Movies
‘Dario Argento Panico’ – Shudder Acquires Documentary on Giallo Maestro
Of all the leading Italian horror filmmakers, including auteurs like Mario Bava and Lucio Fulci, Dario Argento is the most recognized and widely renowned. Per Deadline, the Giallo Maestro will be featured in Dario Argento Panico, a documentary retrospective acquired by Shudder.
The documentary will arrive on Shudder on February 2, 2024, after making its world premiere at the 2023 Venice Film Festival.
Dario Argento Panico follows “an insightful journey through the life and legacy of the legendary Italian filmmaker, revealing his profound impact on horror and his lasting influence on cinema. It was in the secluded ambience of hotel rooms that Argento crafted his greatest cinematic creations, seeking solace from the outside world to delve into his nightmares. Now, he finds himself in a hotel room to return to the very setting that ignited his creative fervor to conclude his latest script and participate in an intimate interview, all while being followed by a film crew documenting his life for a movie about his illustrious career.”
Simone Scadfi directs the documentary feature.
Known as the Master of Thrill and a Master of Horror, Argento made his directorial debut in 1970 and has since developed a reputation for graphic shocks and intense visual atmospheres. Argento has left an indelible mark on the genre, so it’s about time a documentary spotlighted his enduring career.
Dario Argento Panico will feature exclusive interviews with Argento, along with filmmakers as Guillermo del Toro, Gaspar Noé, and Nicolas Winding Refn.
Giada Mazzoleni produced alongside executive producer Manlio Gomarasca.
“Following our release of DARK GLASSES, Shudder is once again privileged to partner with icon of the genre, Dario Argento,” Shudder’s VP of Programming, Sam Zimmerman told Deadline. “To call Mr. Argento influential would understate it. His pioneering work in horror and giallo is as indelible as it is frightening, creating images that live forever in the eyes and minds of audiences and artists across the globe. PANICO digs deep to craft an intimate portrait of the master, eye-opening to admirers and newcomers alike.”
Ahead of its Shudder debut, the IFC Center in New York will present a theatrical retrospective, “Panic Attacks: The Films of Dario Argento,” of Argento’s films from January 31 – February 8. The program will feature the U.S. premiere of Dario Argento Panico, along with screenings of Suspiria, Inferno, Deep Red, Tenebrae, and more.
The filmmakers behind Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey are expanding their public domain horror universe with a handful of upcoming “Poohniverse” movies, including Bambi: The Reckoning, Pinocchio: Unstrung, and Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare.
Variety has scored the first image from Neverland Nightmare, seen above.
The website details, “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare follows Wendy Darling as she strikes out in an attempt to rescue her brother Michael from ‘the clutches of the evil Peter Pan.’ Along the way she meets Tinkerbell, who in this twisted version of the story will be seen taking heroine, convinced that it’s pixie dust.”
Scott Jeffrey will direct Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, expected Halloween 2024.
Jeffrey tells us, “I am taking inspiration from French cinema while in prep for this movie. The film will be incredibly tense. I would say it’s a mesh between Switchblade Romance and The Black Phone with our own spin on it. It is a nasty, violent and incredibly dark movie.”
Megan Placito has joined the cast as Wendy Darling, Kit Green is Tinkerbell, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney (The Pope’s Exorcist) is Michael Darling and Charity Kase (RuPaul Drag Race) is James. Martin Portlock will be playing the twisted version of Peter Pan.
Created by J.M. Barrie way back in 1902, the character of Peter Pan – like Winnie the Pooh – is in the public domain, even if the iconic Disney iteration of the character is very much not.
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