I must open with a confession: my copy
of Suspiria contains only an English-dub rather than the
original Italian. It’s far from the worst dub I’ve ever seen and
it generally works for wide-shots, but it becomes at least noticeable
in close-ups. Still, I regret not having the original performances
to base my opinion on.
One thing that should probably be noted
about this film is that it was originally written to be about a dance
academy for young girls, but there was a serious fear the film would
be banned, so they simply cast adult women instead. The dialogue
wasn’t really changed, and as such, the dance academy comes across
oddly as a boarding school for women in their 20s. I suppose it’s
possible they could be teenagers since I don’t recall any mention
of age. This doesn’t really hurt the film, though. In fact, it
gives it the sense of a nightmare. Who among us hasn’t dreamed
that we were back in school, with our lives still being run by
authority figures?
The plot involves a famous dancer, Suzy
Bannion (Jessica Harper), coming to a prestigious dance academy.
Deaths and strange occurrences surround the academy. A girl who was
just expelled is assaulted, stabbed and hanged at a nearby house.
Maggots fall from the ceiling. A previously passive dog becomes
strangely violent and eventually kills his owner. And while in some
cases the special effects may be a bit outdated, they’re always
frightening.
I somewhat wish the movie gave us less
explanation. This is partially because the explanation we do get is
the standard ‘Evil Witch’ bullshit. The dance academy, as it
turns out, was founded by a witch named Helena Markos, and is still
run by her coven. In the dub at least, the old professor who
conveniently shows up to summarize what’s going on even
conveniently says that witches can use their powers “only to do
harm.”
Beyond that however, the explanation
really seems unneeded and out of place. The unknown is scary, so why
go out of your way to make it known? Particularly when the scene
that explains everything seems completely out of place and could be
cut from the movie without really losing much. It seems to be the
point at which Suzy becomes a more active protagonist, working
against the evil forces running the Academy. But I certainly think
such an epiphany could have occurred independently of that. People
are disappearing, her friends included, so why shouldn’t she take
action?
The musical score of Suspiria is
one thing that’s particularly notable. I’m far from an expert on
music, but even I can tell it’s not the kind of mix that you get in
most classic horror films. Bells are combined with a synthesizer,
creating an eerie sound. I’m not going to say I’ve never heard
anything like it before, but if I have, I imagine it’s only because
other films ripped off this one.
The cinematography is also amazing.
There’s a heavy use of red lighting throughout the film. You could
call it corny, but as I said, this is a nightmare. Yes, it’s true
that on a logical level, the extensive use of red lighting might as
well be replaced with director Dario Argento running through the set
splashing red paint on everything, as if we don’t already get the
idea of blood and death. But on an irrational level though, it’s
still scary. In our primal instincts, the red is scary.
The ending is a let-down. She
confronts the witch (Lela Svasta), the witch turns invisible, and she
stabs her anyway. The scene is still beautiful, but it gets way too
talky as the witch begins gloating. She even goes out of her way to
name herself as “Helena Markos,” just in case the audience
thought she was confronting a different evil witch whose death caused
the entire dance academy to spontaneously catch fire.
Yes, I recommend this film. It could
have been better, but it’s definitely good. The story isn’t the
point, it’s the visual style of Dario Argento. I’m somewhat
curious to see the thematic sequels, Inferno and Mother of
Tears. The latter especially, as it was made in the 2000s, a
good three decades after the original. I would love to see how it
compares.
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