My Review of Suspiria (1977)

 

Written by Dario Argento And Daria Nicolodi

Directed by Dario Argento

Sara: "Suzy, do you know anything about witches?"

Time for some 1970s horror and last night, I found myself watching this classic. An American girl in Germany. Mystery deaths. Ballet being utter hell and a cabal of witches. Why didn't I watch this one sooner? 

The American girl in question would be ballet student Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) who traded New York for Frieburg, Baden-Württemberg and not very long, mayhem ensued. I mean it happened so fast as poor fellow student Patricia Hingle (Eva Axen) made for a very quick death before Suzy even had time to settle in.

Like I said earlier, Suzy was a ballet student and she had enrolled into the Tanz Akademie dance school where a rather strict instructor named Miss Tanner (Alida Valli) had no qualms with pushing her students when she was firing a blind pianist named Daniel (Flavio Bucci). Suzy certainly felt the brunt of being under pressure by Miss Tanner.

Of course, a domineering dance instructor was the least of Suzy's problems. Other students such as Olga (Barbara Magnolfi) and Sara (Stefani Casini) provided some friendships for Suzy before one kicked her out of the student apartment and the latter ended up being dead. Oh and there was some creepy scenes involving maggots that I'd advise you not to watch this movie while eating.

Anyways, as the movie progressed and more characters ended up getting killed in gruesome ways (poor Daniel), Suzy ended up learning about witches thanks to psychiatrist Frank Mandel (Udo Kier) and the real history of the school. Suzy, you in danger girl.

When I say danger, I mean human sacrifice type of danger as it was revealed that the school and specifically headmistress Madame Blanc (Joan Bennett) intended to sacrifice Suzy. Of course by the end of the movie, there are many deaths but Suzy wasn't one of them as she managed to outsmart the very coven that had terrorised her.

- The movie is based on Thomas Quincey's 1845 essay Suspiria de Profundis. Dario Argento viewed this movie as part of a trilogy including Inferno (1980) and The Mother Of Tears (2007).

- Argento used a lot of red and even blue during certain scenes to convey terror and even the reveal of the coven by the end of the movie.

- Standout music: Markos by Goblin.

- Chronology: 1970s Germany. It was revealed that the academy's founder Helena Markos was revealed to be a witch in 1895.

Suspiria was a gripping, tense affair. While I do think the witchcraft aspect of the movie does show up a bit late into the movie, the build up towards it was nonetheless captivating to watch. There's a strong central performance from Jessica Harper and the horror was deftly handled. It's easy to see why it's held in such high regard.

Rating: 8 out of 10