Amazon Studios
In 1977, a strange and baffling Italian horror movie invaded US cinemas, frightening and sickening movie-goers with its then shocking blood and gore, particularly a scene involving a room filled with razor wire. That movie went on to become a cult classic and was recently restored to all of its colorful glory, bringing Dario Argento’s Technicolor horror fantasia to the big screen once again.
Now, director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name) is bringing a re-imagined version of Suspiria to cinemas, and the results may have audiences just as baffled by this version as they were by the original. The story finds a young woman, Susie Bannion (Dakota Johnson), relocating from America to Berlin to attend Helena Markos’ dance academy. There just happens to be a space open with the recent disappearance of a dancer, Patricia (Chloe Grace Moretz), and when Susie proves her talent, untrained as though she is, instructor Madame Blanc (Tilda Swinton) takes an immediate interest in the young woman, even giving her a chance to dance the lead in their next production if she can learn the difficult choreography. But there is something else going on at the school as the other instructors talk about needing a young woman for … something mysterious after Patricia ran away and Madame Blanc is certain Susie is the one they need but she doesn’t want to rush things. And it only gets more bizarre from there.
The original Suspiria never made it clear until almost the end that the dance school was actually a front for a witches’ coven. In the new version, at least Guadagnino lets the audience know right up front that that is what we’re dealing with. He still keeps under wraps what they want Susie for, why we never see Helena Markos, and who the talked about but unseen Three Mothers are: Mother Tenebrarum, Mother Lachrymarum and Mother Suspiriorum. There is also the addition of a new character, Dr. Josef Klemperer (Lutz Ebersdorf aka Tilda Swinton in old man makeup), a therapist who treated Patricia and is concerned when she goes missing, his worry leading him to the dance school, becoming an unwitting pawn for the witches. By the end, it all goes completely bonkers with a major reveal that completely takes the story in another direction from the original movie.
Suspiria really is one of those movies that you can call indescribable. It’s difficult to say whether the movie is a mess or a masterpiece. The story, at least, makes a bit more sense than the original, but there’s so much weirdness piled on through the visuals and the acting. Unfortunately, the low point of the acting comes from Dakota Johnson who brings her particular brand of blandness to the movie. She’s so one note you have to wonder what Madame Blanc sees in her. Whether she’s happy, sad, frightened, angry or pensive, all the emotions register the same. And it only becomes more obvious when she working alongside Tilda Swinton who gives Blanc an icy reserve while still being full of passion about this dance she’s rehearsing, and then gives us a completely different character with Dr. Kelmperer (and she may be playing a third character as well). A more dynamic lead would have helped the audience be more invested in Susie’s fate.
Aside from Swinton, where the movie succeeds is in all of its technical aspects. It looks and feels like a movie from 1977, the time in which it was set. Unlike Dario Argento’s penchant for lighting his film with saturated reds and blues, Guadagnino keeps his color palette very muted to reflect the winter in a Berlin that was still divided by a wall (which is right outside the doors of the dance school). And aside from Johnson, Guadagnino has cast the supporting roles quite nicely will all of the actresses playing the witches really feeling like they are of another era. It’s also great to see original star Jessica Harper in a small cameo. And Thom York provides a couple of really nice songs to open and close the movie, as well as the film’s score. I can’t fault any of the movie’s technical merits, even when Guadagnino tries to get a bit artsy with some of his visuals and editing. I just wish he had cast a better lead.
Suspiria is definitely … something. It’s not as disturbing or horrific as the original — well, except for that one scene of a dancer being punished — but it’s not something you can tear your eyes away from once it begins. It may please, or anger, fans of the original, and it is sure to leave a lot of other people scratching their heads as the credits roll (and there is a short post-credits scene that will also leave you wondering what it meant). Argento intended his Suspiria to be a part of his ‘Three Mothers Trilogy’ which he finally completed in 2007 with Mother of Tears, so one has to wonder if Guadagnino is intending this to launch a trilogy, especially after the final scene’s revelation, or if it is just a stand alone story. I suppose the box office (and eventual views when the movie hits Amazon Prime) will make that determination.
Suspiria has a run time of 2 hours 32 minutes and is rated R for disturbing content involving ritualistic violence, bloody images and graphic nudity, and for some language including sexual references.
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