Mother of Tears

Horrorphile

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Mother of Tears (La Terza Madre)

October 9th 2008 00:47

I can quite comfortably say the most anticipated horror movie amongst True Believin’ horrorphiles for more than twenty-five years; the third part to Dario Argento’s witchcraft trilogy known as The Three Mothers: La Terza Madre, Mater Lachrymarum … Mother of Tears.

Dario Argento had a huge cross to bear; the weight of anticipation, the burden of expectation, the challenge of succession. The first part to the trilogy, Suspiria (1977), has come to be regarded by horrorphiles as one of the scariest, most intensely garish horror experiences ever made (mind you, it must be said that for every Argento fan there are those that simply don’t get it; they don’t like his visual stylistics, they can’t stand his disregard for logic, and they loathe his penchant for graphic violence – which is often unconvincing).

Asia Argento as Sarah

The second part to the witches’ trilogy, Inferno (1980), was slightly less the nightmare and more the bad dream; like Suspiria it relied on deep, rich primary-coloured cinematography and was cloaked in an atmosphere so heavy it could drag you to hell. There was enough horror material in both these rough Italian gems to feed hungry Euro-horror fans for at least a couple of decades.

Morian Atias as Mater Lachrymarum

And so finally in 2006 Dario Argento announces he is beginning production on La Terza Madre (The Third Mother), with its working title of Exhumed. But Argento makes a couple of dubious decisions which irks a large proportion of his diehard fans; firstly he casts his daughter Asia in the lead role. This is not the first time he’s used (and abused) his daughter. He first subjected her to much suffering in his widely-(and-rightly-so)-panned Trauma (1993) and then again, even more so, in the disappointing The Stendhal Syndrome (1996).

The problem is Asia is an actor who isn’t strong enough to hold her own unless she has a top-notch actor’s director, something Dario is not. Truth be told, I’ve never held that against Dario. His command of visual narrative, his attention to mood and design is so strong and unique, I waiver the shortcomings his movies have in the acting departments. But Mother of Tears would’ve been a more interesting movie if Dario had cast a charismatic, but unknown actor. Asia performs better in her native tongue (in fact seeing as the story takes place in Rome, most of the movie should've been in Italian, but that's a commercial trapping in itself).

Mother Of Tears Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni

Sarah's colleague Giselle (Coralina Cataldi-Tasso) is murdered most foul by demons

The second decision, and the more problematic one, is Argento employs the screenwriting services of two young Americans: Jace Anderson and Adam Gierasch. This no doubt had something to do with the movie’s joint financing with America. But it was a mistake. Anderson and Gierasch have written some truly dodgy-lookingl B-movies such as Rats, Crocodile 2: Death Swamp, Spiders and Air Panic. I haven’t seen any of these but I wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole. More recently the couple has screen-written a remake of Toolbox Murders (2003) and are currently at work on a remake of Night of the Demons.

Jun Ichikawa as a tourist witch

So the basic plot for Mother of Tears (2007) can be described as “A young American art student, Sarah (Asia Argento) unwittingly opens an ancient urn that unleashes the demonic power of the world’s most powerful witch. As a scourge of suicides plague the city and witches from all over the world converge on Rome to pay homage, Sarah must use all her own psychic powers to stop the Mater Lachrymarum (Mother of Tears) before her evil conquers the world.”

Udo Kier as Padre Johannes

I won’t go into any more plot detail; I’d prefer to get to the nitty-gritty. Mother of Tears is a real disappointment, and it is such a shame. I had high expectations, but I also feared greatly. I had hoped Argento would rise to the occasion and deliver a truly gob-smacking finale to his trilogy, pull out all the stops and make a wild expressionist nightmare (in keeping with the previous movies). But I feared he would succumb to the pressure of having to make a commercially-viable movie, I feared he would compromise his vision. And he has.

The Mother of Tears in regal diabolic mode

Mother of Tears possesses virtually none of the dense, mysterious and expressionist atmosphere that makes Suspiria and Inferno so memorable and unique. The very ordinary cinematography makes the film look more like a TV-movie than something cinematic (although frustratingly some scenes were too dimly lit). The visual bravura has been replaced by curious restraint. Gone are any of the strange and disturbing visual motifs, apart from a few re-occuring shots of the new wave of witches standing staring and freaking out Sarah. The movie is depressingly conventional.

