Reviews I Love: Amer (2009) By Alan Jones


This excellent review was written by Alan Jones, famed horror writer and Dario Argento fan that sums up the movie better than I ever could:

My vice is a locked giallo vault, and only co-directors Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani have the key! Death has a new taste and it’s bitter, or AMER, as the title of my Movie of the Moment describes it. Unlike most films today that are instantly forgotten once past the closing credits, AMER still flits through my mind like a butterfly with bloodstained wings.
I absolutely adore this flawless tribute to the ethereal mystique and Pop Art madness of the 70s gialli with their definitive style, recurring themes and visual motifs. No question in my mind that Cattet and Forzani’s perfect riffing on the vintage Italian thriller back catalogue is one of the boldest and original visionary statements of recent times. Not only does the incredibly talented Belgian couple master the hypnotic allure of the classic gialli by creating a virtually dialogue-free narrative through-line, they tie it to the essential appeal this most delicate of genres has for devotees.
AMER carries an erotic and exotic charge I never thought could be replicated again outside such essential gialli as STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER or the classic Dario Argento Animal Trilogy. AMER is a faultless masterpiece, so just relax and breathe in the heady perfume of Cattet and Forzani’s dazzling lady in black.

Alan Jones.
© London FrightFest Ltd. 2000-2011

My Thoughts?
The film has been a bit of a love/hate it affair for horror and giallo fans since its release. Far from a completely successful film, the lack of dialogue and structure can be very off putting for some viewers. The movie still succeeds in its astonishing visuals, which are thankfully bathed in the exquisite colours of those fond remembered movies of the 70's, that just don't get made today. If you're a fan of gialli like 'Strip Nude for your Killer', or 'Lizard in a Woman's Skin', you could do worse than give 'Amer' your time.