SUSPIRIA TURNS 45

This year is the 45th anniversary of Dario Argento's seminal modern horror film, SUSPIRIA. Basically, a study in witchcraft, it goes far beyond the typical trappings of such a theme and immerses the viewer in a dense shroud of visual fear and terror. Argento's films are known for being uneven and riven with outright duds, but SUSPIRIA rises above as one of his best. This article from STARBURST (December, 2018) tracks Argento's career.

ALL THE COLORS OF ARGENTO

"A feast of intensely expressive images and sound."

Famed for breaking the mold of supernatural gothic horror films that had pervaded the industry since the 1930's, Dario Argento created his own style of horror through a kaleidoscopic lens drenched in color and blood. Taking a cue from crime and mystery themes, Argento added the element of horror and suddenly a new genre appeared. His trademark use of saturated primary colors, shockingly-violent scenes and bold camera angles would become the benchmark for giallo and horror films for decades to come.

This article from the February, 2010 issue of AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER provides a behind-the-scenes look at SUSPIRIA (1977), one of Argento's most well-known films, by his cameraman, Luciano Tovoli. Argento returned with a story surrounded by gothic stylings, but in a way that was wholly inventive. Inspired by Disney's SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, he sought to incorporate a fairy tale subtext to his adventurous film.

Tovoli initially wasn't interested in lensing a horror film, but Argento knew who he wanted and convinced him to join the crew. He discusses the color theory that Argento wanted to use during pre-production: "I decided to intensely utilize primary colors -- blue, green and red -- to identify the normal flow of life, and then apply a complementary color, mainly yellow, to contaminate them". Read on for a fascinating look behind the making of SUSPIRIA ("Mother of Tears").

My recommended Dario Argento films (in no particular order):

1. Suspiria
2. Phenomenon
3. The Bird With the Crystal Plumage
4. Deep Red
5. The Cat o' Nine Tails

RUE MORGUE NO. 185 NOW AVAILABLE

File under the movies least necessary for a remake is the new version of Dario Argento's horror masterpiece, SUSPIRIA. I will watch it with the mindset that it is not connected with the original at all and try to view it on its own merit. Could be good, but as a remake, this will never touch the original. The combination of Argento as the director and Jessica Harper, who I immediately had a crush on after seeing her in PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE, is a bar that raise high enough to ward off all comers.

From the publisher:
INSIDE RUE MORGUE #185

FEATURING ORIGINAL COVER ART BY ROB BIRCHFIELD
Features
BROKEN MIRRORS, BROKEN MINDS
Suspiria remake director Luca Guadagnino talks dance, Dario and the ghosts of German history. Plus! Original Suspiria star Jessica Harper on her role in the new film, and a look at the drug-fuelled dancehell of Gaspar Noe’s Climax.
by Michael Gingold and Sean Plummer

CATCHING HELL
After 25 years, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday director Adam Marcus looks back on a film that has aged unusually well for a host of progressive reasons. Plus! Marcus’ perverse new holiday horror movie, Secret Santa.
by Rocco Thompson

NEW BLOOD FOR OLD GODS
After 37 years of dominating the classic tabletop RPG realm, Cyanide studios brings Call of Cthulhu into the digital age for a new generation of gamers to feel the pull of existential terror. 
by Evan Millar

MEGO RETRO MONSTER FIGURES
Active for 28 years and then defunct for 35, Mego Corporation prepares for a nostalgic return with its retro styled action figures. 
by James Burrell

Departments
NOTE FROM UNDERGROUND Care to dance?

POST-MORTEM Letters from fans, readers and weirdos

THE CORONER’S REPORT Weird Stats & Morbid Facts, Monstro Bizarro, Body Horror and more!

NEEDFUL THINGS Strange trinkets from our bazaar of the bizarre

CINEMACABRE The newest films and reissues, featuring Anna and the Apocalypse.

BOWEN’S BASEMENT  Godmonster of Indian Flats

BLACK MUSEUM The Wasp Woman

BLOOD IN FOUR COLOURS Comic reviews feat. Tom Seeley’s Grave Danger.

THE NINTH CIRCLE Book reviews feat. Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein

THE FRIGHT GALLERY The Demonic Depictions of Wes Benscoter

HOMICIDAL HOMEMAKER Hot Buttered Redrum

AUDIO DROME Music reviews feat. Arsis’ new album, Visitant.

PLAY DEAD Game reviews feat. Vampire: The Masquerade and Narcosis.

VS Debate: Should iconic horror characters be retired when the actor retires?

SUSPIRIA: THE HORROR FILM AS HIGH ART

"I love things on the border of reality and fantasy -- the supernatural" - Dario Argento

Like many films that were originally widely panned by critics (2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY comes immediately to mind), Dario Argento's meticulously and calculatingly crafted 1977 Giallo, SUSPIRIA has evolved into becoming known as one of the best horror films ever made.

For me it is less that and more an art-house curiosity. Surely, it is one of the most visually arresting films ever made, and has a long string of films that have been either inspired by or have had references in an uncountable multitude. Together, Argento's direction, Luciano Tovoli's cinematography, and Giuseppi Bassan's art direction create a psychedelic dreamscape of color and sound (provided by Italian prog rock group Goblin) that is unique in cinematic history.

