Suspiria (1977)

An American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.

Director:

Dario Argento

Writers:

Dario Argento (screenplay), Daria Nicolodi (screenplay)

Stars:

Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jessica Harper	...	Suzy Bannion
Stefania Casini	...	Sara
Flavio Bucci	...	Daniel
Miguel Bosé	...	Mark (as Miguel Bosè)
Barbara Magnolfi	...	Olga
Susanna Javicoli	...	Sonia
Eva Axén	...	Pat Hingle
Rudolf Schündler	...	Prof. Milius
Udo Kier	...	Dr. Frank Mandel
Alida Valli	...	Miss Tanner
Joan Bennett	...	Madame Blanc
Margherita Horowitz	...	Teacher
Jacopo Mariani	...	Albert
Fulvio Mingozzi	...	Taxi Driver
Franca Scagnetti	...	Cook

Storyline

Suzy Bannion travels to Germany to perfect her ballet skills. She arrives at the Tanz dance academy in the pouring rain and is refused admission after another woman is seen fleeing the school. She returns the next morning and this time is let in. She learns that the young woman she saw fleeing the previous evening, Pat Hingle, has been found dead. Strange things soon begin to occur. Suzy becomes ill and is put on a special diet; the school becomes infested with maggots; odd sounds abound; and Daniel, the pianist, is killed by his own dog. A bit of research indicates that the ballet school was once a witches' coven - and as Suzy learns, still is.

---

Plot Keywords:

guide dog | stabbed in the heart | murder by knife | paranormal phenomena | fear | 

---

Taglines:

The Only Thing More Terrifying Than The Last 12 Minutes Of This Film Are The First 92.

---

Genres:

Horror

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian Russian English German Latin

Release Date:

12 August 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dario Argento's Suspiria

Filming Locations:

Studio Mafera, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Seda Spettacoli

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm optical prints) 4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) Quadrophonic (Circum-Sound) (Japan theatrical release)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (prints) Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Eva Axén, who played the part as Pat Hingle, had to stay on the set over one week to complete her scenes.

---

Goofs

During the opening cab ride to the school, Suzy asks the cab driver "has it been raining this hard for long?" As the driver turns back towards her just before responds you can see just outside the driver's window (on the left side of the shot) a pillar-like rotating piece of lighting equipment that is clearly the source of the red and yellow strobe lighting during the entire scene.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: Suzy Banyon decided to perfect her ballet studies in the most famous school of dance in Europe. She chose the celebrated academy of Freiburg. One day, at nine in the morning, she left Kennedy airport, New York, and arrived in Germany at 10:40 p.m. local time...

---

Crazy Credits

You have been watching "SUSPIRIA"

---

Alternate Versions

The unrated USA version features more explicit gore than the edited, R-rated version, most notably in the opening murder sequence and when the blind pianist (Flavio Bucci) is attacked and killed by his seeing-eye dog.

---

Connections

Referenced in Grindhouse (2007)

---

Soundtracks

Markos
Adapted from "Music in Similar Motion" by Philip Glass
Arranged by Claudio Simonetti, Fabio Pignatelli, Agostino Marangolo and Massimo Morante
Performed by Goblin

User Reviews

"Bad luck isn't brought by broken mirrors, but by broken minds"

"Suzy Banyon decided to perfect her ballet studies in the most famous school of dance in Europe. She chose the celebrated academy of Freeborge. One day, at nine in the morning, she left Kennedy airport, New York, and arrived in Germany at 10:40 p.m. local time." Those are the opening lines of Suspiria, as spoken by the narrator. Those lines are the beginning of a must see experience for all horror fans... period.

Dario Argento has to be one of the most talented directors in Italian film history. He was influenced by some of the greatest directors in cinema including Alfred Hitchcock. Dario Argento did it all with Suspria. Suspria breaks all the barriers. Not only is it completely nightmarish and bazaar, but it uses different colors of light in a brilliant, chilling way. Suspiria has some of the most memorable scenes in history, whether it be the first shocking murder, the dog biting the man's neck, or the very good ending which will have your eyes glued to the screen.

One of the most nightmarish aspects of Suspiria is the over-the-top creepy music that it offers. When "Goblin" performs music for a movie, that should be instant indication that the movie will be very tense experience. The tension and suspense in Suspiria is built up by the music.

Gore hounds will not be disappointed by Suspiria. Keep in mind, I said "won't be disappointed" not "be impressed". Suspiria has enough gore to be realalistic, but not enough to impress. However, people who watch Suspiria shouldn't watch it for the gore, they should watch it for the haunting atmosphere and tension.

Suspiria was shot in Italy, therefore, if you are watching the movie in an English language you will find that it is dubbed. This may very well be the only reason I found the dialoge in Suspiria to be fairly average. The dubbed audio didn't fit very well, but it isn't beyond terrible.

The only con of Suspiria is the fact that it seems to be dragged out. However, this hardly hurts the film in anyway, and is almost unnoticeable to first time viewers. The first time I viewed Suspiria will be a experience I will not forget.

I highly recommend Suspiria to every euro-horror fan out there. It is very nightmarish, creepy, suspenseful, nightmarish, terrifying... Did I mention nightmarish?

For weekly reviews of horror movies, check out my youtube channel: horrorreviews123