Review of Suspiria (2018) by Kyle L — 04 Nov 2018

Dark, grim, unsettling and intensely disturbing. The new Suspiria film manages to stand on its own while also paying respect to the original 1977 Dario Argento classic. For those who watched the original film, you know the story of Suspiria.

This movie tells the story of Susie Bannion, an American girl who travels to Berlin to purse the dream of becoming a ballet dancer at a prestigious dancing company until she uncovers the dark secrets of the academy itself.

Because deep within its walls, lies a mysterious coven full of witches looking for a female vessel to fill the void for their elderly leader Helena Markos in order to keep their race alive. As a huge admirer and fan of the original Dario Argento classic, the new Suspiria film takes things to a whole new level thanks to Luca Guadagnino's optimistic vision that injects new life in the film while trying to avoid making a fatal mistake.

This movie is completely different to the original as both movies' styles are radically different at their executions. If the 1977 movie is full of vibrant colors with a mystery theme along with some clever and gruesome kills.

Luca Guadagnino's film is more art house looking as he relies on bleak imagery that adds a deeply unnerving vibe from beginning to end. I have to admit that this new Suspiria film has a strong sense of complexity as its themes about motherhood are timeless and well explored.

It does a fantastic job to keep its padding on different and good directions. If you look at this movie compared to the original, think of them as two different ideas. One is an artistic mainstream film, the other is like a presticious art gallery filled with gorgeous paintings from one of the most talented and well known artists across the globe that leaves you surprised all the way as you observe the paintings due to how the new Suspiria pays attention to detail from the depressing rainfall and writings outside the walls of the streets in front of the academy to the creaky interiors of the academy itself.

What differentiates this the most is that the characters are fleshed out with more character development and screen time especially the main character Susie Bannion herself. The way our director handles his build up on slow crawling and creeping tension makes you feel unnerved especially with composer Thom Yorke's haunting soundtrack which deepens the mood.

There are so many scenes that are grotesque, disturbing and terrifying which will leave an uncomfortable feeling inside your gut (The twisted and shocking scene where Olga's body gets contorted by Susie Bannion before being grappled by meat hooks by the academy's staff, the haunting and nightmarish dream sequences, little Susie's abuse at the hands of her mother by getting her hand burned with an iron, the unexpected death of a coven member, Sarah discovering a tomb of decaying bodies before coming back to life, the dance scenes which are filled with crafted tension and the disgusting finale where several of the dancers and witches are slain at the hands of a spirit before Susie reveals herself as the real Mater Suspiriorium) plus the antagonist Helena Markos is more cruel, nastier and more mean to the bone.

Now the acting is brilliant, the performances of the cast deserve a standing ovation. From Dakota Johnson as the lead character Susie Bannion, Chloe Grace Moretz delivers a spectacular performance as Patricia Hingle, Mia Goth is great with her role as Sarah, Tilda Swinton is excellent as Madame Blanc and I enjoy the cameo of original Suspiria actress Jessica Harper as the ill fated wife of Patricia's psychiatrist Anke.

Director Luca Guadagnino has done a fantastic job with his work on this film and he turned David Kajganich's screenplay into an excellent art house masterpiece that has a completely different approach to Dario Argento's original.

He created his own vision that acts on its own while being able to stay true to respect and avoid imitating the original's ideas in the best way thanks to the use of outstanding camera work that makes you feel like you're going on a nightmarish, acid trip.

Overall the new Suspiria film is a dark, brooding, unsettling, unnerving and disturbing film that will stay with you in a discomforting way which will plague you with nightmares from time to time. This film gets a 10/10.