"Suspiria" **** (out of ****) Dario Argento's "Suspiria" (1977) is one of the greatest horror films I have ever seen. It belongs in a class with "The Exorcist", "Rose-mary's Baby" and "The Omen" as one of my all-time favorites.
Dario Argento, for those who don't know, is considered one of the greatest if not the greatest Italian horror filmmaker of all-time.
He is a director who makes films which are very often considered too gory and bloody. He has an almost fetish for excessive blood, though the blood and honestly much of his special effects are done on such a modest budget they are never truly disgusting. Still, he is a director who likes to push his audience to the limit. While the blood may not look real the situations he creates are memorable and intense.
I have only seen a few of Mr. Argento's films, two in fact. His "The Stendhal Syndrome" (1996) and his most recent film "Mother of Tears" (2008). After viewing these three films I am prepared to call myself a fan of his work. While I don't think the two previous films are worthy of being considered "scary", "Suspiria" is a masterpiece in its own right.
"Suspiria" is often considered Mr. Argento's best film. It was the beginning of what is known as "the three mother" trilogy. The other films in the series were "Inferno" and "Mother of Tears". The films revolve around a three witch sisters who find power through humans on Earth which lead to Hell on Earth.
In "Suspiria" we are at a European dance academy when a young American girl, Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) arrives on the night of a terrible storm. As she enters the academy another young girl, Pat (Eva Axen) is leaving. Pat has a terrified look on her face as she runs as fast as she can from the academy. Suzy doesn't make much of this at first, but, once she is denied access to the building she starts to wonder if there is any connection.
The beginning moments of "Suspiria" are a master class in horror filmmaking. Argento is using all of the cinematic devices at his disposal and creates tension and suspense at levels I personally have not experienced since I first saw "The Exorcist".
In these moments we follow Pat as she seeks shelter at a friend's apartment. Given Pat's emotional state, the viewer knows to expect something and since this is a horror film we know it won't be good. Without doing very much Argento has us hooked as we wait in anticipation. We see Pat in the forefront but she is never really the center of attention. Argento keeps her on the left side of the frame allowing us to see the background plainly. On this dark night we wonder if something will suddenly appear, a face or a body or hand. By simply showing us the wind the audience is in knots trying to figure out what will happen. Also at work in these scenes is Argento's choice of music. It sounds almost demonic. It too puts us in an eerie mood. I haven't heard music used this effectively since Kubrick's "The Shining".
"Suspiria" is really a film which is an example of style over substance, it is an exercise in genre filmmaking but I don't say these things as faults. Sometimes such comments can be taken as such. It is because of this I feel "Suspiria" works. Argento is a born filmmaker. He clearly knows the genre well and while some might argue he is going through horror cliches he does things with such relish I was absorbed throughout. Watching this film reminds me of going through a fun house. It is a maze of terror, people pop out of nowhere, characters die gruesome deaths and the dead come to life.
In the order of fairness I need to emphasis this script written by Argento and his collaborator Daria Nicolodi (his long time romantic partner), who also wrote "Inferno", is slightly weak on plot. Some viewers might complain the film is too broad. It has plot holes. Not all the angles in the film are explored. I can't argue with you on these points, but, I don't think Argento cares and as a result neither should we. The problem with this frame of thought is you are using logic. This film requires you to shut off your brain. You can't use logic when watching a film about witches, you have to let Argento take you by the hand and lead you down the path. Once you surrender yourself to Argento's vision you will soon begin to experience how powerful this film truly is.
Besides Jessica Harper the only other big name actor involved is Alida Valli, one of the great Italian actresses. She has worked with Bernardo Bertolucci on "1900" and "The Spider's Stratagem", Luchino Visconti on "Senso", Antonioni on "Il Grido", which I have reviewed on here and appeared in another bizarre horror classic "Eyes Without A Face". In "Suspiria" she plays one of the dancing teachers, Miss Tanner, who is Madame Blanc's (Joan Bennett) right hand person. Ms. Blance is head of the academy.
Valli plays the character as a woman we know has a secret and is hiding something sinister. She gives Suzy piercing looks and carries herself in mysterious ways. Whereas Harper plays Suzy as a naive young girl who seems to be in way over her head. Supposedly Argento originally wanted the character to be a 12 year old but producers were afraid given the themes involved and the amount of gore the film would never be released so Argento raised the character's age to twentysomething. Harper though is effective. Her almost clueless behavior brings us in because we don't know any more than she does to begin with.
The film was shot by Luciano Tovoli who has work with Argento on other projects as well as Antonioni's masterpiece "The Passenger" and the American film "Reversal of Fortune". Here he and Argento make special use of colors. The colors are very vivid and heavy use of the color red is made. I'll let you attempt to figure out why red.
There was a time I would have been very reluctant to watch an Argento film. I use to find his reputation intimidated me. Fans and some critics as I have said consider his work to rank among the scariest of all-time. But I am really beginning to understand his vision and no longer become frightened at the thought of watching one of his films. I look forward to it.
Will "Supiria" please everyone? Absolutely not. How could any movie do that? This will clearly be a difficult watch for some viewers because of the bizarre nature of the film. For others, if that isn't enough, they may find the structure of the film a mess. But for those brave few who are cinematically adventurous this is a treat. Though there are many films by Argento I have not seen and this was not my introduction into his work, I have the feeling this is the place to start. Comparing this to the other films I have seen, his more modern work, I see now they pale in comparison. "Suspiria" is truly a horror masterpiece those other films were more psychological suspense films. They didn't provide chills. "Suspiria" however will have you look behind your shoulder.
p.s. A remake has been rumored to be in the works with an adapted screenplay written by, of all people, David Gordon Green!
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