Mother of Tears (2007)

I hated this movie when I first saw it. It was a gross, violent and kind of stupid mess of a film... yet I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.

When the film let out, I turned to my friend and chided him that i would get him back for dragging me to this schlock, but the next day all i could think about was the movie... and three months later it's still the most intriguing movie i've seen all year! In particular, there is a scene in the movie where the lead actress walks through every floor in an abandoned building and all you can hear is the sound of her stiletto's echoing down the empty halls. The entire scene is shot in one take without a camera/film cut. The camera follows her up and down every stair and pans around her as she walk through each room... It has got to be one of the best scene's on film to-date! It was suspenseful, creepy and hauntingly beautiful.

If you're in the mood for an Italian horror movie(filmed in English) reminiscent of the cheap horror movies of the 70's, then this is the pic for you. Frankly, it was pretty cool!

Fmovies: Who would think that, almost 40 years later, Argento has perfected his craft! Never has one of his films had acting so solid, storytelling so cohesive. It's also one of his scariest films, and the effects have never been better.

Upon the opening of a long-buried urn containing several ancient artifacts, a terror and chaos is unleashed upon Rome that soon becomes referred to as "the second fall". Asia Argento plays Sarah, a woman who works in a museum who is very skeptical of the occult, even after she discovers she has some exceptional powers. After witnessing a grizzly murder, the ominous kidnapping of a friend's son, and a group of witches that seem intent on killing her, she goes on a quest to find the cause behind the madness and discover the extent of the powers she has. Along the way she is aided by historians and priests, most notably Udo Kier who turns in a short but fun performance.

Meanwhile, in Rome and the Italian countryside, people are inexplicably committing suicide in large numbers, committing random acts of vandalism, or killing their friends and even children, as if guided by a malevolent invisible hand.

Although there is a bit of hammy dialog and a couple weaker characters (the detective, for one), most of the characters and dialog are believable, and the pacing is perfect. Still giving an artistic touch to the violence but employing a bit more realism, there are two kill scenes in particular that rival anything Argento has previously put on the screen. Along with 'Suspiria', 'Deep Red' and 'Opera', undoubtedly one of Argento's best.

It took me several viewings of Argento's final film in his Three Mothers trilogy before I finally arrived at a sure, albeit ambivalent, conclusion.

The "plot", as they call it, involves an ancient urn which causes the city of Rome to erupt into violence. Robbery and murder run amok and it's all the result of Mater Lachrymarum (the Mother of Tears.) It's ultimately up to a young art student by the name of Sarah Mandy to stop the chaos.

Asia Argento plays the role of Sarah. I don't think Asia is without talent (I enjoyed her performances in Trauma and the Stendhal Syndrome – two earlier Argento efforts.) But while she shouldn't entirely be held at fault here, her performance isn't exactly great. She frequently comes across as wooden, although I believe much of this is a result of the poor dialogue. And perhaps more importantly, her wooden delivery and still fairly thick Italian accent give the proceedings quite a bit of charm. I wouldn't say her performance enhances the film, but I suppose her looks are enough to keep the film going. Adam James' character is boring and not at all engaging; this is true even when we're given the chance to poke fun at him. He does nothing for me, and, at best, is forgettable. And then there's Udo Kier. Doing what he does best, he's over the top enough to be memorable, but he somehow never crosses into "too ridiculous" territory. His screen time is short but worthwhile.

One of Mother of Tear's saving graces is its gore. Gone is Germano Natali's (Deep Red, Suspiria) garish, paint-like blood (excellent in its own right); instead, Argento opts for a more Fulci-esque display of bloody mayhem. The camera lingers on every moment of gory detail. Argento has rarely been this brutal; there are plenty of memorable moments for gore hounds and the film's first big sequence is a perfect example.

Mother of Tears' soundtrack frequently pays homage to Argento's past supernatural related works. The music during the aforementioned first murder sequence is a clear nod to Suspiria's over-the-top, yet haunting operatic music. And later scenes do more than enough to hint at Inferno's piano-based instrumentals. Overall, the film does a good job score-wise.

From a visual standpoint, Mother of Tears is hardly lacking. It may not have the Technicolor look of Suspiria or the nuanced production design of Inferno, but it's hardly dull. It takes some of the artsy indoor/outdoor scenes of The Stendhal Syndrome and combines it with the more elaborate set-pieces found in previous "mother" films.

Overall, Mother of Tears is a mixed bag. It has its boring moments, but it's also a good example of Italian Horror's love for grandeur and charming carelessness toward what is considered logical or politically correct. Those comparing it to films of Argento's golden era need to stop living in the past. Mother of Tears has its great moments and not so great moments and it is neither a failure nor a rousing success. If you're a fan of 80s "godfather of gore" era Fulci and take into account the 21st century's distinct lack of anything Giallo/Italian Horror-related, Mother of Tears is worth a watch.

