La Terza Madre-Dario Argento 2008

La Terza Madre (The Third Mother or The Mother of Tears which it was released as in the U.S.) is one of the latest offering's to horror cinema from none other than the master, Dario Argento. This is the final chapter in Argento's trilogy known as The Three Mothers. The first film, Suspiria, was released in 1977 which was followed by Deep Red or Proffundo Russo in 1980. Its pretty crazy to think that the final installment has been on the back burner for roughly 30 years.

The story of three mothers is based on three witches that ruled the world back in the 13th century, spreading plague, insanity and pure malevolence to everything in their path. They were Mater Lachrymarum, Mater Suspiriorum, and Mater Tenebrarum or the mothers of tears, sighs and shadows. In the final chapter a construction crew unearths a mysterious coffin while excavating the ruins of an old church in modern day Rome. Amongst the ancient remains within the coffin is an alter box containing a sacrificial dagger, three demonic statues and a talismanic cloak with strange pagan ruins inscribed on it. Essentially what ensues is an outbreak of pure hell. The city is swept over by a brutal crime wave. There are mass suicides, rapings, murders, women killing their babies, etc. The opening scene were the demons are accidently summoned when a museum curator reads the inscriptions on the statues is by far the most brutal shit to come out in a while. But this movie is in no way your run of the mill gore film. It is a supernatural thriller laced with all the classic Argentian elements: Beautiful women brutally murdered, strange animal characters (in this case a small monkey serving as a look out to the harbingers of evil), crazy plot twists and superb use of color and camera detail which all come together under a story line thats been 30 years in the making.

After these remains are unearthed it basically brings forth a second age of witches. The mother of tears, the last of the three mothers, regains her powers after laying dormant for many years. Witches fly in (on airplanes) from all over the world to meet in Rome for the celebration of the new era of Witches on earth. Asia Argento plays the character of Sarah Mandy. She's an assistant to the museum curator and witness to the ultra violent murder of her co-worker by what appears to be 3 demons. She manages to escape only to find that the police think she's completely fucking crazy and a pin her as a suspect. She decides to run and is detected by a group of witches. This is were shit gets crazy. She finds out that her dead mother was actually a powerful good witch who helped defeat Mater Tenebrarum but was killed in the process. So Sarah Mandy is guided by the spirit of her dead mother through out the remainder of the film on a quest to destroy the Mother of Tears.

What I liked most about the film was when an old priest tells the story of the three mothers it turns to a black and white graphic novel style story board illustration. I thought this added a very classic touch to the film overall. I felt that they could of left out a few of the CGI effects though since they always look super cheesy to me. With that aside I really enjoyed this film. I think Argento is coming through even this late into his career. I watch so many horror films and am utterly disappointed by lack of originality or execution at-least half the time. This film definitely rises above in all the categories that make a good horror show. Don't sleep on this one. GO CHECK IT OUT!