सस्पिरिया

A German ballet school for girls is the setting for mysterious deaths, in this 1977 horror story, written and directed by Dario Argento. "Suspiria" is a visually stunning film.

The images contain objects we recognize, like people, buildings, and interior decor. But the objects seem vaguely menacing, and less real than surreal, as though they symbolize ideas, repressed desires, or subconscious fears. The vivid, rich colors, strange camera angles, deep shadows, and bright light piercing through darkness, all contribute to the impression that the viewer is trapped in someone else's nightmare.

One haunting segment of the film takes place in a huge, and strangely empty, public square, at night. A blind man and his German shepherd dog stand in the middle of the square, surrounded by imposing buildings of neo-classical architectural style. Some professional reviewers of this film have suggested that the public square is a veiled reference to Hitler and Nazism. Indeed, one could argue that the film's subtext is an indictment of fascism.

"Suspiria" is not for everyone. It is unsettling, and at times grisly. The plot is weak, and plot elements are not really explained. The acting is largely irrelevant. And while the background music is suitably gothic, it is also frantic and monotonous.

The best approach to this "art-house" film is to ignore the superficial plot, and focus instead on the fabulous cinematography, and the gothic images as conceptual metaphors.

Tonight I watched Suspiria for the very first time and during the first 20 minutes or so I literally had no idea what I was watching. The movie has a strange way of using its music and how it decides to show what's happening on-screen. The movie at first felt like a cheap attempt to scare the audience, but oh man, Suspiria is anything but that!

The design of the school and all of the lightning choices are all great. During the entire movie something just feels off, and that leads me into one of my huge positives: The atmosphere. This is by far one of the most unsettling and creepy movies ever made, and why is that? I'll try to break it down.

As previously mentioned the design and lighting plays a big part in creating the atmosphere and so does the music/sounds played during the movie. A lot of scenes are strangely put together like this one scene where two characters are swimming in a pool and discussing something that happened earlier on. In the middle of this scene the camera switches to a new angle from above, almost like somebody or something is watching them.

There's also a lot of violence and disturbing imagery throughout the film, and it still holds up for the most part. I won't go into details, but there is one scene near the very end that actually really disturbed me, which nearly no movie has succeeded with.

My only real problem with the movie was some not so great acting from a couple of side characters, because it was pretty distracting. Everything else was great, though. A solid 8/10!

What sets Dario Argento apart from many of his contemporaries is his success with visual imagery. In a style where sudden visual shocks are used to thrill the audience, Argento creates elaborate deaths which cannot be quickly forgotten. The highly involved double-murder towards the beginning of the film still remains one of the most memorable scenes in horror history, standing next to the Psycho "shower scene" in pure sensory input. And in a technique so powefully employed here and here alone, Argento sets scene after scene aglow with color, using it to express the mood in ways only the subconscious can fully appreciate. All around, this is an excellent addition to the genre of horror cinema, one of the most expressive films to ever plunge a knife into the psyche of its viewers.

All I ever heard was how brilliant this movie was. I was so excited when I finally got my copy in the mail and all I can say is, "What a disappointment". First the positives. Argento's use of bright colors and dark settings is a sort of eye candy that keeps you attentive. The murder scenes are rather gory though not too realistic looking by today's standards. The one excellent aspect of this film is the score. Absolutely creepy. Which Argento over uses to the point of ridicule. What the film lacked the most was substance. I know its an over used term but "All style and no substance", describes this film to a tee. The acting was less than mediocre to say the least. Like most cult films, a minority will rave on about how great the film is but an unbiased opinion will only tell the truth. The truth is, its really nothing special.

On a cold and rainy night, American student Suzy Bannion travels to a prestigious dance school in picturesque Freiburg to study the art and history of ballet. Upon arriving, she sees a girl flee the school in a fit of terror. Later in the night, that same girl is viciously murdered. Afterwards, a series of bizarre and sinister events lead Bannion to believe that an ancient evil controls the school and is killing off its' students. Will Bannion be able to solve the grisly mystery before the next victim meets their fate?

Directed by Dario Argento, 'Suspiria' is a visually arresting, thickly atmospheric horror film that is wildly entertaining and very memorable. With a screenplay from Argento and Daria Nicolodi, the film is a psychedelic trip into an occult world of fear, blood and horror. This is not to say it's particularly well-written, as the dialogue is consistently stilted and expository, the story itself is quite meandering and there is little characterization of anyone- even Bannion herself. It wouldn't be unfair to say that it isn't exactly unpredictable, either, especially in its' latter half. However, one doesn't mind all that much, as the film is more about the visceral experience and atmosphere you feel when watching it, rather than cohesion or depth in terms of the narrative.

Inspiration for the somewhat vague, diffuse story- as well as the fantastic, absurd visuals therein- is credited to Thomas De Quincey's 'Suspiria de Profundis,' his continuing essays on the hallucinations he experienced while under the influence of opium. The images in 'Suspiria' are extraordinary and kaleidoscopic in terms of color. Giuseppe Bassan's production design is lush and rich, the decoration of the ballet academy being particularly striking and unforgettable. The whole movie resembles a Technicolor, art-deco nightmare set in a Grimm's fairy-tale- or perhaps one of De Quincey's opium trips.

Under Argento's direction, cinematographer Luciano Tovoli's artful camerawork heightens the feeling of hallucinogenic unreality running throughout the film. His framing of images is beautiful, even when the images in question are the darkest, vilest imaginable. Franco Fraticelli's editing is lyrical and frantic, adding to the film's rapid, uneasy pace. The sound design, as in most good horrors, is well-balanced and frightening, heightening the already tense mood established by the disquieting images on screen as well as the incredible musical score.

Argento and the band Goblin composed the soundtrack, and it really is terrifying. Not since Lalo Schifrin's unused score for 'The Exorcist'- rejected because it was "too scary," if rumors are to be believed- has there been such horrifically creepy, over-the-top and atmospheric music written for a film. It is so unsettling that even peaceful moments when nothing happens- two girls swimming tranquilly in a pool, for example- are terrifically uneasy and scary. It is magnificent, evocative work that must be heard to be believed.

Less magnificent are the performances and the horrendous post-dubbing of the majority of the cast. Jessica Harper stars as Bannion and doesn't deliver a totally wooden performance- but it is close to it. She doesn't have much screen presence here, which is odd considering her great work in earlier films like 'Inserts' and 'Phantom of the Paradise.' There are a few bright spots in the supporting cast- Joan Bennett, Stefania Casini and Alida Valli are all terrific- but most of the performances in the film are either stilted or over-the-top. However, even the good ones are hindered by the aforementioned post-production fiddling with sound and voice.

The bizarre infatuation with post-dubbing and post-syncing of voices has marred the impact of many Italian films from the 70's and does so once again here. There are certainly practical reasons why it was done: they could film quicker while not having to worry about recording live sound and could utilise an international cast of actors without spending months teaching them all English. However, when the result is as off-putting and slip shod as it is in 'Suspiria' it's simply irritating and takes you out of the film, while also lessening the power of the cast's performances.

Taking all that into account, 'Suspiria' is a very unique horror made with an artistic sensibility- though it is far from perfect. Terrible post-production work hampers the film's impact, as well as the majority of the performances from the cast. It is visually stunning though, and there have been few musical scores as terrifying and atmospheric. While it's not Dario Argento's magnum opus, it is entertaining, and- to borrow and paraphrase a line from Longfellow- when 'Suspiria' is good, it is very, very good- but when it is bad it is horrid.