Il cinema di Dario Argento tra genere e autorialità, edited by Vito Zagarrio, Marsilio, Venice 2008 In short, as depicted by Argento, society is but the random crossing of trajectories of human monads, almost always dictated by less than noble circumstances, such as greed, resentment and fear. Narratively speaking, the theme of solitude is the hidden soul of the film, permeating and unveiling itself as events unfold. It emerges on a figurative level, through alienating shots of the architectural compositions and the cold geometric forms, a sort of metaphor for cosmopolitan loneliness. For example, the acute sense of urban alienation found throughout the film, constantly adding a subtext to the narrative. However, in Il gatto a nove code there is much, much more. And finally, the Hitchcock quotations, taking form here in a precise intertextual reference to the famous glass of milk scene in Suspicion (1941). Then, the metatextual role of the puzzle, the mystery to be solved. We find elements, subsequently developed over time, that will become integral to Argento’s fame, as well as marks of his auteurship: first, the subjective long shots of the killer’s movements, intercut with extreme close-ups of his pupils, serving as a mechanism to trigger suspense. From this perspective, Il gatto a nove code is no exception.
Dario Argento’s first films – those constituting the so-called ‘Animal Trilogy’ – should be considered as works belonging to the era in which they were made, more so than the successive canonisation of the director as an international maestro of horror-thrillers.
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