Italian company Titanus is once again expanding its film division, starting with a modern US-set sequel to Dario Argento’s Phenomena.
A sequel to the Dario Argento classic Phenomena is now in development, nearly 40 years after the film’s original release. Argento is an Italian director known for his classic horror films of the 1970s and 1980s, which are best known for their lurid colors and graphic violence. Although he started his writing career after writing the story for Once upon a Time in the Westhe stormed onto the scene as a director with the giallo movie The bird with the crystal plumagewhich he followed with some more animal themes gially before leaning in a more supernatural direction in movies like his 1977 hit Suspiria.
His series of supernatural horrors continued into the 1980s and included: Phenomenawhich was released in Italy on January 31, 1985. The film contained future Labyrinth star Jennifer Connelly as Jennifer Corvino, a young woman who is the daughter of a Hollywood star and sent to a remote boarding school in Switzerland. When she witnesses a murder, she realizes she has a telepathic connection to the killer. This begins an adventure with Iron Maiden music, a chimpanzee named Inga and Jennifer who telepathically summon swarms of insects. In addition to Connelly, the cast includes frequent Argento collaborator Daria Nicolodi and Donald Pleasence, who is best known to horror fans as Dr. Loomis in the Halloween franchisee.
Per Variety, the Italian production company Titanus – which was founded in 1904 and has been involved with works by legendary directors such as Luchino Visconti and Federico Fellini – is taking a big step back in film production after many years of reduced capacity. They begin with a film loosely based on: Phenomena, though they claim it will be a sequel rather than a reboot. The film is set in the United States and is produced with the American company The Exchange. They are currently looking for an American director to lead the project, which they will be casting with both American and international artists.
What could Phenomena 2 look like?
It is completely unusual for Argento’s films to be rebooted or followed up in any way. Different from Luca Guadagnino’s 2018 Suspiria remake and Argento’s own standalone Three Mothers trilogy (which consists of 1977’s Suspiria1980’s helland 2007 mother of tears), there isn’t much franchising in horror master history. Because of this, there isn’t much precedent for what this is Phenomena sequel might look like.
Most Argento fans would hope that American director Titanus is able to capture the luscious images that made the director such an international sensation. PhenomenaThe American setting will make it much more familiar to global audiences who have come into contact with Hollywood movies, so they will have to work hard to capture a more surreal tone. The final hand is cast. While they’re more likely to make a sequel to their name, they’ll also likely approach Connelly to reprise her role in some capacity, which would definitely please fans of the original if they manage to get her.
Source: Variety
