Suspiria. El maligno

A dancing school is not what it presents, swinging back and forth charades with dark pretence, a coven of conspirators, necromancer choreographers, a malevolent and pernicious, dark presence. A young American enrols, and takes the floor, not too long before events suggests theirs more, than a spin, a twist or twirl, as performances unfurl, and disguises make surprises so much more.

A colourful and vibrant tale of what lies beneath the surface, under the covers and behind closed doors in a German school of dancing, although once you start to peel away the flesh, you may find an abstract and occasionally complex undercurrent of themes that reflect how progressive the world, or at least parts of it, have become. Both Dakota Johnson and especially Tilda Swinton deliver top drawer performances.

Gone is the exaggerated colour palette, the elaborate set pieces, the nightmarish soundtrack & the no-nonsense premise of the original. In fact, Luca Guadagnino's Suspiria departs from everything that made Dario Argento's horror classic unique, and is a dull, dismal & divisive remake that's exhausting, frustrating & one hell of a slog.

Unlike the 1977 original, this one employs muted colours, shrivelled set design, slow-burn approach, hypnotic score & an unnecessarily drawn out narrative that piles one needless segment on top of another, resulting in an overlong flick that exceeds the original's length by a considerable margin, and will test the patience of most viewers.

Aiming for more than a straightforward supernatural horror, Guadagnino retains the themes of the original but is more interested in exploring the political unrest of the depicted timeline, not because the plot calls for it but because he wants to. While some will admire his choice to not rehash the same story, others will argue that his reach far exceeds his grasp here.

On the plus side, the eerie mood & foreboding aura never leaves the room, some kills are downright terrifying, the earthy tones do fit its depressing tone, that Volk dance sequence is truly a highlight, Make-up is top-notch, and Thom Yorke's score just fits. As for the performances, Tilda Swinton steals the show by taking the role of not one, not two but three different characters, and she excels at all of them.

Overall, Suspiria does retain the original's title but everything about it is different. More a homage than a full-fledged remake, it is an abstract re-imagination that attempts to tackle themes & elements that it could've done without, and comes stuffed with an unwarranted subplot that's detrimental to the viewing experience. In short, Luca Guadagnino's Suspiria is too long, too slow & too far up its own ass.

While I really liked the weirdness of the Original (you can't really put your finger on it and what it tried to tell us), this really steps up to the task. I know that just writing this or just the rating will have some fans of the Original riled up. Now I'm not trying to take anything away from your memories or your taste, so if you are reading on, I thank you for being open minded.

For anyone unaware of the original, you do not have to have seen it, to enjoy this. But you can watch both, because they differ on enough levels to make them both enticing and interesting to watch. Even a double will would be something that made sense. And whichever order you want to watch them. Though I think it would make sense to watch Argentos Suspiria first. We have different characters here, we have an amount violence and depicted visual explicit pain enducing scenes, that this is not for the faint of hearted. If you are squeamish, do not - I repeat: do NOT watch this! But if you stomach the visceral and painful moments (there are not that many and they are mixed well with the story), you will love the rest too.

Great storytelling and a weirdness that can hold up to that of the original. And really great acting to go along with everything.

I've seen the original and can tell that this remake goes one step further. While the old 'Suspiria' from 1977 has strong atmospheric suspense, his one has less of it, but becomes real bloody at the end. What drives me mad is the run time. 2 hours 31 minutes for a story that could be easily told in 1 hour 45 minutes. So I lost a lot of time for a mediocre story. I would have given even a worse rating, if it wouldn't get so gory shocking scenes at the end. That's the only point it can really score with - as a horror movie. The story is too long winded.

Large groups of people seem to either be awed by this film or utterly revile it. I, however, am willing to go against the grain and take the middle ground. This is neither a masterpiece, nor is it a disaster.

It's a highly ambitious remake that attempts to weave political and artistic themes together into one cornucopia of fantasy-horror-historical expression, and unfortunately it only succeeds some of the time. Does this film bite off more than it can chew? One could argue that, but sometimes I'd rather a film try to do too much and partially fail than play it safe and thereby come out less memorable.

What tends to give this film more bite is its ferocious dance sequences. I can only imagine how much work went into that aspect of the filmmaking. There is also a wonderful recreation of the sterile bleakness of late 1970s Berlin back when the city was still divided during the Cold War. As far as performances go, there isn't a false note. Dakota Johnson gives a nuanced turn as an aspiring American dancer who comes to Berlin in 1977 to join a world-renowned dance company, which just might be dominated by a host of witches. Tilda Swinton gives an equally disquieting turn as one of the dance instructors. Chloe Moretz Grace turns out to be under-utilized.

Although some scenes don't feel as artistic as they could have been, this is still an arresting cinematic experience overall. Putting its inconsistency in execution aside as well as a seemingly winding conclusion, I recommend this film for those looking for something ambitious and off-the-wall.