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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.

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.

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.

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.

"Suspiria" has been acclaimed as director Dario Argento's masterpiece. And it certainly is. The plot is fairly simple. American ballet student Susy Banyon (Jessica Harper) travels to Germany to attend an exclusive ballet school. Once there, she discovers that there is more going on within than just dance instruction. Although the school's directress, Madame Blanc (Joan Bennett) welcomes her warmly, she is unsettled by her aide, Nazified teacher Miss Tanner (Alida Valli), as well as several mysterious student disappearances. When her new friend Sara (Stefania Casini) is the latest to vanish, Susy begins her own investigation of the academy. Filmed in bright, lurid Technicolor, and accompanied by a thundering soundtrack by Goblin, Suspiria is a nightmare-come-to-life. The performances of Harper, Bennett and especially Valli (like Bennett, a major star of the Golden Age) are solid, as is the unrelentingly creepy atmosphere. Also on display are two especially gruesome murders which happen near the beginning of the film. Argento later said that he modeled the look of the film directly on Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and, indeed the similarities are apparent. "Suspiria" may not always make perfect sense plot wise, but it's a thrilling roller-coaster ride through what may very well be Hell. "Suspiria" ranks as one of the best Italian-made horror films of all time.

Rating: 7

The movie employs flamboyant use of color. I would call it an Italian Shining had it released after The Shining (1980).

The Good - Use of color! The movie has excessive use of dramatics. The soundtrack, colored lighting and the use of gore is prominent throughout. The cinematography, use of imbibition colors makes this movie *eye-catching*

The Bad - Color is the only praise worthy aspect of this movie. Although the movie lays emphasis on gore and is intriguing till the end, the plot is fairly laid out and the acting falls weak. I would simply call this film an art movie which experiments with Horror.

Still, Suspiria has a legacy which topples the movies of the current era. It is definitely in my list of must-watch movies!

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.

The atmosphere that Argento set in this film is just absolutely breathtaking. The brilliant use of striking primary colors bathing the scenes and the geometric patterns found all throughout the Tanz Dance Academy paired with Goblin's contribution to the haunting soundtrack render it as one of the most beautifully orchestrated giallo films I've seen, and subsequently, one of my favorite horror films of all time.

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

Dario Argento's crowning achievement in stylish film-making.

Suspiria is the most beautiful horror film ever made. Every single frame of this film is expertly lit and colorful. With this technique Argento manages to create an almost unbearable amount of tension and the extremely brutal and bloody murder sequences look so good one can only admire their beauty. The music score by Goblin is one of the most effective score ever to grace a horror movie.

The story concerns an American ballet student who discovers that a coven of witches run the school as bodies begin piling up.

Not much of a story here, but that's really not the main thing. Style and atmosphere is the main course here, and it's execution is completely flawless. Acting and dubbing are okay and the dialogue is a bit stiff. But these are minor flaws in an operatic horror ride one is not likely to forget that easily.

So sit yourself down, turn out the light, and watch this movie in surround sound, 'cause the music alone will totally give you the creeps.

The movie started out so well that I thought I was in for a treat. But that soon faded away with weird interiors, illogical dance instructions, unsynchronized gore. Overall it was a disjointed and detached from reality movie which failed to scare. Sound and musical effects didn't help either. Didn't understand the blind pianist character and his death. What's up with the Italiano architecture, it's portrayal, grandiosity was unnecessary. The good part was the striking colors. That was amazing not only depicting 70s era but also can be helpful in learning lighting effects. I would have given this effort to scare a 2/10 had it not been the colorful scenes in it, especially red and green.

I can say Suspiria might just be one of my favorite horror movies ever: it delivers a smart yet easy to follow story, having many twists and turns throughout it. The characters are extremely likable and smart, and the acting from the actors is outstanding. This film is also extremely scary: from the incredible score found in every scene, to the creepy visuals, to the amazing camera work and editing. Overall, this film is an outstanding perfect horror film, and Dario Argento shows how talented of a director he truly is.

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!

Suspiria is a stunning visual and musical experience.

The entire film is caked in this vibrant neon color that accents the amazing set design. Very unconventional color choices are used throughout its entirety, even down to the costuming. There is a sense of unpredictability that comes with the choices, which adds to the mysticism of the film. These pretty colors also add contrast to the ugliness of the horrific moments in the film, making them feel much more abrasive.

Progressive rock band Goblin does a great job on this soundtrack, further adding a distinct sense of mysticism to the film. It shares similarities to some of John William's moments in the Harry Potter soundtrack, while of course offering a more thrilling side to cinematic composition. At times I felt the soundtrack was the element driving the horror, with the cinematography playing the role of the visual vehicle for the suspense.

The one hangup I had with the film is that although it had a lot to show, and a lot to listen to, it didn't have a lot to say. The narrative is very loosely strung together with acting performances that left more to be desired. I didn't feel much for any of the characters besides the lead act. The strange attempt at having a romantic interest was really awkward and they didn't do much with that either.

