Argento temporarily settled in the US, where he collaborated with
The lukewarm reviews for his films, however, caused Argento to slip
away from directing to producing and co-writing two
Lamberto Bava horror flicks,
Demons (1985) and
Demons 2 (1986).
Argento returned to directing with the "giallo" thriller
Opera (1987), which according to him was "a
very unpleasant experience", and no wonder: a rash of technical
problems delayed production, the lead actress
Vanessa Redgrave dropped out
before filming was to begin, Argento's father Salvatore died during
filming and his long-term girlfriend Daria broke off their
relationship. After the commercial box-office failure of "Opera",
Argento temporarily settled in the US, where he collaborated with
director George A. Romero on
the two-part horror-thriller
Two Evil Eyes (1990)
(he had previously collaborated with Romero on the horror action
thriller
Dawn of the Dead (1978)). While
still living in America, Argento appeared in small roles in several
films and directed another violent mystery thriller,
Trauma (1993), which starred his youngest
daughter Asia Argento from his long-term
relationship with Nicolodi.