Review of Suspiria (1977) by Mike S — 02 Jul 2010

SUSPIRIA is not a movie that is going to give its audience a whole lot of scares, but it makes up for that in an exceptional visual style that is nothing short of a feast for the eyes.

Granted, there are a few moment scattered throughout the film that are scary on their own, but most of the chills are derived from other sources, such as the excellent set design that is far superior to just about anything one might find in a modern horror film, to the superbly crafted score that has the viewer sitting right up on the edge of his seat in anticipation of what kind of emotional rush the music is leading the viewer up to.

The actual story that the film is built on, however, is never really taken advantage of. Even now, more than thirty years later, the basic premise of the film is something that would be fairly fresh and original if it were brought to the screen today, but not enough is done with it in SUSPIRIA. Perhaps adding another half hour to the film's running time would have allowed the story to be fleshed out a bit more, as the film comes to a conclusion just when the viewer is starting to really piece a few things together. Not that it's bad to leave a viewer with questions at the end of a film, I'm all for that when it's done correctly, but that still could have been done with SUSPIRIA and the story could have gone further, allowing the audience to catch up with the proceedings on screen as well as not having to end the film on a relative down-note.

It may seem at this point in the review that I'm not a fan of SUSPIRIA, which is not the case at all. This is a very well made film, but there are issues here and there with the story that keep it from reaching the potential that it had, which was to be a truly iconic horror film. As it stands, SUSPIRIA is a visual and audio feast, with phenomenal set designs and a score that really ratchets up the tension when it's called for. This is a film that any fan of the horror genre owes it to themselves to check out.