I only very recently watched the 1977 original last year, and I did enjoy it, to an extent. Personally I don’t think it is the horror masterpiece that so many critics rave about, but I appreciated its stylistic achievements for the time it was made. The 2018 remake took what the original film did and made it more rounded.
Suspiria tells the tale of an American dancer, Susie Bannion (Dakota Johnson) who after auditioning for Markos Tanz Akademie in Berlin piques the interest of the artistic director Madame Blanc (Tilda Swinton). But everything is not how it seems at this dance company, as underneath the dance studios lies a dark secret.
There were times in Suspiria when I just wasn’t feeling it, I do think it was a little bit too long and I could have easily taken a few scenes out that would have kept the pace going nicely. I found myself drifting away from the film, which is probably down to my very short attention span. But the scenes that kept my attention, well and truly hooked me in.
The narrative of Suspiria is definitely what caught me, just enough was given away, but not enough that it ruined the suspense that ran through the film, and builds as it progresses, culminating in a very satisfying and climatic ending.
The narrative was only improved by the performances that drove it. I have not seen Dakota Jonson in anything yet, and she blew me away in this movie. But a special shout out has to go to Tilda Swinton, who was perfect in the three roles she played, to the point when I didn’t even realise it was her in one of them. But I will leave you to try and guess.
The tension throughout the movie was also masterfully built by the use of music and the camera techniques, they were often jarring but never felt out of place within the film. The score, composed my Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, was often hypnotic and spellbinding that really enhanced certain scenes within the film, predominately the dance sequences.
The dance sequences for me, were the most effective. The notion of dances as spells is such an interesting idea and I think it was executed perfectly; the introduction of the horror aspect of the film in this first dance sequence was terrifying yet beautiful. I have never seen anything like it before and I was so impressed with the choreography for both parts of the ‘dance’. For me this sequence was perhaps the best part of the film for me, I couldn’t stop thinking about it for hours afterwards.
Without giving too much away I just want to give a special shout out to the practical effects team who did an absolutely incredible job creating some of the most unsettling and graphic images for Suspiria. If you have watched the film I highly recommend watching this video showing the process!
Overall I think Suspiria (2018) was a very worthy remake, and I actually enjoyed it a lot better than the original. It took everything that the first film did an elevated it, without stepping on its toes it made the narrative more rounded and delivered, in my opinion, a much more satisfying horror film.
I’m giving Suspiria a 4.5/5
Siobhan of the Dead 