Directed by:
Dario ArgentoCinematography:
Luciano TovoliCast:
Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bosé, Barbara Magnolfi, Eva Axén, Rudolf Schündler, Udo Kier, Alida Valli, Joan Bennett (more)VOD (1)
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Ballet student Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) arrives at a prestigious dance academy in Freiburg, a school plagued by gruesome and supernatural happenings. Soon students begin to die in horrific circumstances is Suzy next, and can she uncover the academys sinister secret before its too late? Argento carved a Baroque Expressionist nightmare, saturated with expressionist colours and punctuated by shocking violence. His monumental, epoch-making cinema-redefining visual and aural assault on the senses has become the reference by which all horror genre is measured and its creator, director Dario Argento can now truly be seen as one of the important artists of the 20th century. (Cult Films)
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Reviews (7)
Dario Argento in form! In Suspiria, Argento shocks us first and foremost with excellent, eerie visuals using bold colours and a crushing soundtrack that is one of the most terrifying I've ever heard. There are elaborate deaths that you just won't forget, even if the shade of the blood sucked, the highly involved double-murder scene at the beginning of the film is still one of the best horror scenes ever. It's an atmospheric blast that, oddly enough, suited me just fine. I look forward to the remake!
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A legendary horror film by master director Dario Argento, Suspiria boasts stunning visuals and a unique soundtrack by Goblin. Argento's distinct style is most evident here, more than in any of his other films I've seen. The film excels in creating a captivating and terrifying atmosphere, greatly enhanced by the music, which elevates the scare factor to its peak. The final scene is a pure horror climax, and I can vividly imagine the reactions of audiences when it premiered in 1977. Suspiria ages like fine wine, and with each viewing, I appreciate and enjoy it even more.
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Pretty uncharacteristic for the late seventies in building a relationship between the film and the viewer, which makes the kind of details nobody cares about, like logic, acting, or story, completely incidental to the individual scenes. These, thanks to the aggressive lighting (which the characters don’t notice, only the viewer) and even more aggressive music, do not create a classic filmmaker's attempt to let the viewer empathize with the characters; on the contrary, they deliberately alienate them and push them into a voyeuristic position where the outcome of the subsequent development of the scene is clear, thus creating not a sense of fear, but a sense of guilt. Which is pleasantly sick.
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There’s no doubt Suspiria makes imaginative use and extends the possibilities of film as an audiovisual medium of expression. The story, on the other hand, is as dumb as Paris Hilton, but the visuals and music take the film up the ranks of inspirational horror cult movies. Adapting an expressionistic setting and colour spectrum to the changing psychology and moods of the characters like this takes some serious creative balls, which Argento certainly has. It's just a pity that in 98 minutes the film manages to get very solidly boring, because building a simple witch tale with a wannabe feminist overlay solely on novel stylization may be a fine entry in the filmmaking textbooks, but as far as stimulating curiosity about the shape of the plot is concerned, Suspiria remains bland and short of the expectations. The ending is surprisingly good and the gore is traditionally juicy in the Italian way, but I won't go above average with my rating. Sorry. 70%
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I must apologise to Suspiria. Up until today it was harmed by my two-star rating resulting from the first unsuccessful screening, when I was probably still not ready for this Italian horror classic. Yesterday at midnight I had another go and WOW! It’s awesome; one of the most terrifying horror movies ever. A unique artistic stylisation, amazing music, and an atmosphere that you could cut with a knife… The only problem is the plot with several naive moments (the pace counting was bullshit, really). I am very surprised and very satisfied and, under the influence of this experience, in the near future I will rewatch other horror films that I didn’t like the first time around.
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Gallery (160)
Photo © Seda Spettacoli
![Suspiria - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/159/727/159727908_e881c1.jpg)
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