Dario Argento has returned from beyond.
The Italian horror filmmaker, best known for his expressive (bordering on psychedelic) chillers like “Deep Red,” “Suspiria” and “Opera,” hasn’t made a feature since 2012’s genuinely bonkers “Dracula 3D.” But according to Bloody Disgusting, the once-celebrated director is set to return with another Giallo, one that he’s been working on for the past few years, called “Black Glasses.”
Making things infinitely more problematic is the fact that it’s set to star his daughter, actress Asia Argento. Asia, who has starred in a number of her father’s movies (including “Trauma,” “The Mother of Tears,” and “The Phantom of the Opera”), has made headlines in recent years for being on both sides of the #MeToo movement. First, she said that Harvey Weinstein had sexually assaulted her, even making a powerful speech at Cannes about how the Film Festival had been used as a “hunting grown” for the producer. Several months after her Cannes speech, the New York Times revealed that Asia had settled a sexual assault claim with a young actor named Jimmy Bennett, who was only 17 at the time. Afterwards, Asia claimed that the suit was wholly untrue and her then-boyfriend Anthony Bourdain had suggested she settle the lawsuit and keep it out of the public eye. (Bourdain took his own life the same summer the New York Times story broke.) What then followed was a very public falling out with Rose McGowan, in which McGowan made even more accusations about Argento and her relationship with the young boy. It’s been a lot.
Somewhat tellingly, Asia Argento hasn’t made a movie since her well-reviewed 2014 directorial effort “Misunderstood” but has confirmed that she will shoot her father’s new project later this year.
It’s unclear whether or not his daughter’s involvement will elevate the project into something of a curiosity or if her being a part of the project will doom it to obscurity. We’ll know soon enough.