 Giuseppe <unk> – a frequent Argento collaborator – was the film 's production designer . The surroundings are given a bleached , " merciless " look , made from marble and stone façades , shiny metallic sculptures , with steel , water and glass surfaces . Some of the homes – specifically those of the lesbian couple and he first killer – are " cold , austere , brutalist " slabs of granite , and many of the interior shots feature plain white backgrounds , with characters ' wearing pale @-@ coloured clothes against them – better , Newman felt , to contrast the blood once the violence started . The studio @-@ set scenes were filmed at Elios Studios in Rome , unlike Argento 's previous films in the city , which he had filmed at <unk> De Paolis . He could not use Elios because his idol Michelangelo Antonioni was using the studio to film Identification of a Woman ( 1982 ) at the time . The design and creation of Tenebrae 's special effects was supervised by Giovanni <unk> , who – with his brother <unk> – had a near @-@ monopoly on special effects in the Italian film industry at the time . The scene in which Jane is hacked to death after having her arm cut off was filmed about eight times . Argento was not satisfied with any of the takes he had , which used a type of bicycle pump to spray fake blood from the " wound " across the white wall , so the director had <unk> place an explosive squib in the prosthetic arm – a solution which apparently satisfied Argento . 
