A few months ago, some friends and I went to Europe together. One day, while in Rome, we visited the Vatican. On the way back to the Metro line that would take us back to our Air BnB apartment, I took us on a detour. Right near the subway station, just a few blocks away, was Profondo Rosso, a store owned by the legendary Italian horror movie director/producer Dario Argento. I was super excited to go.
The store mostly featured t-shirts and rubber masks. There were reproduction posters and other horror items for sale.
For those who are unfamiliar with him, Dario Argento is a fan favorite. He is responsible for such horror classics as SUSPIRIA, TENEBRE, INFERNO, CREEPERS, OPERA, and for producing things such as DEMONS, THE CHURCH, and George Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD. PROFONDO ROSSO is the name of one of Argento's earliest horror films, released here as (and translated to) DEEP RED.
I got myself a nifty tote bag with the store logo on it as my official souvenir.
But the big draw for me was not what was in the store. No. What I wanted to see most was underneath it. Beneath the store was a museum of sorts of props and costumes used in various Dario Argento productions. We got tickets to check it out and down the spiral staircase we went.
It’s not a very big museum. Displays are placed along either side of a hall in an old basement. It is dark and creepy down there--purposely. In true spook house tradition, the displays are motion-activated and light up when you pass by. There is only one way in or out...
Although I have not seem all Argento's movies, it was still exciting to be there and wander through the macabre little museum. My friends didn't get it at all--which was fine. This was a treat for me.
Dario Argento's PROFONDO ROSSO wasn't as cool as I had hoped it would be, but I was sure super thrilled to have gotten to go and see it.
CHEERS!
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