Two years after he shot his masterpiece "Suspiria", horror director Dario Argento made "Inferno", a sequel, of sorts. Unlike it's predecessor however, it meet lots of bad reviews and it didn't get a proper release. Which is a shame really, considering how it's one of Argento's finest works, containing two of his most beautiful screen moments (Rose's descent into the flooded ballroom and the scene at the lecture hall with Mark). While it may not be as good as it's predecessor, it's still more than a worthy follow up, specially when compared to "Mother of Tears", the god-awful second sequel to "Suspiria". Again, with have a gorgeous color palette and brilliant set design, there is a haunting atmosphere of dread throughout, a great soundtrack (Keith Emerson replaces the Goblins in this one, and does a pretty good work), some very creepy moments and of course, the brilliant death scenes, Argento's trademark. The film also excels in creating a dreamlike feel that surpasses anything remotely surreal that we've seen in "Suspiria". "Inferno" is probably the closest thing to a recorded nightmare I've ever seen. It's also much different than the other genre flicks of it's time. In fact, it's feel much closer to the work of Alain Resnais or Luis Bunuel than to the films of say George A. Romero or even his Italian contemporaries such as Fulci or Bava Jr. Of course, the film is not without it's flaws. The biggest flaw of the film is the protagonist. Argento shows us three candidates for the role of the protagonist, only to kill each and everyone of them in brutal and mean-spirited ways (they were clever twists, I admit). At the end, we are left with the one guy we'd never expect to be the 'the final boy'. That is, Leigh McCloskey as Mark. The thing with this character is, it's badly written and badly acted. Maybe it was Argento's intention to have the main character look high from the beginning to end, possibly to enhance the film's state-of-dream, but it simply doesn't work. Also, there are some surprisingly cheesy and unintentionally funny lines that are almost impossible to seat through. Still, the film has more than enough redeeming qualities, and it is one of the greatest masterpieces of the macabre - a definite acid trip to Hell. Even if it's not for everyone, it should be seen by anyone interested in horror.