YMMV / Inferno (1980)

• Adaptation Displacement: Few fans of Suspiria (1977) are aware that this is supposed to be a sequel (to be fair, the two films have little in common plotwise, other than the overarching mythology, which Suspiria makes almost no reference to). The third film, Mother of Tears, remedies this by directly referencing the plots of the previous two. However, fewer still are aware of the Thomas De Quincey poem, "Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow", on which the mythology is based.
• Alternate Character Interpretation: Mater Lachrymarum is heavily implied to be hypnotic and meddling in Mark's life while in Rome. How much of what follows is someone else's idea?
• Anti-Climax Boss: a much more extreme example than Suspiria (1977) in Mater Tenebrarum, whose demise occurs due to an accident earlier in the film. Then again, they Never Found the Body. Tenebrarum's death is far from clear, as she simply vanishes amid rising flames. She'd previously disappeared and reappeared in a mirror just a scene prior, and her transformation into Death presumably makes her more difficult to kill than Suspiriorum in the previous film. Then again her theme song which includes ominous Latin chanting in her honour says at the end "Matricidium Tenebrarum" which means "The Mother of Darkness is killed" and spoils the ending

  • Considering the last shot of the movie has Tenebrarum screaming as her house collapses around her, it'd be reasonable to assume she died with it, much like her predecessor.

• Awesome Moments: Mark's confrontation with the Mater Tenebrarum in the ending as the building burns around them.
  Mark: Tell me who you are!
  Mater Tenebrarum: The Three Mothers. Haven't you understood? Mater Tenebrarum. Mater Lachrymarum. Mater Suspiriorum. But men call us by a single name name. A name which strikes fear into everyone's heart. They call us (bursts through the mirror as a skeletal figure) DEATH! DEATH!
• Awesome Music: The thunderous score by Keith Emerson, in particular "Mater Tenebrarum".
• Complete Monster: Mater Tenebrarum, the Mother of Darkness, is the youngest and cruelest of the Three Mothers responsible for the creation and spread of witchcraft itself. Setting up residence in an apartment complex within New York after forcing the architect Varelli to construct fortresses for her and her sisters, Tenebrarum keeps Varelli as her mute, handicapped slave after he serves his purpose, killing anyone who comes close to finding her secret. Tenebrarum, through the film, brutally murders Sara and her neighbor after they gain too much information; nearly decapitates Rose by slamming a pane of glass through her neck; viciously torments and murders the Countess Elise; has the owner of the shop next to her lair partially eaten by rats then stabbed to death, and gouges out the eye of Elise's corrupt butler. A sadist by nature who perfectly reflects the evil the Three Mothers embody, Tenebrarum well earns her status as the cruelest of her sisters.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Mater Lachrymarum for her actress's incredible beauty.
• Genius Bonus: Upon Mark's arrival at the apartment block, a stone plaque is shown revealing that the Russian mystic George Gurdjieff stayed there in 1924. Gurdjieff's Fourth Way philosophy, as detailed in the intentionally obscure and vivid "Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson", teaches that most human beings are conditioned to living a superficial, automated existence that blinds them to spiritual and subconscious realities. Given that this film's world, like that of "Suspiria", thrives on dream logic and subconscious fears, this could explain why Gurdjieff survived his sojourn in Mater Tenebrarum's building and knew better than to outstay his welcome.

---