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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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A Great and Unique Start to the Three Mothers Trilogy!
This was the very first Dario Argento movie I've seen when I rented it a few years back! Needless to say it still blows me away. This was indeed Dario at his best and truly focused.(Albeit thankfully not the last time,mind you) I mean what can I say you get a gripping story with a seemingly harmless(at first) Ballet/Boarding School,that ends up run by wicked satanic sorcerer(ess) types including a creepy spellbinding old crone named"Elena Marcus!" In general as nasty as the character Miss Tanner proved to be! That was a worthy performance! The soundtrack by Goblin was much like the movie in that it was creepy and atmospheric! Naturally I love the way that Dario uses stunning colorful lights with his reds,darkish blues and occasional yellows! Granted this movie didn't possess any groundbreaking/breakthrough special effects like Star Wars did in the same year this movie came out. But it does possess a look that can't be compared with anyone elses,it's quite atmospheric,stylistic, claustrophobic in most scenes, not at all predictable, full of suspense and horror/terror and best of all I get really excited at the end when the main character Suzy Bannion not only finds out that all the staff members of the ballet academy are against her and are satanic sorceressses but the race against time insued when Suzy meets the infamous Elena Marcus aka The Black Queen,aka The Directress aka Mater Suspiriorum. Anyhoo I also love the way that after valiantly defeating the "old crone" everything starts to explode and fall apart as the academy collaspes forcing Suzy to naturally get the hell out of there! The murder scenes possess a certain uniqueness to them as well. My most favorite ones would definitely be: The scene where the lovely Sarah is trying to block the door from whomever is after her and as she crawls out of the window inside the room she lands in this wirey materials(of which I like to refer to as "The Slinkys of Death) that leave her perfectly immobile enough for the killer to victimize her, and the earlier scene where the escaped girl who tries to tell Suzy how to stop sorceresses first gets stabbed brutally then hanged to the point of crashing through the stain glass up above only to have its parts fall on her roommate was pretty unique! Other than that even though it was a brief cameo I was thrilled to see a younger Udo Kier(Johnny Mnemonic,Blade). Beyond that there's not much more I can say to truly do this movie justice 'cause it needs to be seen to be believed and indeed appreciated! All I will say is this movie is gorey and violent at times and features an unsettling yet thankfully brief scene of maggots falling from the ceiling. But for those who don't want to always follow the same conventions of an American or Canadian horror movie or just want an awesome and gripping murder mystery "Well Look No Further! And remember despite it all " You Can't Really Kill Elena Marcus! LOL!
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A Candy-Colored Nightmare
A lesser-known cult classic, Suspiria has been hailed as a masterpiece, a "candy-colored nightmare". Often called director Dario Argento's best work.
The film may not frighten people today like it would have 30+ years ago when it was made, but it still manages to be effectively frightening though not in the conventional sense. The colors and set pieces combined with an eerie score give it a highly stylized nightmarish quality.
Suspiria is unique among its genre. It is just as much a work of art as it is a horror film, something you just don't see anymore.
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4 ½ Stars: Arguably Dario Argento's Best Film; the Opening Chapter in the "3 Mothers" Trilogy...
The Italian maestro of horror, Dario Argento's first installment of his "Three Mothers" trilogy begins with "SUSPIRIA" (1977); arguably the most beloved of his films in the 1970s. There has always been debate among his fan base whether this film or "Deep Red" is his masterpiece. Some say it should be "Tenebre". For me, I am still somewhat undecided. I like his psychological "giallos" as much a his occult films. Whatever you prefer, "Susperia" is a dark fairy tale that will forever be remembered in the journals of horror films.
One dark, dank and stormy night, an American ballet dancer named Susie Banyon (Jessica Harper) arrives in a ballet school in Freiburg. This European ballet school is ran by a mysterious woman named Madame Blanc (Joan Bennett) and Miss Tanner (Alida Valli). A number of mysterious deaths and horrific crimes begin to occur in the school shortly after her arrival. Apparently, they are linked to the school itself; while the area on which the school stands on has a relation to a certain "Black Queen", a practitioner of the dark arts of the occult and witchcraft.
