Do You Like Hitchcock? (May 31/08)

As one might've surmised from the title, Do You Like Hitchcock? is rife with references and allusions to the films of Alfred Hitchcock - as its storyline essentially incorporates elements from several of the Master of Suspense's more well-known efforts (including Psycho, Vertigo, and Strangers on a Train). And while one initially can't help but derive some enjoyment out of the various nods to Hitch's body of work, the lack of interesting characters or even a storyline worth following eventually becomes too insurmountable an obstacle for the movie to overcome. Elio Germano stars as Giulio, a film student who becomes convinced his beautiful neighbor across the street is up to no good and subsequently begins stalking the woman in an effort to prove her dastardly intentions. Director and co-writer Dario Argento has infused Do You Like Hitchcock? with an expectedly grandiose sense of style that admittedly carries the proceedings for a while, although there does reach a point at which the film's few positive attributes are essentially rendered moot by the almost oppressively sluggish pace (ie the entire midsection seems to solely revolve around Giulio's surreptitious pursuit of various suspects). That Argento has dialed down the gore quotient considerably compared to his other works certainly doesn't help matters, nor does the fact that Giulio remains a hopelessly underdeveloped and downright bland central character from start to finish. By the time the Rear Window inspired finale rolls around, Do You Like Hitchcock? has definitively established itself as a weak carbon copy that'll leave even the most passionate Argento follower wishing they had just watched the far superior originals.