A darkness swirls at the center of a world-renowned dance company, one that will engulf the artistic director, an ambitious young dancer, and a grieving psychotherapist. Some will succumb to... Read allA darkness swirls at the center of a world-renowned dance company, one that will engulf the artistic director, an ambitious young dancer, and a grieving psychotherapist. Some will succumb to the nightmare. Others will finally wake up.A darkness swirls at the center of a world-renowned dance company, one that will engulf the artistic director, an ambitious young dancer, and a grieving psychotherapist. Some will succumb to the nightmare. Others will finally wake up.
- Awards
- 24 wins & 74 nominations
- Dr. Klemperer
- (as Lutz Ebersdorf)
- …
- Susie's Mother
- (as Malgosia Bela)
- …
- Miss Boutaher
- (as Clementine Houdart)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
WTF Is 'Suspiria'? The Cast Call It a "Horr-epic"
WTF Is 'Suspiria'? The Cast Call It a "Horr-epic"
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJessica Harper, who played Suzy in the original Suspiria (1977), appears late in the film as Dr. Klemperer's wife Anke. In an interview with her and screenwriter David Kajganich at the film's Fantastic Fest premiere in Austin, TX, Kajganich revealed he and director Luca Guadagnino thought Anke would be the best character for Harper to play, Guadagnino contacted her and proposed the idea to her, which she immediately agreed to - and then she immediately contacted the Berlitz School to learn and practice German for her scenes, as she had lied to Guadagnino about being fluent in the language. For Harper, the hardest thing to do was get the dialect right while walking backward.
- GoofsThe film opens in West Berlin in 1977, with protesters chanting, among other things, "Free Meinhof!" However, Ulrike Meinhof was already dead by that point. She was found hanged in her prison cell a year earlier than the film is set, in May 1976.
- Quotes
Dr. Josef Klemperer: Love and manipulation, they share houses very often. They are frequent bedfellows.
- Crazy creditsJust before the credits end, Susie reappears and makes a small gesture to the camera.
- ConnectionsFeatured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Best Horror Movies of 2018 (2018)
I saw the original "Suspiria" at thirteen years old, and it has long been among my top-ten favorite horror films. A remake/ reimagining of Argento's film could have been disastrous in the wrong hands, and fortunately there is a thoughtful (albeit sometimes overwrought) screenplay here supported by masterful direction from Guadagnino. This "Suspiria" is not your average horror remake; far from it.
It is a visually breathtaking film in an entirely different way than its predecessor--the color this time muted and pallid, but the attention to detail no less scrupulous. More importantly, it is far more narratively involved, perhaps sometimes too much so for its own good, but it still managed to entirely absorb me. The hefty 150-minute runtime honestly bypassed me in what felt like maybe two hours. The onscreen horrors here are sparse but pack a wallop, leaving the audience time to breathe before assaulting the senses again. The already-infamous first proper horror scene is nearly unspeakable.
It is moments like these where Guadagnino truly strikes gold, entering a rare space between the visceral and the sublime. The proceedings are helped greatly by the performances, with Swinton portraying both the ominous Madame Blanc, as well as taking a gender-bending return to "Orlando" territory as the aging psychotherapist who stumbles into the world of the coven. Johnson turns in a weirdly (though appropriately) detached performance as Susie, while Goth and Moretz are both scene-stealers here as Sara and Patricia; this might be the best work they've done thus far. Elena Fokina, a newcomer, is also particularly strong as Olga.
There has been a lot of discussion surrounding the historical socio-political backdrop of the film, and I do feel that screenwriter Kajganich is sometimes reaching for some correlation or metaphor that never quite coalesces. That being said, the real-world context lends a dour groundwork for the proceedings, and perhaps Kajganich's greatest stroke of genius is his anchoring of the witchcraft in the movements of the body. Where the witchcraft in Argento's film seemed wholly arbitrary, this version contextualizes the magic and ritual as part and parcel of the dances themselves (which are also expertly choreographed and punctuated by Yorke's spacey score).
My single criticism of the film lay in the visual presentation of the finale, which exhibits some slow-motion effects that felt very made-for-TV-movie-ish and diametrically opposed to the artful visuals that precede it. This feels like a betrayal given the abundance of exquisite, stark compositions up to that point, some of which look like they've been lifted directly from Pasolini's "Salo." Despite this, the last hurrah is jaw-dropping in more ways than one, and truly revels in literal blood and guts. A denouement resolving the subplot regarding the psychotherapist follows, which is unexpectedly poignant and conversely chilling in presentation.
All in all, I found very little not to like about Guadagnino's "Suspiria." While it does trip on its own feet in a few areas, it is thoughtfully-imagined, vividly realized, and undoubtedly the most beautiful film I've seen this year. I would also rank it among the best horror films I've seen this decade. If nothing else, it is a truly honorable exploration and worthy heir to its source material. 9/10.
- drownsoda90
- Nov 1, 2018
21st Century Scream Queens
21st Century Scream Queens
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Суспірія
- Filming locations
- Grand Hotel Campo dei Fiori, Varese, Lombardia, Italy(Dance Academy)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $20,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,483,472
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $184,037
- Oct 28, 2018
- Gross worldwide
- $7,942,093
- Runtime2 hours 32 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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