Review of Suspiria (1977) by Matthew R — 09 May 2010

A young American dancer travels to Europe to attend a famous ballet school. As she arrives, another young woman appears to be in distress and seems to be trying to run away from the school. When she retreats to her boarding room, she is gruesomely murdered by a hideous creature. Meanwhile, the young American girl starts to get settled into her school routine but strange things start to happen to her. Eventualy, after many complications, she discovers that the school is a front for a coven of witches and they have plans for her.

One of the things that makes Suspiria a pleasure to see is Dario Argento's use of vivid colors and funhouse sets to enhance the surrealism of the film.The musical score is also good, that is, when it is put to good use. There are scenes in Suspiria in which the music builds up to an unbearable amount and yet there is no payoff. Some of the scenes have strong payoffs, but most of the time, it just builds and builds and builds until we are just dying for a scene transition. It is also a suprisingly brutal film. About 15 or 20 minutes into the movie, a girl is brutally stabbed in the heart, and hanged while another girl is impaled by falling glass. From the first and second acts of Suspiria, you wouldn't think it would have such a brilliant third act. Let's just say the ending is very, very creepy and sufficiently disturbing. Suspiria is a suspensful and still scary film, and now I know why this film is hailed as a classic horror film.

Story: B.

Acting: B-.

Direction: A.

Visuals: A-.

Overall: B.

*** out of 4 stars.