THE MOTHER OF TEARS

Medusa Film, 2007. Written by Jace Anderson, Dario Argento, Walter Fasano, Adam Gierasch and Simona Simonetti. Special make-up effects by Sergio Stivaletti. Original music by Claudio Simonetti. Directed by Dario Argento. Starring Asia Argento, Cristian Solimeno, Adam James, Daria Nicolodi, Udo Kier and Moran Atias as "Mater Lachrymarum (The Mother of Tears)."

 
     By Stephen Pytak 
     After 28 years, Dario Argento finally wrapped up his
Three Mothers Trilogy with a satisfying thriller filled 
with homages to his previous works, a VERY sexy Mater
Lachrymarum and shocking, gut-wrenching effects which 
will blow patrons out of their seats.
     There are bizzare demons who'll pull your tongue out
then go to work on your intestines. Groups of Hot-Topic-
style, punked-out witches who like getting naked. And a 
sinister Rhesus Macaque (Rhesus Monkey) who chases
Asia Argento around and around.
     The only real complaint I have about the movie is
some of the performances are as wooden as the 
Santa Maria. But I was having too much fun to really 
care.
     The story kicks off at a dig site near a cemetery in 
Rome, where a dig crew unearth an ancient urn locked 
with chains and covered in crosses. Two art restoration
students, "Sarah (Asia Argento)," and "Giselle (Coralina 
Cataldi-Tassoni)" decide to break its wax seal to 
investigate. In the process, Giselle cuts herself. A drop of 
blood lands on the lid. Not a good sign.
     Inside, they find a dagger; a talisman, which is a
crimson-colored T-shirt with some crazy symbols stitched
on the back; and three ceramic sculptures of demons 
which look like paperweights. They look a bit like the 
see-no, hear-no, speak-no evil monkeys. Except these 
look kind evil. 
     When Sarah steps out of the room, Giselle decides
to translate and read aloud the inscriptions on the base
of the ceramics. Bad idea. She accidently summons these
creatures into her midst. In the flesh, they're bigger than 
life and crazier than your average Cenobite. They turn 
Giselle into a bloody work of art. 
     With them is the sinister monkey, who screeches a lot, 
sniffs out Sarah and skitters after her. I liked the mokney
a lot. Great villian! I got a kick out of it. 
     Sarah escapes in a moment which reminded me of
something out of the first chapter in this trilogy,
"Suspiria (1977)."
     The demons who devoured Giselle steal the urn and
its contents, pave the way for Mater Lachrymarum
(The Mother of Tears), the only one of The Three Mothers
surviving, to make a return, and all Hell breaks loose in
Rome. People go insane. Violence rules the streets.
A gathering of witches converges. And Sarah runs around
like crazy. Actually, a few people call her "crazy," 
especially after she talks about being chased around by 
the monkey.
     While Mater Suspiriorum (The Mother of Sighs) was 
a hag in "Suspiria," and Mater Tenebrarum (the Mother 
of Darkness/Shadows) masqueraded as a nurse in 
"Inferno (1980), Mater Lachrimarum was, and still is,
a goddess. In "Inferno" she was played by Ania Pieroni.
In "La Terza Madre," the voluptuous Moran Atias takes 
over the role. 
     She's got an incredible body, and she shows a lot of
it. I haven't seen a woman in an Italian horror film with
such incredible assets since Anna Falci made an 
impression or two in "Dellamorte Dellamore (1994)."
     While The Mother of Tears sacrifices children and 
builds her coven at her pad, a decrepit mansion called 
Palazzo Varelli, Sarah has visions of her dead mother 
(Nicolodi, who in real life IS her mother), learns she 
has white-witch powers and plans to find and destroy 
the last of The Three Mothers.
     On paper, the ending would come off kind of cliche. 
There's no great payoff featuring any of these so-called
powers Sarah's supposed to have. But it's O.K. Dario 
made something out of it. In other words, I didn't hate it.
I was having too much of a good time watching a bunch
of naked Hot-Topic witches playing with knives drinking 
blood, and getting down and dirty.
     One thing Argentophiles like myself will pick up while 
watching this film are homages to Dario's other films. 
In many ways, "La Terza Madre" is a greatest hits 
package of some sort, a dark nostalgic trip. You can make
a drinking game out of this. Obviously, there are ties to 
"Suspiria" and "Inferno." 
     "Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper)" from "Suspiria" is
mentioned. Udo Kier, who was also in that film, is in
this one, but he doesn't play the same character, 
according to IMDB.com. And we get to see the book,
"The Three Mothers," featured in "Inferno." There are
also nods to "Phenomena (1985)." Sarah falls into a pit 
which looks like a giant bowl of rotten oatmeal. It's filled 
with rotting corpses. The monkey might be a homage too.
     Asia Argento does O.K. She fits into The Three 
Mothers universe really well. The fact her mother, 
Nicolodi, and father, Dario, were reportedly both 
responsible for the story of "Suspiria," makes her
an excellent choice for the lead. But this is not my favorite
Asia Argento film. From what I've seen her in so far,
I really liked her best in her in her first collaboration with 
her father, "Trauma (1993)."
     This was the first time I saw a Dario Argento film in 
the movies first-run. And I'm thankful I had the chance. I
knew whether this film were good, bad or somewhere in
the middle, it would be part of horror film history. And I'm
glad it was really good. Thanks Dario!
Copyright 2008 By Stephen Pytak