Mother of Tears fmovies. An ancient urn is found on a Cemetery outside Rome.At the museum art student Sarah Mandy(Asia Argento)& Gisella Mares(Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni) opens it and unleashes the powerful witch Mater Lacrimarum.Murders,rapes and suicides goes like a plague all over the city.Its the start of the final installment in Dario Argento's Three Mother trilogy.First one Suspiria is from 1977 and second one is Inferno from year 1980.Both Suspiria and Inferno is two of my best horror films of all time so I expected a lot from this one.And I must say I am not disappointed. I tough La Terza Madre is a really fun ride all 98 minutes.I was never bored for a second.When I watch a film I want to get excited and never stop watching the screen and I must say this film fulfilled that. Not as colorfully as the other two classics but anyhow a good ending on the Three Mothers trilogy.Acting was OK but by far not excellent.Some of the dialog is a bit silly but hey its an Argento movie.Never been his strong side.Asia Argento does her part good.Music score by Claudio Simonetti is excellent and fits this film fine.The film is full of gore&violence and it reminds me of horror films from Italy in the seventies and early eighties.All shown in bloody detail.One of Dario Argento's most violent films ever.Some CGI-effects looks a bit cheap,but mostly the special- effects are very good.La Terza Madre is better than most horror films coming out these days.Thank you Dario,Asia and all the others involved in the film.I had a good time and already looking forward for next Argento film named Giallo.I give it 9/10.

Sarah Mandy,an American studying art restoration at the Museum of Ancient Art in Rome,examines an urn found at an ancient,decrepit grave near Viterbo.Bound within are the relics of a witch known as the Mother of Tears,Mater Lachrymarum.Breaking the seal heralds the return of the beautiful yet malefic sorceress' powers and Rome is plunged into chaos.A wave of suicides and crime sweeps over Italy's capital as witches congregate to pay homage to their reborn queen.Sarah must eventually discover her latent supernatural powers with the help of her deceased mother and confront Lachrymarum at the opulent Palazzo Varelli."The Third Mother" actually bears very little resemblance to "Suspiria" or "Inferno".The film is not as beautiful as the most famous Argento's works.The gore is pretty extreme and some killings are extremely vicious and bloody as hell."La Terza Madre" feels more like a Fulci film in so far that the narrative is only a vehicle to the gore scenes.Unfortunately some scenes are downright terrible with the use of awful CGI and the climax is weak and disappointing.Still I quite enjoyed this film and you should too if you are a fan of earlier works of Italian maestro.

This was one of the biggest disappointments for me in a long time.

If you've ever heard the name Dario Argento - it's probably because in 1977 he crafted one of the most stylish and genuinely creepy horror movies of all time, called "Suspiria". It's one of my personal favorite movies of all time, from one of my favorite directors. If you can appreciate horror, or even if you can't but you're an open minded person, I suggest you give SUSPIRIA an hour and a half of your life because it's unlike any other horror experience you will ever have.

SUSPIRIA was intended to be the first movie in a series of three, known as the "Three Mothers Trilogy". After Argento's crowning achievement, he did the 2nd in the series in 1980 which was called "Inferno". Although Inferno was just as stylish and just as mysterious, it was not quite as effective or fulfilling as Suspiria in the end. Yet, it is still a bizarre cult classic. The soundtrack from Keith Emerson is probably even better than the movie itself.

Anyways...Argento decided to hold off from finishing off the trilogy, and ended up holding off for 30 YEARS..., so finally in 2007 he decided it was time to create the finale, The Mother of Tears.

What can I say? There are maybe one or two gratuitous murders that are worthy of the Argento name, specifically the very first in the movie which comes out of nowhere and may have you clenching your mouth to make sure your teeth are still there. It is always lovely to see Argento bringing back actors and actresses from classic Italian horror films - in this case it's Coralina Cataldi from his awesome 1987 film, Opera, and the roller-coaster ride that is DEMONS 2.

Aside from a few memorable deaths, this movie really has almost NOTHING to offer. It is nice to see someone making movies about black magic, demons, and sorcery since no one else really does that anymore. The concepts are wonderful but unfortunately NOTHING is pulled off effectively here.

For one, the CGI totally abolishes the legitimacy of the movie. It's some of the cheesiest CGI i've had to bare with in some time. I figured Argento would be smarter than this - but then again, he is getting really, really old...

Asia Argento (the director's daughter and lead actress) can act but she isn't given much to work with here. The script, as usual with Argento's films, is the weakest part. The dialogue is far too basic to keep your emotions invested in the characters. No one else stands out as a particularly great performer either.

The saddest thing of all is that the movie completely lacks atmosphere. The setting and atmosphere was always the absolute BEST part of the director's classic films. And the fact that one of my favorite bands of all time, Goblin, provided the majority of soundtracks heavily added to that. But they've been out of the picture since his 2001 movie, Sleepless. The sets were completely plain and in no way stand out. I appreciated the shots of the creepy old mansion like building towards the very end, but even that building looked fake and CGI-induced...and it was clear that it was not actually filmed there - which took a lot away from the entire finale.

The finale was probably the most depressing part. It felt extremely rushed, and aside from that, the "lead villain" who is supposed to be "the most evil of the three mothers" was SO half assed. A good looking chick with nice tits and some black