The Mother of Tears

Mother of Tears is a 2007 supernatural horror film written and directed by Dario Argento, and starring Asia Argento, Daria Nicolodi, Moran Atias, Udo Kier and Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni. The film has also been billed in English-speaking media as Mater Lachrymarum, The Third Mother (English translation of the film's original Italian title) and Mother of Tears: The Third Mother. Written by Argento, Jace Anderson and Adam Gierasch, the film is the concluding installment of Argento's supernatural horror trilogy The Three Mothers, preceded by Suspiria (1977) and Inferno (1980). The film depicts the confrontation with the final "Mother" witch, known as Mater Lachrymarum. Plot Catholic Church workers, lead by Monsignor Brusca (Franco Leo), dig up the body of a 19th-century church official, whose casket has a box-shaped urn chained to it. Inside they discover artifacts of Mater Lachrymarum (Moran Atias), the last surviving member of the Three Mothers, an ancient trio of powerful black magic witches. In particular, the box contains a magic tunic that, when worn by Mater Lachrymarum, increases her powers significantly. The urn is shipped to the Museum of Ancient Art in Rome, where Sarah Mandy (Asia Argento), an American studying art restoration, works. Sarah is dating the curator Michael Pierce (Adam James), a single father who is away from the museum that night. With help from the assistant curator Giselle (Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni), Sarah opens the box and finds the tunic, a dagger, and three statues representing the three witches. Sending Sarah to her office to retrieve tools to help her translate the text on the artifacts, the assistant curator is promptly attacked by the demonic agents of Mater Lachrymarum. Sarah arrives too late to save her from being disembowelled by the monsters and tries flee the museum. She is pursued by Mater Lachrymarum's familiar in the shape of a monkey and is only able to escape when a disembodied voice guides her through a series of locked doors that are magically thrown open.