By Nick Cardillo, Staff Writer
When you think of horror movies, what do you think? Dark and stormy nights where long, creeping shadows threaten to overwhelm the screen? Characters wandering into impenetrable, inky blackness, doomed to never return?
These conventional images apply to so many horror films – new films and bona fide classics alike. They do not, however, apply to Dario Argento’s 1977 masterpiece, “Suspiria.”
Indeed, “Suspiria” may very well be one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen.
To simply try to describe its vibrant, bold use of color would be doing the film a disservice. Like an uncompromising artist, Argento uses the screen as his canvas and paints his film in striking reds, greens, yellows and blues. Few movies – let alone horror movies – are so liberal in their use of color, but it is a daring directorial decision which, once seen, is not likely to be forgotten.
There was, however, some precedent to the striking visuals of “Suspiria.”
Argento began his filmmaking career redefining a subgenre called “giallo.” Italian for yellow, “giallo” at first referred to a series of pulp crime novels published in Italy which were noted for their striking yellow covers. Film adaptations of these stories followed; all filled to the brim with murder, mystery and intrigue played out against vibrantly-colored settings.
Argento’s “giallo” thrillers – most notably “The Bird with the Crystal Plumage” and “Deep Red” – cemented him as a distinguished filmmaker dabbling in the macabre. Indeed, Argento soon was praised as “The Italian Hitchcock,” as his films were comparable to the Master of Suspense working many miles away in Hollywood.
And like Hitchcock who continually pushed the boundaries of his thrillers to their extremes, Argento did much of the same with “Suspiria.”
“Suspiria” tells the story of American dancer, Suzy Bannion, played by Jessica Harper, who arrives in Germany to study at a prestigious dance academy. Suzy’s arrival coincides with the violent death of a fellow student, which plunges Suzy into a real-life nightmare as she realizes not all is as it may seem at the academy.
Though the “giallo” films which preceded “Suspiria” were all grounded in reality, the supernatural hangs oppressively over “Suspiria” and definitely marks the film as more of a horror movie and less of a murder mystery.
The freedom that came with this, I think, allowed Argento to create some of his most visceral set-pieces, which still resonate over 40 years since the film’s release.
I have been fortunate to see “Suspiria” screened twice at independent movie theaters and both times, the film still manages to surprise and unsettle.
Perhaps the reason for this is the film’s incredible simplicity. Clocking in at just over 90 minutes, “Suspiria” is not bloated with in-depth characterizations, subplots or extraneous dialogue or detail. “Suspiria” is a lean, mean machine whose only goal is to get under your skin and frighten.
As an exercise in frightening sound and visuals, I think the movie is unparalleled.
Beyond this, there is a timelessness to the film which adds to its continued relevance. The members of the predominately female cast are all presented as autonomous human beings, and the film never lingers and leers in the exploitative way that was so common in the late ’70s.
Additionally, the film leans upon the standards of Gothic horror, which gives the movie a unique fairy tale quality which is absent in so many horror movies.
I would also be remiss if I did not mention the music by the band, Goblin, which underscores so much of the movie. Memorable in its own right, the score would go on to influence several other filmmakers; most notably John Carpenter, who cited the group as a major influence to his revolutionary score to his film “Halloween” a year later.
“Suspiria” was recently remade by filmmaker Luca Guadagnino and starring Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton and Chloe Grace Moretz. The film opened to divisive critical reviews, but I am unable to pass judgment on it as it is a film which has still eluded me. Its recent arrival on DVD and Bluray, however, means that that will change very soon.
“Suspiria” may have fallen into relative obscurity outside the horror movie community, but its recent revival suggests that the film is poised for a resurgence. The time has finally come for this film to take its rightful place alongside the hallowed classics like “Halloween,” “The Exorcist” and other pillars of the horror genre.
Until then, “Suspiria” remains a beautiful nightmare. And probably the greatest horror movie you have never seen.