Aenigma (1987)

Country of Origin: Italy/Yugoslavia
Year of Production: 1987
Running Times: 85m (USA)/90m (Italy)
Length: 2415 metres
Format: 35mm
Colour Format: colour
Ratio:
Sound:

DIRECTION

Director: Lucio Fulci

PRODUCTION
Copyright: not given
Production Companies: Ettore Spagnuolo presents a film produced by Ettore Spagnuolo for A.M. Trading International s.r.l. Roma
World Distribution: Filman International s.r.l.
Executive Producer: Walter Bigari
Production Manager: Zijo Pasic
Production Supervisor: Alessandra Spagnuolo

SCRIPT
Story and Script: Giorgio Mariuzzo, Lucio Fulci

DIRECTION
Script Supervisor: Camilla Fulci

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Luigi Ciccarese
Camera Operator: Daniel Sukalo
Assistant Camera: Fabio Lecni
Gaffer: Marco Firmi
Technical Equipment: Cineluce

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Edited by: Vanio Amici
Assistant Editor: Carlo Pulerà
Negative: Kodak
Colour: Telecolor
Laboratory: Franco Appetito

MUSIC
Original Music Composed and Directed by: Carlo Maria Cordio

SONGS AND ADDITIONAL MUSIC
"Head Over Meels"
A.D. Meakin - C.M. Cordio
and sung by Douglas Meakin
Music publishers Giuliana & Schmidl s.r.l.

SOUND
Mixer: Bruno Monreal
Sound Effects: Walter Polini
Recording Studios: N.C. s.r.l.

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Costumes: Karlo Klemencic'
Make Up: Giuseppe Ferranti
Hair: Maria Teresa Carrera

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects: Production Film 82 s.n.c.

VISUAL EFFECTS
Special Photographic Effects: Lucio Fulci

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Art Director: Kemo Hrustanovic
Furnishings: Cinears S.r.l.

OTHER CREW
Production Secretary: Fulvio Onorati
Travel: Alien 1999
Transport: Cinetrasport
Insurance: Cinesicurtà

LOCATIONS
Locations: Belgrade, Yugoslavia

CAST

Jared Martin (Dr Robert Anderson)
Lara Naszinski (Eva Gordon)
Ulli Reinthaler (Jenny Clark)
Sophie d' Aulan (Kim)
Jennifer Naud (Grace O'Neil)

with
Riccardo Acerbi (Fred Vernon)

and with
Kathi Wise as Virginia [Williams]

Milijana Zirojevic' (Kathy)
Dragan Ejelogrlic' (Nurse Betty)
Ljiljana Blagojevic' (Mary)
Franciska Spahic'
Dusica Zegarac' (Ms Jones)
Zorica Lesic'
Zoran Lesic'
Rade Colovic'

UNCREDITED CAST

Lucio Fulci (police Inspector)

Kathy is the butt of a cruel practical joke involving a sports teacher, sprung on her by her vindictive classmates. She winds up in hospital when the joke goes horribly wrong and she's run down in a traffic accident. She seems to die in hospital but her spirit proves possesses the body of a newcomer to the exclusive girls' school, Eva, who has only recently recovered from a nervous breakdown. As Kathy's apparently dead body begins showing signs of cerebral activity, she uses Eva as a medium through which to avenge herself on her persecutors.

Aenigma is a barely workmanlike mish-mash of ideas from Phenomena (1985), The Medusa Touch (1978), Carrie (1976), Patrick (1978), Suspiria (1976), The Exorcist (1973), Halloween (1978) and Re-Animator (1985)! Enlivened only by some truly eccentric camerawork and a weird, dislocatory editing style, Aenigma looks cheap and tacky, and is saddled with a clumsy narrative that is frequently unsubtle and nonsensical - would an exclusive girls' school really employ a fitness teacher as lecherous as Fred? Technically, the film is a mess. Cordio's score is little more than a second rate Goblin rip off and the special effects are dreadful. One can't help but wonder if the open heart surgery that Fulci underwent prior to filming Aenigma had somehow affected his brain as well, as there's no sign of any real intelligence at work in this fiasco - it appeared that the magic touch had finally gone.

Canada
Video Distributor: René Malo Vidéo-Malofilm Video

Germany
Video Distributor: Best Buy Movie GmbH
DVD Distributors: e-m-s the DVD-Company; Laser Paradise

International
Theatrical Distributor: Filman International

Italy
Theatrical Distributor: Titanus Distribuzione S.p.a.
Video Distributor: DeltaVideo

Japan
Video Distributor: Channel Video
DVD Distributors: Beam Entertainment Inc; Creative Axa Co

Netherlands
Theatrical Distributor: RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video

UK
Video Distributors: VPD; Imperial; A Taste of Fear

USA
Theatrical Distributor: Imperial Entertainment Corporation
Video Distributors: Video Search of Miami; Image Entertainment Inc; Threat Theatre
DVD Distributor: Image Entertainment Inc

Argentina
Rating: 18

France
Rating: -12

UK
Rating: 18

USA
Rating: unrated

West Germany
Rating: 18

1987
November
19: Italy - classified by the rating board

December
30: France - theatrical release

1988
August
15: Italy - theatrical release

They made a clown out of Kathy once too often!

Possessed by revenge!

All her enemies will be eliminated... but first they will suffer!

Ænigma
Daemonia - German title
Énigme, L' - French Canadian video title
Internado diabólico - Argentine title

SEE ALSO
Carrie (1976)
Exorcist, The (1973)
Halloween (1978)
Medusa Touch, The (1978)
Patrick (1978)
Phenomena (1985)
Re-Animator (1985)
Suspiria (1976)

PERIODICALS

The Dark Side no.54 p.48 (UK)
review

Fangoria no.209 (January 2002 pp.48-49 (January 2002) pp.48-49 (USA)
illustrated video review

Mad Movies no.49 pp.34-35 (France)
review

Samhain no.12 (December 1988) p.28
review

Shock Xpress vol.2 no.5 (Winter 1988/1989) pp.22, 23 (UK)
review

Video World September 1988 p.28
review

BOOKS

Elliot's Guide to Films on Video p.9
credits, review

Horror and Science Fiction Films Volume IV pp.5
credits

Psychotronic Video Guide p.7
credits, review

Spaghetti Nightmares p.163
credits

OTHER SOURCES

screen
credits

colleges, comas, decapitation, doctors, girls' school, hospitals, museums, nurses, possession, pranks, psychics, revenge, schoolgirls, schools, snails, splatter, statues, strangulation, the supernatural, teachers, teenagers

Last Updated: 15 October, 2009