The film's plot is quite light when compared to "Deep Red" or even "Tenebre", but this fact doesn't make this film any less eerie or suspenseful. From the opening act the film exudes a dark and moody feel, Argento's magnificent eye for visuals are at its best. It took me at least two viewings to truly appreciate "Suspiria". The use of vibrant colors I've read became a revolutionary palette for the horror maestro, and to think that he used obsolete Technicolor film rolls to shoot his film.
The first act of the film remains as one of the most memorable sequences in horror. The opening act's death scene is truly violent and very "artsy"; that it grabs the viewer by the throat just to let him know what he is in for. This is a familiar formula for Dario Argento, as displayed in "Tenebre" and "Deep Red". Most of his films display a shocking murder and/or death sequence as "shock value". The director really does know how to get under one's skin with an unnerving sensation. It is quite curious that Argento (with co-writer Daria Nicolodi) owes his inspiration for "Suspiria" from a Disney animation--"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". I've read that the film was originally intended to use a children's school as its backdrop but for reasons unknown to me, that idea was abandoned. (perhaps it would generate too much controversy?)
"Suspiria" has a decent share of ominous atmosphere. Argento uses vibrant colors, intimidating and spooky architecture, the use of shadows, combined with Goblin's ominous music all contribute to the film's effectively creepy screenplay. The film also applies some lore from witchcraft and the occult as it takes a look at the mythology about witchcraft. Food does spoil a lot faster when it is within the confines of witches, at least according to legend. I do think the director has a certain curiosity about witches that led him to create one, if not the most involving tales about the subject. The scientific definition of the occult is also defined which adds to the film's credibility. Daria Nicolodi is to be credited for some of the film's creative inputs as she supposedly told Argento about her grandmother who had a similar experience in a school that practiced black magic. Whether this is fact or a rumor I would not know.
The performances by the cast is quite decent but not entirely flawless. Jessica Harper does give a decent performance but I rather thought that she lacked some chemistry with Stefania Casini. Nonetheless, Argento is able to make this a very minor setback as he bombards the screen with his signature ingenious camerawork along with cinematographer Luciano Tovoli. I was in awe as to how the death of the blind piano player was set up. It was suspenseful and freaky, with great use of pans, reverse zooms, close-ups and moving shadows. Aside from the opening's death scene, this would be my favorite sequence in the film. Argento is a master of simple visual manipulation. I was a little disappointed that this installment had no nudity but I supposed it fit the film's pace. There are quite a few gruesome scenes carefully placed in the film's proceedings. "Suspiria" has definite Giallo influences in its opening marks just before it goes into overdrive.
Dario Argento may have more style in his supernatural films. His Giallos and his occult films are like apples and oranges, they`re both good but can`t be compared. Regardless, however you may feel about "Suspiria", whether this is your first Argento film or you're a big fan; the creative death sequences, the maggot attack (or shower), the dog mauling are stuff that are truly noteworthy in the film. For a film made in 1977, it is way ahead of its time. The use of colors, manipulation of the senses and very creepy atmosphere make this film one of Dario Argento's most celebrated works, and it still holds up to this present time.
Highly Recommended! [4 ½ Stars]
The 2-disc 25th Anniversary Dvd by Blue Underground has a THX-Certified re-mastered picture and the sound mix has both 5.1 Dolby Digital and 5.1 DTS. For a film made in 1977, it looks real pretty.
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Bleeding fears to blind your reasoning
shadows/panic/fear/maggots/evil/mental/fantasy/windows/shock/delusion/supernatural/fright/doors/brilliance
Not sure why this took me two times to appreciate. Maybe my mind can only handle so much. But I've now become possessed, subdued, entranced. This is an extraordinary piece of horror cinema.
Dario Argento expertly pulls you into this confrontation of utter evil. He uses highly stylized penetrating violence that will be emblazoned in your memory. There are plenty of other lush, abhorrent visuals that will leave a nasty impression. And the ultra-gory special effects promote a stark fear that will scramble your brain. Overall, it's a story that will leave you bewildered and frightened.
Totally incredible. Step carefully into the madness.
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Argento's masterpiece
Suspiria is one of the horror classics that seems to divide horror fans; some cite Suspiria as a masterpiece of the genre and one of the greatest horror movies ever made, while others see it as boring and nowhere near the hype it has gotten. And at first I was one of those who would state it as boring and over hyped. Upon my first viewing I was like this is the classic Argento movie people hail as one of the greats? At the time I wasn't really into Argento. While I didn't dislike him I can't say I was a fan.
