Review of Suspiria (1977) by Al M — 28 Mar 2011

In my estimation at least, Suspiria remains one of the true horror masterpieces of all time, but it is also something much more: it is pure filmic experience that ones does not often get outside of arthouse cinema.

But what makes Argento so powerful is that he has learned his lessons from arthouse cinema, particularly from surrealistic cinema and Antonioni's use of buildings, backgrounds, and settings. Argento's most major influence of course is Hitchcock, which can also be seen on the formal level of the film in his choice of camera location, angle, movement, etc.

The result may not always follow the dictates of logic and reason because it has moved beyond them into the realm of dreams and nightmares. Instead of a purely logical horror film or thriller plot, Argento instead sculpts a visual and sonic landscape that takes us beyond the human realm.

Whatever you might say about Argento, I would counter with the fact that I could sit down with a class and teach them virtually every technical aspect of film analysis and production using an Argento film like Suspiria.

It is a beautiful, terrifying, brutal, and nightmarish vision that plays with our fears of animals, bugs, mutilation, supernatural forces, and so many more. It is a film about the fears that reside at the heart of the human and the cinema's ability to convey those fears.

It is total cinema in the way Bazin describes--it is an immersive experience that may not always make sense but will always plunge you into a realm of radical otherness, of visceral horrors and pleasures, and finally of terribly beautiful images.

Argento sculpts the horrific into the beautiful in a way that few artists have ever managed.