Review of Suspiria (2018) by Easterfields — 04 Nov 2018

The 1977 Susperia, along with the original Solaris and Blade Runner are in my top 10 favorite films of all time. There's a reason for me mentioning the other two films, of which I'll elaborate in a moment.

Firstly, however, I need to make one point right off the bat. This is NOT a horror film (yes HORROR) for the impatient. Sadly, most of today's audience are products of the Social Media age. Where everything is quickly served and spoonfed on a silver platter.

Instant gratification has changed how we view and appreciate books, television, film and video games. Sometimes the best rewards are earned, and in the case of 2018's Suspiria, one has to truly pass through the eye of it's needle to appreciate all the layers of the artistic masterpiece.

This is NOT a remake of 1977's Susperia. It's more akin to being a spiritual successor while maintaining a wholly unique vision and re-imagining of the original. This is why I love it. In essence it's similar and yet different.

It's connected to the original in the sense that if the 1977 Susperia is a vibrant, colorful explosion of style and substance, then this film is the muted, noir-like, implosion of similar aspects acting as the negative exposure to the original.

Another side of the same coin. The director knew it would be foolish to rewrite the blueprint. So he set out to create somethng new which still paid homage to the first. This is why I mentioned Solaris and Blade Runner at the beginning.

Because both films have also spawned sequels that were impressive fresh takes on the ancestral subject matter while still delivering a newly envisioned experience. This is incredibly rare and sadly not valued nearly as much as it should be.

In a world full of tired retreads, a new visionary experience such as this, should be celebrated. Not everyone will appreciate or even like Suspiria. But then not everyone valued the original for the rich, colorful tapestry that it was.

This film lingers like yesterday's rain. It finds a dark corner of your brain and resides there for days. Not because of what it shows, but because of what it implies...