This is one of those cult classic Horror movies that every hardcore fan says you have to see to earn your stripes. I can see some of the reasons for its must-see status. I really like Jessica Harper. She's fantastic and she creates a character that is extremely likable and easy to root for. The visuals are pretty strange but I can't call them impressive. There are some very odd architectural flourishes and some interesting lighting. There's no doubt that some of the artistic decisions of "Suspiria" influenced other movies that came later. But the movie had a cheapness to it. Visually it kept reminding me of "Phantasm" and I don't have a good explanation for that.

The opening murder scene that features the repeated stabbing and then hanging of a student is very violent. It's not the brief quick or jump cut type of killing you see in most slasher movies. This is an extended attack and it is brutal. There was also a scene with a victim jumps into a room to escape an attacker only to find the room is filled with wire! Creatively gruesome to say the least.

"Suspiria" wasn't scary but it was horrific at times. As silly as this sounds, some of the snoring and grunting noises from what was ultimately the most evil character struck me as being creepy. The biggest drawback was the story which most times made little sense. It just seemed like a lot of things happened for no particular reason.

I watched this and the "remake" back to back, seeing how people complained about how the "remake" wasn't anything like the original (true) and how it was so awful in comparison (... I'll get to that).

All right.

First off, the composition and directing is incredible. Such neo noir vibes right from the start.
The musical score is crazy and loud. People must have complained in the theatres about three volume though. It’s so much louder than the spoken lines. This creates quite some dissonance, which I am sure is just about intended. And it seems typical Goblin.

The colours are impeccable though. That whole scene of the first deaths ... lovely. As it cuts to a blind man devoid of colours both inside and out - fantastic.

Yet already at this point I don’t see how people can actually compare the two, as they pretty much are two **entirely** different films. It's only that they took a general idea, and some names, and imho made a modern masterwork out of ... well, _this_.

The one thing I find comparable at this point, while the styles of directing are so different a comparison doesn’t seem fair, the acting is definitely _better_ in the remake.
Yes, women screaming senselessly into the camera used to be a thing. Yes, "overacting" used to be a thing. But most of the characters in this seem like puppets rather than actual people, and that's a choice, not just "how the style is", as there's films of the same era, same genre, where it's done oh so much better.



A few points made along the way: *spoilers here*
[spoiler]- The original Blanc talks way too much and has way less charisma.
- The number of men is already disturbing and seems only be serving to distract from a plot (wait... there is one? ... Okay, sure there is one. But then cut to the new Suspiria, and there's a whole _layer_ of plots. Come on, now.)
- I enjoy classical ballet far less than modern dance. And we get like, what, one or two scenes of them actually dancing in this one? DANCE is no part of the plot at all, while in New-Suspiria it DRIVES the plot.
- I do not appreciate how weak Susie is depicted versus that strong willed person she is from the start on the remake. Her first moments on the dance floor are basically “oh no I’m woozy I don’t think I can do this simple step” versus “I can dance this thing you’ve trained for for months and I will show you how good I am, rawr!”
- Depicting or alluding to the seemingly senseless abuse of both animals and the physically impaired is pretty bad taste.[/spoiler]

While I can appreciate the film’s cinematography and have some minor understanding of typical horror genre shooting of the day, when it comes to the story and characters... excuse me, but no. They’re weak at best. None of the characters have any sort of strength of character, nor any personality worth speaking of, hence the happenings have no to little effect on the viewer as it’s impossible to relate to them. Other than an obvious perversity to enjoying lightly dressed female screaming in horror and flailing about helplessly, there’s little to no enjoyment to be won from this.



I can see how the original set in its own time frame could be a great? good? movie, but it wouldn’t do in our times whatsoever and as such, the “remake” has done an amazing job of retelling a similar story in a different context and make it both believable and gripping in a modern age (despite still being set in the 70s)
This one had me sit there with a raised eyebrow for the better half of the film and hope for a quick ending, while the new version had me pretty much glued the entire way.


When it comes to horror films around this era that I actually enjoyed, let's talk Phenomena. At least we have strong willed and smart characters, not annoying dimwits, in this one.
And the bad rep of witchcraft in this one to boot!
I think I need to watch the old Wicker Man to cure me of this disaster :joy:

So thanks for enlightening me of the "original Suspiria", but no thanks. There's way better classic films out there than this one.

This is my favourite movie in the world. I love it so much that I have a Suspiria tattoo, it got me into movies - into Italian horror which is one of my favourite things now.

