Review of Suspiria (2018) by Glenn G — 05 Nov 2018

AUTUER! AUTEUR! - My Review of SUSPIRIA (4 Stars).

Whoever said the auteur theory is dead hasn't been paying attention lately. With films like ROMA, MOTHER!, and now SUSPIRIA, directed by Luca Guadagnino (CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, A BIGGER SPLASH) and written by David Kajganich (THE TERROR), handily demonstrating that even in the current state of cookie cutter cinema, a lucky few filmmakers get to do whatever the fuck they want. There's no other way to explain this absolutely bonkers, not for everyone, ever so loosely-based and ever so singular remake of Dario Argento's 1977 horror classic. At over 2 1/2 hours, SUSPIRIA over indulges for sure, but with such visionary, visceral work on display, when I wasn't cringing in disgust, I found myself chuckling with glee.

Set in a divided 1970s Berlin, SUSPIRIA opens with a distraught young woman named Patricia (an unnerving Chloë Grace Moretz) seeking the help of her therapist, Dr. Klemperer (Tilda Swinton, magnificent in a triple role tour de force). Mumbling incoherently, she disappears from the West Berlin Markos Dance Academy, leaving a vacancy. Enter Susie Bannion (Dakota Johnson), the daughter of Mennonites, who leaves her protective Ohio environment for a chance at a spot in the company led by the enigmatic Madame Blanc (Swinton again). Susie's waifish innocence contrasts greatly with the all-female troupe and Blanc's well-worn, blowsy support staff, yet one audition later and suddenly she finds herself named the "It Girl", capturing Blanc's attention and the lead in their next performance. Johnson's role is largely visual with only spare amounts of dialogue, but she's perfect. Like her mother, there's no hiding her gentle, vulnerable qualities, and it's what makes her a great movie star. You just want her to naively move across the ocean and make a splash.

Clearly, though, something is amiss, when this dance school turns out to contain a coven of witches. We hear the whisperings right away, but Susie seems oblivious or perhaps in denial. She just wants to dance goddammit! When she performs a solo on the troupe's signature piece, however, a dancer trapped on the floor below her, experiences bone-crunching, contorted torture with every one of Susie's spins, leaps, or reaches. Special kudos to the sound mix and the haunting score by Radiohead's Thom Yorke, who is finally writing melodies again! [Radiohead fans, don't come for me!] Guadagnino, so skilled in his past work at evoking sights, sounds, smells, and texture in his masterful imagery, brings a profound sense of dread to the horror genre with a film with no real jump scares or traditional horror elements. Sure, it devolves into a veritable blood bath late in the film (told in 6 chapters and an epilogue), but SUSPIRIA is more interested in the horror of male guilt and of female rage. It overstuffs its messaging with references to the Holocaust, the Cold War, to the 1970s Lufthansa Hostage Crisis, and the Red Army Faction bombings, but the through line remains. Women will no longer remain silent in this world as they course correct from generations of humiliation and sublimation. SUSPIRIA is the ultimate #metoo film with the message of, "Join us or die, and men, we're gonna grab you by the dick for a change.".

SUSPIRIA, thanks to Guadagnino's incredible skills as a director, feels original, despite at times feeling like the bastard child of the "Satan's Alley" sequence from STAYING ALIVE and ROSEMARY'S BABY with a dollop of THE NEON DEMON thrown in for good measure. Swinton's Madame Blanc exudes such sweet, gentle empathy even when in charge of bloody murders. It's female empowerment revenge with a measure of compassion for those she opposes. Yes, this film even has empathy for men, especially for Dr. Klemperer, who has a guilty past with a woman who provides a wonderful surprise of a cameo. Swinton's performance as Klemperer remains key to the surprising amount of kindness this film has to offer. You don't expect that out of a very bloody, over-the-top horror film, but SUSPIRIA, as nutty as it is, makes room for it. Despite a couple of minor roles played by men, every major part goes to a woman. I wondered why it wasn't also directed by a woman, but Guadagnino, a gay man, doesn't have the same male gaze as some of his straight counterparts, and besides, I just want to follow his voice as a filmmaker wherever it takes him.

Many will absolutely hate the movie. If you hated EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC but applauded its audacity, you may have the same feelings for SUSPIRIA. On the surface, it's monumentally silly and so so long, but it's a story told by a filmmaker brimming with passion and creativity. Guadagnino chooses to stage dialogue scenes where the actors speak to each other in voiceover. One of the biggest dramatic moments contains no dialogue at all, as Swinton and Johnson stare each other down across a crowded restaurant table. There are plenty of flash cut montages, body horror, stabbings, and oceans of blood, but this film maintains the real horrors are our collective pasts. Let women rule the world, the film seems to be saying, but make no mistake. There will be blood. Lots and lots of blood.