review}

Dario Argento is an iconic name most associated with the horror genre from outside the good ole’ USA. Unlike many of the later 20th century masters of horror who burst onto the scene, Argento silently rose to prominence in the late 1960's as a screenwriter for spaghetti westerns (co-writing Once Upon a Time in the West with Sergio Leone). Quiet, unsuspecting or assuming, he was lurking in the shadows for the right moment to strike with his first feature. Beginning in 1970, Argento popularized giallo horror, a call back to pulpy Italian murder mysteries. If you’re not familiar with giallo, imagine if Film-Noir focused on primary colors instead of just back and white  and was unrestricted by the haze code (sex, drugs, and gallons of blood). Argento’s mark is forever imprinted, serving as an inspiration to the golden age of slashers and helping usher in the zombie genre by producing George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead.

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