Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List
Spoiler-free premise
A musician who witnesses a psychic’s murder begins investigating the crime with a determined reporter.
Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free+
Jazz pianist Marcus Daly witnesses psychic Helga Ulmann's murder in a Rome apartment and becomes convinced he noticed a missing visual detail. Reporter Gianna Brezzi joins him as they trace an old song, a painted house, and concealed family history.
Why it belongs
Dario Argento makes investigation a sensory maze of visual memory, mechanical violence, Goblin's music, and spaces that hide clues in plain sight.
Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case+
David Hemmings's Marcus is driven by an image he cannot consciously retrieve. Mirrors, paintings, dolls, nursery music, gloved hands, elaborate camera moves, and Goblin's rock score make looking unreliable but irresistible.
Major award wins
No verified wins in this six-institution crosswalk.
Awards are reference metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Institutional reference ranks
Sight & Sound—IMDb Top 250—AFI 100—
Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score
Great Cinema Master List scores
Greatness8.4
Engagement9.0
Ease8.4
Italian · Not Rated Narrative Feature Mood: Terrifying & Gripping
