I’m not as up on Argento as I should be as a horror fan. Of course, I saw Suspiria and Phenomena because it had Jennifer Connelly. So I might not have all the context for these early ones.
Argento hosts all four episodes but only directed The Train and wrote The Stranger. All four are solid mini horror movies, 55 minutes each.
The Neighbor is a classic couple in a creepy house stalked by a killer. The Train is a murder mystery investigating a killing on a train. I guess the murder of a blonde woman is traditional Giallo.
The Doll follows an escaped mental patient as he follows a woman. In The Stranger, a lone driver finds a body in the road, but it’s gone by the time the cops arrive. It builds up to the killer stalking her in an effective third act, and is the most compelling of the four.
Each episode contains interesting shots, like a teacup attached to the camera as it’s delivered, or a POV in hallways that would become the staple of Halloween and other slasher films.
The episodes feel padded to make the run time though. Long takes of a woman reading in The Stranger, the couple in The Neighbor walking from their stalled car to the house and then taking the time to set up before creepy things happen, a lot of walking and watching in The Doll give away that they were fitting a time slot.
But, if you’re interested in Argento, the bonus features on all four discs may be the biggest draw. They cover his career in depth with some ‘90s docs that go through his career up to The Phantom of the Opera. Perhaps the TV episodes are the bonus features for that.