It takes a strong stomach to watch Dario Argento films. If you are particularly squeamish, then skip his other films and watch this one. It is gruesome, yes, the violence starts very early on, but worth it for it is the most stunning looking horror film. It is an art nouveau nightmare masterpiece. It is obvious that the main focus for Argento was the look of the film. It is saturated in colour, there is much stained glass, opulent early 20th century decor, in fact even the walls are painted with beautiful art nouveau friezes and the set dressed better than the actors.
While the setting is glorious, the story does not suffer for lack of attention. Argento does not like to give much away in terms of plot or exposition, he paces it rather slowly and leaves the audience hanging for the next clue to the mystery. The basic plot is as follows: a young American girl, arrives in Germany to study ballet and dance at a rather sinister academy. Horrible things occur and she is drawn into the goings on.
This is the first of a trilogy of movies, the third still yet to see the light of day. Inferno was the second of the trilogy, but I found this to be the superior movie. Let's hope the third is worth the wait, it has been 24 years since the last installment. Even if you don't view Suspiria as the first of a trilogy, it is a film that easily stands alone.
Argento's Giallo films (the precursor to the slasher genre) are very confronting in their depictions of violent death. It is truly gruesome, but beautiful at the same time. Argento's talent is in framing the violence, the pacing of it, the underscoring of it. Take for example the first sequence of violence in the film: it is set in a large art nouveau apartment building, framed along darkness, with only lurid red light illuminating the proceedings, until it finishes on a stained glass dome. The violence is depicted in close up, the only wide shots being the interior of this beautiful apartment building. Only when the carnage is over does the camera pan out from the victim to reveal the aftermath of the carnage. The music score is very percussive and frantic, with screams and strange vocal noises every present. It is unnerving, as is the opening Suspiria theme. Listening to the soundtrack (by Italian prog rock band Goblin and Dario Argento) by itself, with no visuals is enough to scare you witless. This is nightmare layered on nightmare. Every cinematic element is designed to scare you and it does.
If you are going to watch this film, track down a copy that has not been hacked to pieces by the 70's censors. This shouldn't be too hard anymore, the recent DVD releases of his films promise that they are the uncut original versions as Argento intended. Argento has always had troubles with censors around the world, and it is wonderful that they are finally getting a viewing in their entirety, proper pacing and all. If you are a horror fan and have not seen this film, I guarantee you will develop a real appreciation for the Giallo genre. If you are not a horror fan, watch it anyway as it is masterful visual film making. Either way just see it, it's worth it.
9/10
While the setting is glorious, the story does not suffer for lack of attention. Argento does not like to give much away in terms of plot or exposition, he paces it rather slowly and leaves the audience hanging for the next clue to the mystery. The basic plot is as follows: a young American girl, arrives in Germany to study ballet and dance at a rather sinister academy. Horrible things occur and she is drawn into the goings on.
This is the first of a trilogy of movies, the third still yet to see the light of day. Inferno was the second of the trilogy, but I found this to be the superior movie. Let's hope the third is worth the wait, it has been 24 years since the last installment. Even if you don't view Suspiria as the first of a trilogy, it is a film that easily stands alone.
Argento's Giallo films (the precursor to the slasher genre) are very confronting in their depictions of violent death. It is truly gruesome, but beautiful at the same time. Argento's talent is in framing the violence, the pacing of it, the underscoring of it. Take for example the first sequence of violence in the film: it is set in a large art nouveau apartment building, framed along darkness, with only lurid red light illuminating the proceedings, until it finishes on a stained glass dome. The violence is depicted in close up, the only wide shots being the interior of this beautiful apartment building. Only when the carnage is over does the camera pan out from the victim to reveal the aftermath of the carnage. The music score is very percussive and frantic, with screams and strange vocal noises every present. It is unnerving, as is the opening Suspiria theme. Listening to the soundtrack (by Italian prog rock band Goblin and Dario Argento) by itself, with no visuals is enough to scare you witless. This is nightmare layered on nightmare. Every cinematic element is designed to scare you and it does.
If you are going to watch this film, track down a copy that has not been hacked to pieces by the 70's censors. This shouldn't be too hard anymore, the recent DVD releases of his films promise that they are the uncut original versions as Argento intended. Argento has always had troubles with censors around the world, and it is wonderful that they are finally getting a viewing in their entirety, proper pacing and all. If you are a horror fan and have not seen this film, I guarantee you will develop a real appreciation for the Giallo genre. If you are not a horror fan, watch it anyway as it is masterful visual film making. Either way just see it, it's worth it.
9/10
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