The Card Player is, by Argento's standards, a very restrained film. The film is closer in type to Argento's early features, a mystery thriller rather than a horror film. Some of the scenes play like a particularly graphic episode of C.S.I. The scenes of violence are shot and edited elliptically. The film concerns a female police detective who is seeking a serial killer who kidnaps young women. The women are potentially able to be freed if the detective wins at games of on-line poker. Argento spends more time with his characters doing detective work out in the streets, unlike some films involving computer shenanigans. While I'm not buying the "poker is life" metaphor that is expressed by the detective, The Card Player is engaging, and certainly better than Argento's previous film, Sleepless.

In addition to not dwelling on the violence, The Card Player visually is different from other Argento films. In one of the several supplements, Argento discusses shooting with available light, and using specially created street lights for some of the night time shoots. Even the narrative is stripped down with a brief psychological explanation for character motivation, without the childhood traumas of Deep Red or Tenebre. There is a history on the development of The Card Player at Dark Dreams. Argento's trademark black gloves are used once again as what the viewer sees identifying the killer. Unlike Jenifer, The Card Player has enough fingerprints to be a recognizable Argento film.

A postscript here: The Fangoria article title is a little joke. Michael Brandon next starred in Argento's Four Flies on Gray Velvet.