(1977) *****
“The Only Thing More Terrifying Than The Last 12 Minutes Of This Film Are The First 92.”
(Original tagline)
American Suzy Banyon arrives in Germany where she will be attending a prestigious ballet academy. Arriving at the famous school one dark and stormy night she witnesses another student fleeing the academy in obvious distress. When Suzy knocks on the door of the academy she is turned away by a voice on the other side and forced to spend the night elsewhere. Meanwhile the distressed student continues to flee from unseen forces. In a now-legendary sequence she dies in a spectacular fashion.
A sucky arrival.
A horrible death.
Suzy’s first official day at the academy goes pretty well. She makes some new friends and is given a tour by the strict lead teacher and she is eventually introduced to the headmistress, Madame Blanc, and the creepy doctor (the always-creepy Udo Kier). As Suzy adapts to her new routine, which includes vigorous ballet instruction, she becomes close to her roommate. Together the two begin to figure out that their teachers are not leaving the academy at night but in fact are secretly meeting in a hidden room deep within the bowels of the large building.
Getting too close to “the truth”, her roommate dies horribly, falling into a room full of razor wire. Suzy picks up where her roommate left off and her sleuthing results in a horrible discovery…
Suspiria is required viewing for any horror fan. Although the story is intriguing, Suspiria is best known for it’s gorgeous, atmospheric cinematography (cinematographer Luciano Tovoli). Dario Argento chooses vivid colors, reds, blues, and greens and angular sets, which creates a dream-like, surreal feeling. Think of an evil version of Amelie. Every scene is infused with beautiful color. Even innocuous scenes, such as this conversation by a fountain exemplifies Argento’s luscious color choices,
Here are examples of his use of color and sharp angles,
Even if you hate horror movies, foreign movies, or foreign horror movies, pop a copy of Suspiria in and marvel at its unique look. Here are some more examples,
Finally I wanted to mention how cool the Gblin soundtrack is accompanying this film! So cool, in fact, that the DVD comes with a copy.
Sorry to keep this review short and sweet but 80 reviews later I’m spent and my shoulders hurt. Happy Horrorthon 2007 people!
3 comments:
"deep within the bowels of the large building.”
You made me laugh so hard when I read that. In my 19th century American lit class I have heard the word "bowels" used more times than I ever have before. We often joke about it in class. I know this has absolutely nothing to do with Suspiria, but here is an example from Henry David Thoreau’s journal with a smidgen of commentary from Perry Miller:
“They would not keep their distance, but cuddle up and lie spoon-fashion with you, no matter how hot the weather nor how narrow the bed.” One of them so sought to convert Henry as though to take him into his bowles—“Men’s bowels are far more slimy than their brains.”
Thoreau is detailing the time when his mother’s boarding house was filled with New England reformers that were desperately trying to bring him over to their side.
Now that I’ve gotten the “bowels” out of my system, I’m back to Suspiria. Your review was great! I completely agree with you about the colors and angles. The composition of every frame is perfectly crafted. I was blown away. It was so fantastic that at moments I found myself drifting away from the storyline and focusing entirely on the brilliantly constructed surreal atmosphere.
Congratulations on 80 reviews! I think it's safe to say that you won this year... or is it?
I am purposely not reading this because I want to save this flick for next year.
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