But than I went back and gave his films another chance and suddenly found myself loving these movies I originally thought were about average. So I figured might as well give Suspiria another chance; and watching it the 2nd time I hoped my opinion would change, but I still expected the absolute worst. But my 2nd viewing I just fell in love with this movie and now I'm one of those people who praise it as a masterpiece of the horror genre.
Dario Argento has a very strong visual style and more often than not the plot takes a backseat to his visual style and I understood that going into this film and all his others. But for some reason I just couldn't get into his work where as now you'll be hard pressed to find a bigger fan of Argento than me. I would recommend to anyone out there who didn't like Suspiria to give it another chance. If you still dislike it than maybe it's just not for you, but I know besides myself a lot of people disliked Suspiria at first and now love the movie. Suspiria really is one of those movies that gets better and better on multiple viewings.
The screenplay was written by Dario Argento and Daria Nicolodi and if you were to find any flaws with Suspiria this would be it. While not badly written at all the script is the only weak point of the film. I always mention in my reviews for Argento movies that he at times can be a good writer. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Deep Red had very solid scripts and even though I thought The Cat o' Nine Tails was about average the script wasn't bad. The only problem though is in my opinion Argento has never written a really iconic character even in his better scripts. Around the time of Suspiria is when the writing took a backseat to his visual style and use of colors.
The script wasn't bad, but just suffers from weak characters; while I wouldn't say the characters are bad or anything they do lack of depth and aren't fully developed, but oddly enough I'd rate Suzy Bannion played by Jessica Harper as one of Argento's better characters despite any lack of depth. The script does mostly work, but this is the kind of movie that without the right director would be a boring disaster of a flick. Sometimes you have movies that while aren't poorly written or anything like that, but could be very boring.
As director Dario Argento crafts a masterpiece of a film; the opening act is downright chilling and after that Suspiria does slightly slow down, but Argento's visual style keeps Suspiria creepy and interesting even if it's a bit slow. The use of colors in this movie is just simply amazing. Suspiria just might be the best looking movie I have ever seen, but you can actually make a case for several Argento movies, but Suspiria just might be the best. The look of Suspiria is very much like a nightmare and that is something most Argento movies have going for it. It's also like this twisted fairy tale and all these elements are what elevate Suspiria to a classic of the genre. The best way to describe Suspiria is it's like a nightmare that may not make a whole lot of sense, but is quite chilling.
There is so much that goes into directing besides simply storytelling. Granted that is the most important aspect, but there is more to it than that. Dario Argento may not be the best storyteller in the case that his flicks sometimes have a weak plot and maybe characters that lack a little depth, but what he might lack in that area he more than makes up for with suspense, tension and plenty of scares. And again I go back to Dario's visual style, which is what makes him stand out so much and again that is what makes Suspiria so brilliant. As I stated before the opening act is downright chilling and while the movie might slightly slow down it never loses the eerie feeling. The visual aspect and use of colors are the most amazing I have ever seen. Again Suspiria is simply a beautiful movie to look at.
Another thing Suspiria has going for it is the score by Goblin; these guys are just amazing and have worked with Argento several times and Claudio Simonetti of Goblin has worked with Argento on almost all his movies and he's probably my favorite composer of all time. The score by Goblin is just mind-blowing and their score adds so much to the movie and makes it downright chilling! It's really hard to say, which score by Goblin is their best these guys have done such great work with Argento and with other filmmakers as well, but in the case of Suspiria, well this could easily be rated as their best score.
As I stated earlier in my review if you've seen Suspiria and didn't like it give it another chance and if your opinion doesn't change than the movie just isn't for you. But Suspiria is a movie that might take a couple of viewings; many fans of this movie disliked it at first and like I said I was one of those people as well. Forget the plot and all that and watch Suspiria for its visuals and you might just start to like it.
Suspiria in my opinion is a classic horror flick and deserves all the hype it gets. Many hail this as Dario Argento's best flick and while I understand why I'm not sure I would rate this as my favorite by him, but no doubt it's in my top 5 and in my top 20 favorite horror flicks of all time. For those new to Dario Argento I would recommend you check out his work in order; this way you can see how he evolved as a filmmaker. Suspiria is a movie you'll love or hate, but I urge people who disliked this to give it another chance and if you still dislike it that's fine, but Suspiria is very much a movie that takes more than one viewing.
