Alarido

Tonight I watched Suspiria for the very first time and during the first 20 minutes or so I literally had no idea what I was watching. The movie has a strange way of using its music and how it decides to show what's happening on-screen. The movie at first felt like a cheap attempt to scare the audience, but oh man, Suspiria is anything but that!

The design of the school and all of the lightning choices are all great. During the entire movie something just feels off, and that leads me into one of my huge positives: The atmosphere. This is by far one of the most unsettling and creepy movies ever made, and why is that? I'll try to break it down.

As previously mentioned the design and lighting plays a big part in creating the atmosphere and so does the music/sounds played during the movie. A lot of scenes are strangely put together like this one scene where two characters are swimming in a pool and discussing something that happened earlier on. In the middle of this scene the camera switches to a new angle from above, almost like somebody or something is watching them.

There's also a lot of violence and disturbing imagery throughout the film, and it still holds up for the most part. I won't go into details, but there is one scene near the very end that actually really disturbed me, which nearly no movie has succeeded with.

My only real problem with the movie was some not so great acting from a couple of side characters, because it was pretty distracting. Everything else was great, though. A solid 8/10!

An American girl goes to Germany to a prestigious ballet boarding house, only to find out its controlled by a coven of witches. The movie has good style and atmosphere, but that's about it. There is no memorable story, and it feels disjointed and random. I don't care about any of these characters, since there is no development. The best thing about this film is the bright colors and the last 20 minutes were pretty tense and actually quite creepy. The kills are also pretty gory for the time. So yeah, Suspiria has good style and atmosphere, but lacks a story and characters. The only character I will remember from this is the blind piano player and the nasty dance instructor, everyone else is forgettable. It is worth a watch just to see the creepy dance academy and all the strange colors, but that's about it.

What sets Dario Argento apart from many of his contemporaries is his success with visual imagery. In a style where sudden visual shocks are used to thrill the audience, Argento creates elaborate deaths which cannot be quickly forgotten. The highly involved double-murder towards the beginning of the film still remains one of the most memorable scenes in horror history, standing next to the Psycho "shower scene" in pure sensory input. And in a technique so powefully employed here and here alone, Argento sets scene after scene aglow with color, using it to express the mood in ways only the subconscious can fully appreciate. All around, this is an excellent addition to the genre of horror cinema, one of the most expressive films to ever plunge a knife into the psyche of its viewers.

All I ever heard was how brilliant this movie was. I was so excited when I finally got my copy in the mail and all I can say is, "What a disappointment". First the positives. Argento's use of bright colors and dark settings is a sort of eye candy that keeps you attentive. The murder scenes are rather gory though not too realistic looking by today's standards. The one excellent aspect of this film is the score. Absolutely creepy. Which Argento over uses to the point of ridicule. What the film lacked the most was substance. I know its an over used term but "All style and no substance", describes this film to a tee. The acting was less than mediocre to say the least. Like most cult films, a minority will rave on about how great the film is but an unbiased opinion will only tell the truth. The truth is, its really nothing special.

American ballet student Jessica Harper (as Suzy Banyon) goes to study at a European dance academy, where grizzly murders and hungry maggots reign supreme. "The Tanz Academy" is fronted by elegant Joan Bennett (as Madame Blanc), with stern Alida Valli (Miss Tanner) well-suited, as head teacher. Chief among the young leotard set is Ms. Harper's relatively long-lived pal, lovely Stefania Casini (as Sara). As hair-raising events continue, Harper begins to suspect a coven of witches may have infested the dance Academy.

The storytelling part of "Suspiria" is relatively weak, with events unintentionally serving to lesson the dramatic impact of the horror. The superb opening scenes, for example, are never really improved upon. Interesting characters are underdeveloped, and should have been more cleverly woven into the plot. Despite its haphazard script, and some obvious budget restraints, director Dario Argento's "Suspiria" remains an excellent film.

Mr. Argento's innovative, imaginative direction is the film's greatest strength. His cutting edge camera sense is often striking; and, the color photography, with Luciano Tovoli, is illuminating. The sharp soundtrack music, by the appropriately named "Goblin" band, is reminiscent of Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells". Ms. Bennett and Ms. Valli are a treat. The usually underutilized Bennett is especially noteworthy, in her only post-"Dark Shadows" feature film appearance.

Bennett accepted the project on the strength of the director's reputation, and a chance to visit Rome. When "Suspiria" appeared in the USA, she received some unwarranted poor notices, and professed dissatisfaction with the film's violent content. Still, Bennett was "Saturn Award"-nominated as 1978's "Best Supporting Actress" for her work. Bennett duplicitously gives the "Madame Blanc" character just the right amount of respectability, or "class"; she keeps her Academy dancers enrolled, and helps hold the slim story together.

******* Suspiria (1977) Dario Argento ~ Jessica Harper, Joan Bennett, Alida Valli