Suspiria

This is the movie, along with a few others, that I consider as my favorite. One of the greatest horror movies ever, so influential that many try (more or less successfully) to achieve this cinematographic greatness.

Plot is simple, yet effective. As a horror film, it creates the unease, tension and spooky atmosphere in colorful 1970s style. So when I think of this movie, the first thing that comes to my mind are the lights and saturated colors. Perfect for a rainy October night!

Along with great photography, many memorable scenes wouldn't be complete without the perfect soundtrack ("Suspiria, "Witch"...). Possibly the best music for a horror movie ever, the original theme is a horror movie's heaven... or hell.

Having heard such mixed things about "Suspiria," I was actually somewhat pleasantly surprised. My main interest in seeing the movie was because of Joan Bennett and Alida Valli.

The sets are quite marvelous and the opening sequence appropriately gripping. I can't say that I was scared by the film. The maggot sequence was actually pretty funny. One minute they're dropping all over the place and the next there's poor Joan Bennett (I read somewhere that she did the film so she could go abroad) in her best finishing school posture and accent explaining away the problem. Don't get me wrong, but there are some genuinely creepy bits. The scene with Jessica Harper walking down the hall and seeing the old woman and the little boy and then her dance class with the sadistic Alida Valli character was unnerving.

The script needed some work. It is, as others have said, a very dreamlike/nightmarish film, but I need some sort of narrative cohesion in my movies. I also have to agree with the reviewer here who questioned the whole sleep apnea thing.

The acting is . . . uneven. Jessica Harper does fairly well as the young woman who's come to the dancing school and discovers there's much more going on. I'm not sure what to say about Bennett and Valli. I've seen it suggested that their performances were supposed to be like that--why, I don't know--but it would be to their credit if that were the case, because both of them gave much better performances in their careers. Still, glad I saw it and I will probably watch it again.

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.

A German ballet school for girls is the setting for mysterious deaths, in this 1977 horror story, written and directed by Dario Argento. "Suspiria" is a visually stunning film.

The images contain objects we recognize, like people, buildings, and interior decor. But the objects seem vaguely menacing, and less real than surreal, as though they symbolize ideas, repressed desires, or subconscious fears. The vivid, rich colors, strange camera angles, deep shadows, and bright light piercing through darkness, all contribute to the impression that the viewer is trapped in someone else's nightmare.

One haunting segment of the film takes place in a huge, and strangely empty, public square, at night. A blind man and his German shepherd dog stand in the middle of the square, surrounded by imposing buildings of neo-classical architectural style. Some professional reviewers of this film have suggested that the public square is a veiled reference to Hitler and Nazism. Indeed, one could argue that the film's subtext is an indictment of fascism.

"Suspiria" is not for everyone. It is unsettling, and at times grisly. The plot is weak, and plot elements are not really explained. The acting is largely irrelevant. And while the background music is suitably gothic, it is also frantic and monotonous.

The best approach to this "art-house" film is to ignore the superficial plot, and focus instead on the fabulous cinematography, and the gothic images as conceptual metaphors.

On a cold and rainy night, American student Suzy Bannion travels to a prestigious dance school in picturesque Freiburg to study the art and history of ballet. Upon arriving, she sees a girl flee the school in a fit of terror. Later in the night, that same girl is viciously murdered. Afterwards, a series of bizarre and sinister events lead Bannion to believe that an ancient evil controls the school and is killing off its' students. Will Bannion be able to solve the grisly mystery before the next victim meets their fate?

Directed by Dario Argento, 'Suspiria' is a visually arresting, thickly atmospheric horror film that is wildly entertaining and very memorable. With a screenplay from Argento and Daria Nicolodi, the film is a psychedelic trip into an occult world of fear, blood and horror. This is not to say it's particularly well-written, as the dialogue is consistently stilted and expository, the story itself is quite meandering and there is little characterization of anyone- even Bannion herself. It wouldn't be unfair to say that it isn't exactly unpredictable, either, especially in its' latter half. However, one doesn't mind all that much, as the film is more about the visceral experience and atmosphere you feel when watching it, rather than cohesion or depth in terms of the narrative.

Inspiration for the somewhat vague, diffuse story- as well as the fantastic, absurd visuals therein- is credited to Thomas De Quincey's 'Suspiria de Profundis,' his continuing essays on the hallucinations he experienced while under the influence of opium. The images in 'Suspiria' are extraordinary and kaleidoscopic in terms of color. Giuseppe Bassan's production design is lush and rich, the decoration of the ballet academy being particularly striking and unforgettable. The whole movie resembles a Technicolor, art-deco nightmare set in a Grimm's fairy-tale- or perhaps one of De Quincey's opium trips.

Under Argento's direction, cinematographer Luciano Tovoli's artful camerawork heightens the feeling of hallucinogenic unreality running throughout the film. His framing of images is beautiful, even when the images in question are the darkest, vilest imaginable. Franco Fraticelli's editing is lyrical and frantic, adding to the film's rapid, uneasy pace. The sound design, as in most good horrors, is well-balanced and frightening, heightening the already tense mood established by the disquieting images on screen as well as the incredible musical score.

Argento and the band Goblin composed the soundtrack, and it really is terrifying. Not since Lalo Schifrin's unused score for 'The Exorcist'- rejected because it was "too scary," if rumors are to be believed- has there been such horrifically creepy, over-the-top and atmospheric music written for a film. It is so unsettling that even peaceful moments when nothing happens- two girls swimming tranquilly in a pool, for example- are terrifically uneasy and scary. It is magnificent, evocative work that must be heard to be believed.

Less magnificent are the performances and the horrendous post-dubbing of the majority of the cast. Jessica Harper stars as Bannion and doesn't deliver a totally wooden performance- but it is close to it. She doesn't have much screen presence here, which is odd considering her great work in earlier films like 'Inserts' and 'Phantom of the Paradise.' There are a few bright spots in the supporting cast- Joan Bennett, Stefania Casini and Alida Valli are all terrific- but most of the performances in the film are either stilted or over-the-top. However, even the good ones are hindered by the aforementioned post-production fiddling with sound and voice.

The bizarre infatuation with post-dubbing and post-syncing of voices has marred the impact of many Italian films from the 70's and does so once again here. There are certainly practical reasons why it was done: they could film quicker while not having to worry about recording live sound and could utilise an international cast of actors without spending months teaching them all English. However, when the result is as off-putting and slip shod as it is in 'Suspiria' it's simply irritating and takes you out of the film, while also lessening the power of the cast's performances.

Taking all that into account, 'Suspiria' is a very unique horror made with an artistic sensibility- though it is far from perfect. Terrible post-production work hampers the film's impact, as well as the majority of the performances from the cast. It is visually stunning though, and there have been few musical scores as terrifying and atmospheric. While it's not Dario Argento's magnum opus, it is entertaining, and- to borrow and paraphrase a line from Longfellow- when 'Suspiria' is good, it is very, very good- but when it is bad it is horrid.