Phenomena

(1985) ***

Jennifer Corvino arrives at her new school and has a sleepwalking episode on her first night. While she is sleepwalking she witnesses the brutal murder of a young girl. She awakens lost in the woods near her school and a chimp finds her and brings her to the home of Prof. John McGregor an entomologist who she becomes friends with.

The Professor is deeply interested in Jennifer's unique ability to communicate with insects. After her roommate is murdered a lightening bug leads her to a glove that is crawling with larvae. She brings it to the Professor and he identifies the species as the sarcophagus fly, a species that feeds exclusively on dead flesh. She agrees to help him find the serial killer by following the fly to where the bodies are being kept.

I had several problems with this movie, first of all the characters aren't very likable. I actually think we really didn't spend enough time with any of them to get to know them well enough to decide if they were likable or not. Secondly, the bug thing was kinda lame. Maybe it's just me but if you're gonna call a movie Phenomena at least make the phenomena something really cool. Third and most importantly, what kind of decent respectable man would send a young girl equipped with nothing but a fly alone on a bus to track a serial killer that kills young girls. What did he expect her to do if she ran into the maniac? Well, I guess she could have called the bugs, right. Still it seemed far fetched that he would send her alone.

I probably would have given this movie 2 or maybe 2½ stars had it not redeemed itself in the last 5 or 10 minutes of the film. Without giving too much away, I'll just say this, chimp with a straight razor, mutant, pool of rotting corpses, fire and a spear, not necessarily in that order. Nice pay off to what I would otherwise call not one of Argento's best films.