Italian legend Dario Argento is back behind the camera following his dalliance with acting in Gasper Noé’s Vortex. Considering most of his late output has been less than spectacular, it’s pleasing to say Dark Glasses (aka Occhiali Neri), while not a return to his glory days, is an entertaining shocker.

Call girl Diana (Ilenia Pastorelli) is left blinded after she was in a car accident caused when she was trying to evade a murderer who has already killed a friend. The crash also left young Chin (Andrea Zhang) an orphan. When Diana visits Chin in an orphanage, he escapes and turns up at her home.

To a certain extent, the set-up of Dark Glasses is similar to Argento’s 1971 film The Cat O’Nine Tails. While this can be considered a return to the giallo structure, it lacks the flashy set pieces and intricate plotting commonly found in his early work. That said, it’s Dario’s most enjoyable film in quite a while. Cinematographer Matteo Cocco doesn’t get to do the flourishes that Argento would have relished in the ‘70s and ‘80s, but manages to create a sinister atmosphere and at times it looks spectacular. Releasing the film in its original Italian language adds a level of authenticity that had been lacking in his early films when everything was dubbed for the international markets.

Dario’s daughter Asia shows up, of course, as the woman who helps Diana adjust to being blind – providing a stick and a guide dog (another motif we’ve seen before). The blindness angle isn’t exploited enough, however, but Argento and co-writer Franco Ferrini manage to throw a few ridiculous situations in to keep things amusing (water snakes, anyone?) but fail to make any mystery surrounding the murders.

Dark Glasses is certainly worthy of your time, but will more likely make you dig out Argento’s early work to once more.

Dark Glasses is coming to Shudder later this year.