Suspiria
Suspiria
R | 10 August 1977 (USA)
Suspiria Trailers

An American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.

Reviews
Spidersecu

Don't Believe the Hype

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Dirtylogy

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

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Derry Herrera

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

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Zlatica

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

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namashi_1

Writer-Director Dario Argento's 'Suspiria' is an experience in pure fear & colorful bedazzlement. 'Suspiria' is widely known to be as Argento's Masterpiece, that has gripped its viewers ever since its release 41 years ago, way back in 1977. And to no surprise, this supernatural horror film is a work of a true visionary. I was, in equal measure, compelled & horrified.'Suspiria' Synopsis: An American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.What makes 'Suspiria' one of the greatest horror films of all-time, is how it creates fear in its colors. The German ballet academy here is painted red for the most of it, with some other colors such as blue & black having their shine. And Argento uses the colors as a metaphor for this mostly disturbing tale, that is rich in violence & grisly gore. The violence depicted in 'Suspiria' is brutal & the nerve-wracking murders will leave you a little distressed.Keeping in mind that even the great tales of horror demand relief, Argento provides nicely in the narrative. And he intelligently gives this tale a twist in its characters, with particular standouts in the form of Daniel, a blind piano teacher played delightfully well by Flavio Bucci & a help in the academy, who is given spooky make-up (intentionally) & a peculiar voice, to give this horror tale a campy feel for relief. These two characters are Argento's vision of making us realize that even the tales of haunting eccentricity, demand a sense of relief & abstractness.The Performances in 'Suspiria' are decidedly over-the-top. Argento opts for deliciously hammy portrayals from his actors, shooting them in dread, with close-ups, extreme zoom-ins & zoom-outs & in pure blood. Jessica Harper is perfectly cast as the protagonist out to know the ghastly truth within the ballet academy, delivering a worthy turn, that comes across as a strong feminist part. Stefania Casini is also credible in her part. The Late/Great Joan Bennett & The Late/Great Alida Valli command the screen & adapt to Argento's bizarre vision of horror to perfection. The remaining cast are in sync with the film's mood & sportingly add to the required campiness.Luciano Tovoli's Cinematography is another masterstroke for Argento's vision. The lensman opts for wide frames, offering vastness & grandeur, while also creating fear & dread with, as mentioned earlier, extreme close-ups & some zoom-ins & zoom-outs. Tovoli's work also captures the colors on display to astonishing results. The Late/Great Franco Fraticelli's Editing is razor-crisp & doesn't keep it down on the violent bits. The violence here hits you & the Editor knows exactly how to cut & shape them for frightening effect. The Art & Costume Design are a work of mastery, while the Make-Up is easily of textbook material for b-horror movie makers & buffs.Goblin's Score is magnificent. The haunting tunes are as much a character here, giving the film the eerie feel, it strongly demands. The Score is a mix of dread & punk, that turns into a chartbuster of sorts. I have a feeling that its main theme plays every Halloween at the gothic parties? But the real star is Argento, from start to end. The Cult Filmmaker's relentless approach to execute a spooky tale on sadistic witches, is truly a work of vision & guts. He paints the film with colors (red in particular) & throws its characters in a land of unpredictable brutality & frightfulness. The results are gratifying.On the whole, 'Suspiria' is as fascinating as its frightening. This Cult-Classic has earned its status on the strength of its storytelling, style & colors.P.S. I can't wait to see how Director Luca Guadagnino will tell Argento's story with his own distinctive vision later this year. After all, the influence has been unparalleled over the years.

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prateekcertain

Suspiria is visually a masterpiece. The music is exceptional and succeeds in creating the terrorizing atmosphere exceedingly well. Now, when it comes to explaining "dream-like premise", people go too far into rationalizing the negative aspects of the film as intentional. No, the acting is bad and was not made to feel like a dream. The dubbing is very off and sometimes distracting, and while the fact that they are not English speakers is unfortunate, I can't not take that into consideration while I talk about the film.The focus and the objective of the film is not about the straightforward plot or the acting, but is about the other-worldly ambience that the colours, music builds and the cinematography, making these aspects an extension of the subject of horror rather than the props. Some of the camera work, set design and gore scenes reminded me of some of the B-grade horror movies I've seen. I don't mean that it cheapens the quality, but it is just an observation. In fact, there isn't a lot of gore here either.All the negatives aside, this is still a captivating horror film that has clearly influenced a lot of horror and thrillers movies that came after this. It is a must watch for the genre.

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SnoopyStyle

Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) follows her aunt's footsteps to attend a dance school in Germany. A girl runs away and is killed by a mysterious figure. Strange things happen at the school and Suzy faces innumerable dangers.Influential Italian horror director Dario Argento creates a good Euro horror fantasy. There are some good bloody splatter and nice brightly-colored set design. The plot is pretty simple. It is filmed in the slower traditional pacing although it does have some good thrills. It is different from the other horrors and it works.

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Ivan

These 4 out of 10 are mostly for the music - the droning main theme that I somewhat liked - and what was good of acting. The rest of it I did not enjoy even as you do with some cheesy horror B-movies of yore.Writing, decorations, FX and most of the acting are bad. The school's interiors look like they are made out of plywood with flat textures drawn on them, and decorations are cheap or kitsch. Death and struggle scenes are ridiculously cheesy with all the bright red gouache or whatever that was used for blood. Lines like "I'm blind, not deaf" and the very academic Prof. Milius' introduction into the nature of witchcraft make up most of the dialogue. The final scene surprised me because none of the witches melted. And what's with the room where someone left a lot of wire? Any reputed dancing school ran by a coven has to have one?I don't get it how you can release something like this knowing that Rosemary's baby or any of Hitchcock movies exist, and still be serious.

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