This article appears in the April 2018 of TOTAL FILM and provides a retrospective of the film that has been remade for.... well, name your reason.

DIABOLIQUE NO. 27 PREVIEW

Coming a little late to the Monster Magazine Ball is the "Summer/Fall" issue of DIABOLIQUE. I don't mind, though, as this excellent 'zine is always worth the wait. The cover promises an issue brimming with the brimstone aroma of Giallo, the Gothic and the Occult. And, unless another one comes along this year that blows my electrodes, the Suspiria cover will be getting my vote for a Rondo.

There is also good news -- Tim Lucas will begin writing a new column in this issue. Pre-order your copy HERE.

From the DIABOLIQUE website:

There is nothing perhaps more enchanting than a good old folk, or fairy tale. Add in a little witchcraft and you have the recipe for something truly magickal. Join us as we dedicate the entirety of issue 27 of Diabolique Magazine to these three subjects. Helping us to celebrate Suspiria in its 40th year is author Alexandra Heller-Nichols, who unlocks some of the secrets behind the scenes and delves into the history and influence surrounding Dario Argento’s cult classic.

Meanwhile, the theme of witchcraft continues, as Britsploitation master Norman J Warren talks to us about his own occult inspired works, and we examine his films as contributions to the British Folk Horror cannon. Not content with leaving it there we also take a long look at the “occult giallo” in a feature focusing on witchcraft-infused cult horror films from Italy. We tackle the connection of witchcraft and feminism from the seventies to the nineties, looking at George A Romero’s Season of the Witch, The Witches of Eastwick and The Craft. And…still not content to leave it there… we also unravel the history of the witch trials seen in Ken Russell’s The Devils.

And there’s more…we have not one, but two articles dedicated to Eastern European folk and fairy tales and their cinematic counterparts; Czechoslovakia is represented by Little Otik, Russia by Viy. We also re-examine The Company of Wolves, in the context of folk horror, before continuing on the theme of mixing Gothic with folk horror in an interview with the partnership behind Hex Media (Lord of Tears, The Unkindness of Ravens) Sarah Daly (writer) and Lawrie Brewster (director). We also manage to pack in a deep look at Candyman, and examine the themes of race and urban legend within.

The icing on the cake however is the news that writer, editor, film historian and Video Watchdog legend, Tim Lucas, joins us in this issue for the very first installment of his new regular column.

CONTENTS
The Secret of the Irises: Suspiria’s Hidden Magic
Alexandra Heller-Nicholas reveals everything you think you know about Dario Argento’s masterpiece is just the beginning.

The Evil Heritage of Norman J Warren
Kat Ellinger talks to Britsploitation legend Norman J Warren about his witchcraft infused Satan’s Slave (1976) and Terror (1978) and looks at how these two films fit into the British Folk Horror cannon.

Russian Folk Tales as Subversive Cinema: Viy-ing against Communist Censorship
Viy (1967) is the first Soviet Russian horror film, based on the Russian/Ukrainian folk tale of the same name by Nikolai Gogol (1835). Rebecca Booth examines the way in which the film, via its folklore roots, functions to subvert cultural, social and political ideology within Soviet Russia.

The Burning Court: 17th Century Heresy and Hysteria in Ken Russell’s The Devils
Samm Deighan digs into the historical occult themes behind Ken Russell’s transgressive masterpiece, The Devils (1971), and discusses satanic conspiracies, sexualized exorcisms, religious hysteria, and more.

These Are No Ordinary Birds: An Interview With Lawrie Brewster & Sarah Daly
Kieran Fisher chats with the founders of rising genre company, Hex Media, and unravels the myriad of mythological, cosmic and psychological horrors dwelling within their universe.

Racial Dynamics in Candyman
Jason Barr looks at how the subtle analogies of race, gender, and suffering come together to form an unexpected urban legend for the white middle class.

Whatever You Want, Baby: Otesánek (Little Otik) and the Horror of Infertility
Erin Miskell takes an in-depth look at the relationship between Pinocchio, Little Red Riding Hood and the Czech folktale Otesanek in both its original text and cinematic adaptation, and how the tales combine to address the infertility taboo.

Shot in the Dark
In the first installment of his brand new column, film historian Tim Lucas gives a detailed analysis of the fascinating opening shot of Terence Fisher’s The Curse of the Werewolf (1961).

Drink This and You Will be Free
In a look at the world through giallo-colored glasses, Joseph Dwyer sees evidence of witchcraft and the supernatural. The notorious genre synonymous with 1970’s Italy crosses over into fantastic territory with the high priests in All the Colors of the Dark (1972)  and Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971), topped perhaps only by the beautiful hags in Baba Yaga (1973) and Don’t Torture a Duckling (1972).

‘Wolves May Lurk In Every Guise’: Folk Horror In The Company Of Wolves
James Gracey investigates the folkloric elements of Neil Jordan’s dark Gothic fantasy, and looks at its tacit place within the haunting glades of Folk Horror.

We Are the Weirdos: The Transformative Power of the Cinematic Witch
Chris Hallock traces the generational development of feminism through cinematic witches depicted in the films Season of the Witch (1972), The Witches of Eastwick (1987), and The Craft (1996).

Pigeons from Hell—Three Ways
Sheila M. Merritt shows how serving up a horror delicacy in different media formats makes for a sumptuous banquet. Indulge and enjoy.