Dario Argento's first outing as an auteur in this giallo (whodunnit slasher). The cinematography's excellent, the plot has more than a few nods to Hitch****, the editing top-notch, and the suspense? Hitch****ian, I would say, dear old chap. The titular character plays a very small, if decisive role, in the movie, and I thought the killer would be some sort of character in an Opera who dresses like the title. Argento would never scale these heights again, and it's great what some semblance of restraint can do for him. As with the below, no Italian dialogue. Boo hoo! 7.5/10
After all the hype, I decided to check it out myself. And yeah, it deserves the hype it got. Atmospheric and creepy, and quite possibly the most realistic interpretation of vampires as seen through a kid's eyes as it could get. And no, I'm not checking out the American remake, Let Me In. I found the mutilated organ flash scene creepily erotic. As subtle as it gets. My only problem? Its dialogue is dubbed in English and my copy doesn't have the original Swedish voices. This generation's Vampyr or Martin, easily. 8/10