Luckily by the climax of the film things start to come together nicely and we are left on a high note. Suspiria is a piece of art, but best appreciated when ignoring its failings.

This film was worthy of every bit of hype and respect it has accumulated over its 45+ years of being around. I feel like most people's negative reviews on this film come from a lack of imagination or understanding of what Argento was going for here. It's not JUST a horror movie, this spoke higher volumes to me! It's something bigger! It's psychological, psychedelic, mysterious, horrifying, and yet strangely beautiful. It's like you're taken straight from reality and placed into this beautiful, hazy, dreamlike realm with the unsettling feeling that evil forces are stalking you and breathing around you! Until the film suddenly jars you out of stunned daze with a grotesque murder sequence which is shrouded with astonishing coloring and lighting! The cinematography and soundtrack really told the story here! It presented the atmosphere and uneasy feeling mixed together with it's stunning imagery and sinister score. If I'm being completely honest, this is the type of movie that will make you feel like you've taken some kind of LSD or Psychedelic drug or something, and believe me I know the feeling of the effect. It's crazy, but this movie feels like it came from another world. I feel like more American movies should take notes from Italian horror filmmakers because there's something about this movie, it's semi-sequel titled "Inferno" and Argento's other horror classic, "Deep Red" as well as Michele Savoi's "Stage fright" -- because these movies all put a fresh spin on the classic horror genre and they actually manage to make it enjoyable yet utterly horrifying. For a film that was released back in 1977, I've honestly never seen a movie like "SUSPIRIA" before! And I'm beyond happy to own the Synapse Blu-ray release of this film as well! I simply came on here just to give this astonishing shocker a clean 10 out of 10 stars. I'm not exaggerating, I just get the point and I love it! To each their own, this definitely isn't a movie for everyone's taste...but at LEAST give it a try!

...and some people may say 'Thank goodness for that.' Some people might, but not me. Suspiria has a lot going for it. It also has a lot of negatives about it. In fact, it may even be one of those rarest of films which actually might benefit from a modern day remake.

It's about a young American girl who enrols in a ballet school in Europe. Unfortunately, the school is run by witches (and not even the nice Nicole Kidman types from Bewitched).

The good: the film is spectacular to watch, simply because of the use of rich and vibrant colours in every scene. If ever a movie had 'a look' then this is it.

The bad: the acting. It's dubbed. And when was the last time you watched a film with Oscar-winning performances that had been dubbed? The acting is pretty bad.

The indifferent: the musical score. If you like electro (and possibly have seen Dawn of the Dead 1979) you may be familiar with the band The Goblins. Well, they outdo their previous work with a truly loud score. It's supposed to make you jump and create tension. Personally, I liked it, but I've read plenty of negative comments saying how it was too loud, distracting and even made people have to turn the volume up and down all the way through the film.

There is gore - low budget stuff though and if you like your horror slow burning and colourful, you might get something out of this.

Suspiria is a giallo classic, one of the best horror films ever made. Dario Argento tell us a fairytale of horror, a young American dancer travels to a dance school in Germany, behind it walls something unholy is waiting! The mixes between a giallo and a slasher films are obvious, making a great film experience. The acting alongside Goblin's soundtrack are with us all the time, doing we become in a new character for the film. The soundtrack from Globin is a masterpiece, a modern horror score. The cinematography is colorful, with different colours in every room, making a thrilling but exciting experience.

Dario Argento's Suspiria is a masterpiece, one of the best horror films ever made, the greatest Italian horror movie ever filmed, a classic!

The opening 20 minutes of Dario Argento's Suspira is a gem.

You see specks of bright lurid colours but it is the dash of red that constantly stands out, letting you know that blood will soon flow.

The moment Suzy Banyon (Jessica Harper) goes from the airport arrival halls to the sinister airport sliding doors to the windswept raining outdoors. You experience an audio-visual dazzle. Argento has thrown down a marker.

That segment is finished with a Grand Guignol styled double death. One is a frenzied stabbing the other a shard of skylight glass.

It is a shame that the rest of the film could not keep up to that standard. The fault lies with some choppy editing, not so good acting (I saw the subtitled version) and a weak story.

Suzy Banyon has arrived in Germany to study ballet at a famous dance academy. However Suzy constantly feels tired and some of the student disappear which leads Suzy to investigate some bizarre behaviour. Suzy finds out more of the academy's Greek founder who was accused of being a witch.

There is something surreal and nightmarish about Suspira. Although filmed in Italy, there were some location shots in Munich and a suggestion that the film alludes to the Nazi nightmare of the 1940s.

'Suspiria' is a very highly regarded movie and I finally got around to watching it. Mmm, well it's OK and has some decent moments but overall I found it below average.

The best thing about it is the cinematography with some striking images which reminded me of 'The Shining'. The story is thin, the acting in some places is ropey and the soundtrack to my ears was absolutely dreadful and didn't fit with most of the scenes at all. Definitely not a movie I would watch again.