Mother of Tears Valeria Cavalli and Morian Atias

Marta (Valeria Cavalli) has her tears licked by Mater Lachrymarum

It is very gory however, with several set-pieces of slendidly extreme and inventive ultra-violence (courtesy of legendary Sergio Stivaletti), but the problem is they aren’t as memorable and as affecting as they should be because the rest of the film is so tedious. If the suspense, tension, mood and tone were anywhere near as powerful as they are in Suspiria and Inferno, then Mother of Tears could’ve been a remarkable (and career-saving) movie. I have to keep comparing Mother of Tears to the first two movies, because they are part of a trilogy, and the first two parts are very similar in look and feel. Sure, there’s been a twenty-seven year wait for the final installment, but that’s no excuse for such an extreme and unjustified departure in style.

Witches cure for back problems

And then there’s the use of less-than-impressive CGI effects, especially in the demise of Mater Lachrymarum. It’s a novel way of offing the demon-witch, but it looks damn cheap and nasty. Morian Atias, a stunning Israeli-born model-journalist-actor, looked like inspired casting when I first saw stills of her, but for all dramatic purposes she can’t act her way out of the cloak she hides under. She’s all curled scarlet lips, funny-looking bosom and a (fake?) Brazilian, and an incongruous Anglicized-accent. There was no real sense of juxtaposed mesmerizing-malevolent presence.

Mater and her minions

Argento should’ve cast a woman with large natural breasts, a deep throaty voice with thick Euro accent and the Black Forest between her thighs. She’s meant to be the most seductive and cruelest of the three sisters (mothers), and in keeping with a “Classical” sense of mythology should’ve been far more retro-Euro in appearance and dialogue; a vision unnaturally perfect and sublimely exotic. Morian Atias certainly ticks a few boxes, but ultimately she doesn’t cut the Devil’s mustard in my diabolical books. Others will no doubt disagree.

Mater Lachrymarum conjures her own Hell

Goblin composer Claudio Simonetti occasionally captures some of his creepy vibe from Suspiria, and to be fair there are some notable nightmarish images and moments that lingered. I will definitely watch Mother of Tears again, and perhaps my follow-up opinion might not be so harsh, but dammit, I’ve waited so bloody long for this movie and it bitterly disappoints on so many levels. I’m going to go now and shed my own tears …

Sarah finds herself in a pool of Hell's porridge

NB: Currently Argento is in post-production on Giallo, a revisionist thriller about a killer known as “Yellow”. Seems Dario is returning to his roots. I only wish he’d book-ended "The Three Mothers" properly before he decided to revisit older crime scenes.

Here's the U.S. trailer:

Here's the Italian trailer that makes the movie seem better than it is:

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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Comments

7 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Damo

October 9th 2008 09:59

Wow Bryn,
That was both barrels,

You must been very disappointed by this.

The trailer looks cool.

Comment by Bryn

October 9th 2008 22:23

Horrorphile

Damo,
yup, pretty disappointed alright. Which trailer did you like?
Very high expectation ... He made the first part in 1977, then part two in 1980 ... We've waited 28 years. And he compromised on too many levels. Mother of Tears should've been made with the same expressionist approach as the two previous parts to the trilogy, but instead Argento made an incredibly disappointing and pedestrian movie in terms of its atmosphere, visual style and overall oneiric tone. Have you ever seen Suspiria or Inferno? They are acquired tastes, no doubt about that, but they are so rich in mood and style. Mother of Tears was consumed by it's own fear of being "arty" ... I feel passionate about it, as you can see. God knows what the remake of Suspiria starring Natalie Portman will be like.

Comment by Damo

October 10th 2008 02:48

Bryn

Susperia is my 'to do' list
I remember the Inferno poster from the eighties.

This film just look like an excuse to for nudity and torture.
Not that there is anything wrong with that.

I can follow the english trailer better. However I get the impression from the trailer that it is like Da Vinci Code mixed with The Omen mixed with the Exorcist and Boogie Nights.

Comment by Cibbuano

October 10th 2008 04:42

Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak

That's a shame that it's not what you expected. From a cursory glance at the pictures, it looks like it should be fantastic.

Ack, I'm going to see it anyway.

Comment by Bryn

October 10th 2008 04:57

Horrorphile

Damo, wow! Bang on!

Cibby, I know, I know, I had such a good feeling about this ... and Dario's let us all down. I'm sure there are some who'll love it, but it pales in comparison to other Argento dark gems.

Comment by Cibbuano

October 10th 2008 20:38

Hunt Famous
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Fat Cult
Techbreak

totally agree about what the witch should look like: retro and voluptuous. She's meant to be a seductress, no? - so she should be a vile embodiment of lust and desire for flesh.

Comment by Bryn

October 13th 2008 07:25

Horrorphile

Cibby, Morian Atias certainly isn't the worst casting in the world, I mean I'd be a liar if I said she doesn't stir the loins ... but she didn't possess any real malevolence, which was imperative!

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