‘Suspiria’ is Dario Argento’s masterpiece

Dario Argento’s Suspiria is often deemed a classic horror movie, one of the best examples of the giallo sub-genre and perhaps the director’s finest film. Some 35 years after its original release, the movie is still a marvel to behold.

Visually, Suspiria is in a class of its own. The way Argento uses light and color in the movie has never been matched. The dialogue is dated, and the English dubbing is bordering on laughable, but the movie still stirs the nerve endings.

This is a visual feast.

The movie surrounds Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper in an effective, virginal performance), a ballet dancer newly arrived in Germany from the United States. She is to attend a prestigious dance academy, but almost immediately finds her new home a little unsettling. As she lands at the airport, the rain begins to pour and the shadows begin to cast their distorted shapes in the nearby woods.

When Suzy arrives at the academy, she is met by a fellow dancer screaming for her life and running from the school in the middle of the thunderstorm. The oddities continue with her first lessons. The teachers all seem strange and to be hiding a secret, while the academy itself proves to be a convoluted maze of hallways and mirrors.

Suspiria has a definite fairytale feel. At times, the movie comes off as an adult Alice in Wonderland tale. The more Suzy begins to ask questions and search for reality, the more evil she discovers. Eventually, the young student becomes convinced that the teachers at the school are part of some type of witch’s covenant and that they’re looking for their next victim.

In supplemental material on the two-disc special edition from Blue Underground, we learn that Argento, who co-wrote the script with Daria Nicolodi, had originally intended the story to feature child actors. However, the decision was eventually made to go with adult actors, and, to be honest, that probably was a smart move. Although Suspiria is fairytale-like, it works better when talented adult actors are able to convey real emotions.

Harper, in particular, is a doe-eyed revelation, never overselling the part and always sticking to her “newcomer” status.

Cult figure Udo Kier also turns up for a brief scene, and Stefania Casini and Barbara Magnolfi have a great PJ Soles-like quality to their young characters. The finest performances come from Joan Bennett as Madame Blanc and Alida Valli as Miss Tanner. The two witches are diabolically regal as they hold court over the academy. Bennett gives a performance that deserves to remembered in the horror history books.

Does it all work perfectly?

No.

There’s a side plot involving a blind piano player (Flavio Bucci) and his wayward dog that never seems to fit, and, again, that dubbing is distracting. Why the great Italian horror directors wouldn’t settle on filming in one language and then using subtitles is beyond me.

In the DVD’s bonus features, a helpful documentary features interviews with the cast and creators. During the piece, Harper says that the set featured actors speaking in multiple languages, all with the intention of dubbing voices after the fact.

The lasting memory from Suspiria is its remarkable visual style. The colors achieved by Argento and cinematographer Luciano Tovoli are mind-boggling. Every single scene is cast in a different shade. What could have felt gimmicky or even cartoon-like, instead heightens the action and emphasizes the emotion of the story.

The original music by Goblin is also iconic. In fact, genre fans will pick up on the highly influential tunes (John Carpenter has said that his Halloween theme was influenced by Goblin’s score for Suspiria).

All in all, Suspiria is an impressive horror feature that utilizes a unique visual style with good acting and an impressive score. If it’s not a masterpiece when compared to the entire film industry, then at least it’s a masterpiece for Argento.

• Suspiria

• 1977

• Directed by Dario Argento

• Written by Argento and Daria Nicolodi

• Starring Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Barbara Magnolfi, Udo Kier, Joan Bennett and Alida Valli

• Running time: 98 minutes

• Bubble score: 4 out of 4

• Click here to purchase Suspiria on DVD.