Scooter, You Fucking Quote Whore.

Dario Argento's THE MOTHER OF TEARS, the third film in a trilogy that began with SUSPIRIA and INFERNO, has finally opened here in the U.S. (although bootlegs and other region DVDs have been around for a bit) and it's getting all different types of opinions, mainly massive love to massive hate. No one is looking at it as a classic along the lines of SUSPIRIA - the kindest things that people have to say is that it's so stupid that it's very entertaining - while many long time Argento devotees I've spoken to just hate it to pieces and are writing the guy off for good. Bucking this trend, however, is none other than my little buddy Scooter McCrae, who is the first person I know who loves Argento and genuinely likes MOTHER OF TEARS at the same time. Fangoria was nice enough to allow Scooter the opportunity to express his love, and now the folks at Myriad Pictures, who are distributing the film theatrically, have returned the love by quoting Scooter by name in the ads for film. Don't they know who this guy is? Haven't they seen Mondo Modular? And what's with that new haircut, Scooter?

Now, I haven't seen the film myself (it doesn't open in Austin for another two weeks), though I'll certainly go and, who knows, maybe I'll enjoy myself. I'm not a die hard Argento fan like some people I know; while DEEP RED is one of my favorite films of all time and I adore the likes of THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE, SUSPIRIA, and THE STENDHAL SYNDROME, Argento hasn't been Argento for a long time, so to have him attempt to connect to past glories feels somewhat desperate. But hey, once I see the film I'll read Scooter's review and maybe, I can only hope, he and I will either see eye to eye, as we often have, or I'll find it so silly that I just won't care. I'm there either way, so what does it matter?

That said, THE MOTHER OF TEARS, a film by Dario Argento that's officially endorsed by Scooter McCrae, is now playing in NY and L.A., with more cities to follow. I hope I'll enjoy it.