This is a masterpiece. Nothing will ever come close to this movie’s cinematography and soundtrack. Many people comment on the ‘style over substance’ aspect of Suspiria (and some of Argento’s other films), but I don’t see it as a flaw. It’s an experience. I don’t care if everything makes 100% perfect sense, when I put Suspiria on I feel transported to another world and that’s the best kind of movie. One that can just take you away from the real world.

Suspiria is oddly comforting to me. I guess it’s that taking me away from the world feeling. It feels like a hug which I know isn’t what Argento was going for, but hey, apparently people ran out of theatres screaming in the 70s and I’m just a freak.

Would recommend this movie to anyone and everyone. I can’t imagine not liking it. I get that the dubbing and the cinematography or whatever may be a little jarring at first as beautiful it is, but go in with an open mind and let yourself get lost in the beautiful world of Suspiria and I can’t see anyone at least not somewhat liking it.

Nothing I could ever say could sum up how much I truly love this movie.

There seems to be a never-ending feud between many horror fans regarding 'Suspiria', due to the fact that this film is considered Dario Argento's outstanding masterpiece. Personally, I'm completely against the idea of praising something that you don't actually like, so I respect anyone who thinks that this movie is overrated or even plain awful. My summary is only an opinion, but by no means I intend to make people change their mind or disapprove their concept of this film.

'Suspiria' is one of the many Italian horror films that came out during the late 70s and early 80s, that is extremely criticized for having a supposedly questionable plot and denouement. If we compare this movie to some of the other popular films directed by Dario Argento, we're probably going to think that 'Suspiria', is perhaps not as intriguing or well developed, when it comes to the story. To give a few examples of some of the Argento films that are widely considered the actual masterpieces because they offer an intriguing plot, good imagery and well done endings, I would probably name 'The Bird with the Crystal Plumage', 'Deep Red' and 'The Cat o' Nine Tails'. So what is it that we should believe? Nothing! Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and even though I agree with those who claim that 'Suspiria' is Argento's real masterpiece, I would never waste my time trying to convince people that this is true. As a matter of fact, I'll be honest and say that I also believe that 'Suspiria' has a somehow underdeveloped story, but I still regard it as one of the best horror movies in history. The reason is simple: in my opinion, you can make something wonderful, without a wonderful plot. This is perhaps one of the most visually enchanting horror movies I have seen so far and I honestly doubt I will ever find another film that can enchant me as much as this one. Everything about 'Suspiria' is beautiful, even the violent deaths. I know this may sound sick and disgusting, but I believe Mr. Argento has the special gift to make beautiful images out of gruesome situations, like murder, for example. From the beginning until the end, this film takes us to a dark dreamland with beautiful contrasting colors, eerie locations and a recurrent unsettling music. The locations are perfect. The ballet school in which the story takes place, seems to be a nonexistent place taken from someone's dream. Indeed, it was revealed once that 'Suspiria' was partly inspired by a dream that Daria Nicolodi once had (Mrs. Nicolodi was the co-writer and Argento's girlfriend at the time). So if the idea was to create a dream-like movie, I would say they did a perfect job. Everything about 'Suspiria' looks surreal and charming. It's a dark fairy tale, in which the characters behave in a childish way, like playing along with the scenario. It is also said that the actresses were initially supposed to be little girls, but fearing that the film could be banned, Argento had to choose older actresses, but he didn't really change much of the dialogs, which I think is genius. Strangely, the characters don't come off as moronic or anything, they simply are strange and childish, but in a good way. The subject of sex, for example, is barely even mentioned, which is something that doesn't happen too often in horror movies with twenty-something year old characters. But regarding the actors who played these characters, I would mostly compliment the work of the late actresses Joan Bennett and Alida Valli. The young cast was simply fine, but no one did a remarkable job. Not even Jessica Harper, who was a bad choice for the lead character, in my opinion. This is probably the only little detail I would criticize about this film. Mrs. Harper pretty much has the same facial expression and tone of voice throughout the entire film, which is not good. On the other hand, like I said before, Mrs. Valli and Mrs. Bennett were flawless as the two bitter old women who run the school with their awful temper and their little psychological tortures against those who stand in their ways.

So concluding: 'Suspiria' is one of those films that you either love or hate. Both feelings are equally respectable and I can understand why some people don't really appreciate it. But if I have to recommend or 'sell' this movie to someone, I would definitely highlight the dream-like imagery and the creepy music composed by The Goblins, that go perfectly well with what is seen on the screen. Enjoy this dark fairy tale about witches and childish girls.

If you can, check out the Synapse remaster. Seems to be the only one that gets the colors right, and the little-heard 4.0 English mix is absolute insanity