Director: Dario Argento
Writers: Dario Argento, Adam Gierasch and Jace Anderson Producer: Claudio Argento
From Dario Argento: “Right now, I’m working on the third part of the Three Mothers trilogy.” ... “It’s the last part of the saga that started with SUSPIRIA and continued with INFERNO. It’s about the Third Mother, Mother Lacrimarum, the ‘Mother of Tears.’ ” ... “It will be a very shocking film. The trilogy will close with a bang! It will be shot in English, because it’ll be a co-production between the U.S. and Europe.”
From co-screen writer Adam Gierasch, “It’s fast-paced, and more violent than you can shake a stick at! This is a horror movie, plain and simple. There are a lot, and I mean a lot, of murders! It really wraps up the trilogy, but is quite different from the first two. Dario didn’t want to do the same thing again."
“I think it’s really going to be the movie that everyone is hoping for,” Gierasch concludes. “It’s a ‘wow’ kind of film, from the very first scene.”
Fangoria first broke the news that Dario Argento will begin working on the final entry in the Three Mothers Triology, The Mother of Tears, in their Fearful Fearture:
Currently, he is wrapped up in the screenplay for a project that every Argento fan has been waiting to see come to fruition for some time. “Right now, I’m working on the third part of the Three Mothers trilogy,” he reveals. “It’s the last part of the saga that started with SUSPIRIA and continued with INFERNO. It’s about the Third Mother, Mother Lacrimarum, the ‘Mother of Tears.’ ” Since both SUSPIRIA and INFERNO rank among the director’s finest films, this new installment has a lot to live up to, but Argento promises, “It will be a very shocking film. The trilogy will close with a bang! It will be shot in English, because it’ll be a co-production between the U.S. and Europe.”
Casting for this project hasn’t yet begun; both previous installments of the trilogy featured strong female leads (Jessica Harper in SUSPIRIA and Irene Miracle in INFERNO), though Argento insists that wasn’t a conscious decision. “It’s just a coincidence, because I’ve done so many movies,” he laughs. “I believe it’s because of the interest I have in women as a whole. As for the soundtrack,” he continues, “I don’t know if it will be composed by Goblin [the band which did the music for his earlier classics and recently reunited to work on SLEEPLESS and JENIFER]. First I have to finish the script, then shoot the movie, and then I’ll tell you,” he laughs.
At the recent Turin Film Festival, director Dario Argento and his brother/producer Claudio revealed to FANGORIA that busy genre screenwriters Adam Gierasch and Jace Anderson (TOOLBOX MURDERS, CROCODILE and the upcoming MORTUARY, all for Tobe Hooper) will be writing the THIRD MOTHER script. Argento, who penned the classic first two parts of the trilogy—SUSPIRIA and INFERNO—with former girlfriend Daria Nicolodi, reportedly wants a better chance at reaching the U.S. marketplace by using Stateside talent.
Speaking exclusively to Fango, the duo further reveal that the project, previously reported to be titled THE THIRD MOTHER, is in fact called MATER LACHRYMARUM (Latin for THE MOTHER OF TEARS).
“We just returned from three weeks in Rome writing the first draft of the film, based on Dario’s original story,” reports Anderson, who goes on to explain how she and Gierasch became involved with the project: “We met Dario—as fans!—while he was in Los Angeles editing his MASTERS OF HORROR episode JENIFER. After speaking with Dario, he was interested in reading one of our scripts—and after he did, he asked us if we would like to do a treatment of MATER LACHRYMARUM! His brother Claudio then asked us to come to Rome. It was intense! Dario is such a sweet man. It was wonderful!”
“So we spent our time working with Dario [on the script] in Rome,” Anderson continues. “It was important for him that we do it there. He wanted us to soak up the atmosphere, the catacombs, etc., since the film will be shot exclusively there.”
Regarding the subject matter of MATER LACHRYMARUM, Gierasch doesn’t reveal plot particulars, but does promise, “It’s fast-paced, and more violent than you can shake a stick at! This is a horror movie, plain and simple. There are a lot, and I mean a lot, of murders! It really wraps up the trilogy, but is quite different from the first two. Dario didn’t want to do the same thing again.
“I think it’s really going to be the movie that everyone is hoping for,” Gierasch concludes. “It’s a ‘wow’ kind of film, from the very first scene.”