Suspiria (1977)
Dario Argento’s Susperia is the tale of a girl who gets accepted to a premier dance academy, only to find that something awful is afoot. As she attempts to get to the bottom of the murders happening around her, she realizes she might be too late to escape.
Dario Argento’s Susperia was a movie I constantly heard about. It was referred to as a classic in horror, and I often heard the word giallo mentioned in conjunction. It turns out giallo is an Italian style of thriller that involves a violent crime. I barely got around to watching it recently, having found it streaming for free on Tubi (seriously, Tubi is a godsend when it comes to horror gems. Def check the app out). I watched it and was pleasantly surprised-it was way creepier than I had expected. But what stood out most of all, was the style of the whole movie- shit was superb.
Suzy, a young ballet student from the US, gets accepted into a prestigious ballet academy in Germany. She arrives during a stormy night and attempts to enter the academy, only to be turned away for some odd reason. As she leaves for a hotel, she sees another girl leave the academy in a very distressed state, running from the academy out into the storm. The girl is attacked shortly after and dies a most gruesome death by an unseen assailant. Suzy arrives the next morning to hear the news of the murder, and quickly realizes there is something strange going on at the academy. As more murder and stranger events at the academy take place, she begins to suspect there may be an occult connection involved with the history of the academy- and it might be too late to save herself.
There are many things that the movie did a great job with. The first thing I think of is how creepy the movie is: Argento does a great job of creating suspense with the score and with the visuals used in the movie. Argento worked directly on the score himself, so he obviously knew what he was doing. The use of color within the movie is also brilliant. The movie was made in 1977, so it’s not necessarily old, but I have definitely seen some ass-quality movies made much more recently than that. His use of blues and reds within the movie give everything a super creepy vibe, and it kept me looking for the next scare (AH, there it is!) throughout the movie. Also, the acting was top-tier. Don’t get me wrong, I can enjoy a campy movie with some corny acting (I’m looking at you, Sleepaway Camp). And I kind of expected to have some of that within the movie. But I can’t recall a single cringe moment off the top of my head. Some weird situations maybe, but I don’t think I would have reacted any different than the characters in the movie. So that was enjoyable.
What I didn’t like about the movie so much was the length. The movie clocks in at 99 mins, but so much happens so quickly- I wish there was a bit more time to delve into the intricacies of the story. But I guess the key to a good movie is to always leave them wanting for more. But this movie is the first of a series by Argento referred to as ‘The Three Mothers.’ So I have two other movies to dive into to scratch that itch for more.
Rating: I give this movie 8.5 creepy ballerinas out of 10. The style, score, and story are works of art, just a bit short for my liking.
If you are looking into some similar movies to get into, I would start off with the other two Argento movies in the ‘Three Mothers’ series: Inferno (1980) and The Mother of Tears (2007). The trilogy tells the story of three ancient sisters who rule the world with dark powers, each living in a different part of the world. Besides Argento’s trilogy, Eyes Wide Shut is another great cult movie. A man sneaks into a cult full of wealthy and powerful people, who quickly make it clear to him that he has made a mistake. It was Stanley Kubricks last film, and there is a ton of controversy behind the movie. It is hard not to think of it when the topic of cults comes up.
If you are looking to get into some dark books about cults, The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley is a good read. A small group of religious Catholics make a journey to an isolated retreat in order to to heal a young boy with developmental disabilities (the narrator’s brother). As they make the journey, they encounter the strange townspeople, engulfed in their own ritualistic lives- and tensions quickly rise. You can also check out Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez. It is a collection of dark stories set in Argentina, covering a whole litter of topics. One of the stories that stands out, with cults in mind, is the story ‘Under the Black Water.’ A detective goes to a small town to investigate a missing woman, only to find out that the town has been overtaken by a cult worshiping a dark creature living in the dirty waters nearby. As she witnesses the cult parade through the city, you can’t help but feel your chest tighten as you read. Shit was very well written.
Do you know any good jokes about cults? (Trick question: cults are nothing to joke about. You should know that).
Until next time…
-M