Tenebrae is a Great Murder Mystery Tale with Multiple Twists That Keeps You Guessing Until the End

 

Dario Argento is one of my horror favorite directors. He has made so many films I have come to love, he is the reason why I became obsessed with Giallo murder mysteries!

I had actually seen Tenebrae several years ago, and I couldn’t believe how much of the film I had forgotten. Watching this film again made me remember why this film is one of my favorites from Argento. 

The main cast of characters are very likable in this film, and the story is a gory and insane roller coaster that keeps you guessing throughout the entire film…the reveal of who the killer was genius. 

The story follows a man named Peter Neal, an author who writes a novel called Tenebrae, that features a lot of gory murders by a serial killer. 

His own novel creates a killer who gets completely obsessed with him, and murders multiple people, promising to save his murder for last. 

Peter teams up with his two assistants, Anne and Gianni to find this mystery killer. Peter’s involvement leads to a shocking conclusion, a fantastic twist that left me in total shock. 

The killer turns out to be a TV interviewer that was obsessed with Peter Neal’s book.

Peter and Gianni decide to go investigate the house of Cristiano Berti, a TV interviewer that showed an unhealthy interest in Peter Neal’s novel, Tenebrae. 

The duo sneaks onto the property of Berti, only for him to be brutally murdered by an unknown assailant. Gianni and Peter escape from the scene and realize that there is more to the mystery than they realize. 

Gianna discovers on his own that Berti was indeed the killer, but the question that remained was who killed him?

Before Gianna could figure out who the real killer is, he is killed by this other mystery killer and even sees who the person is before he dies. 

Neat twist, huh?

The two killers twist was amazing, and I immediately became even more hooked into what was going to happen next! 

Peter Neal is revealed to be the other killer. 

Now, you may be wondering, Peter Neal, the main character is the other killer??? 

How? Why? 

Well, it turns out that he was waiting for the perfect opportunity to take revenge on two people that he had trusted. His agent and his fiancé betray him, by falling in love with each other, seeing each other behind his back. 

He brutally murders them both, and is caught by his assistant Anne and the detective that was hunting down both killers throughout the film. 

He reveals to them that he used Berti’s murder spree as his moment to go after the two people that betrayed him. Peter’s dark side came to life when he remembered something horrible in the past. 

Peter went through terrible trauma when he was just a teenager, at the hands of a woman. I won’t say what happens, this part of the film really bothered me. It was extremely disturbing…

In a fit of rage, Peter kills this woman, a murder that he had forgotten due to what he went through as a child. This old memory resurfaces when he learns of Berti’s murder spree, that leads to his alternate self to wake up. 

Tenebrae is indeed a tragic story. I felt horrible for what Peter went through as a child, and what he experienced turned him into a monster. He ended up murdering five people that had his trust and friendship. 

Wow. Now that is messed up. 

Tenebrae is a great story with a fantastic soundtrack that keeps you pumped throughout the murder mystery, and gory kills. This film may be tough for some of you viewers, due to the heavy content that is featured. Viewer discretion is advised for this film!

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn