SUSPIRIA (2018) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

suspiria (2018) movie

Genre              |   Horror Thriller

Classification   |   MA 15+

Running time   |   152 minutes

Released         |   8 November 2018

cast

Dakota Johnson ... Susie Bannion
Tilda Swinton ... Madame Blanc / Dr. Josef Klemperer / Helena Markos
Mia Goth ... Sara
Malgorzata Bela ... Susie's Mother / Death 
Chloë Grace Moretz ... Patricia
​Angela Winkler ... Miss Tanner

director

Luca Guadagnino ​

writer

​Dario Argento ... (characters) &
Daria Nicolodi ... (characters)
 
David Kajganich ... (screenplay)

cinematographer

​​Tom Marais

music

​Thom Yorke

film editor

​Walter Fasano

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box office result

Worldwide               $? million

Australia                 $? million

North America        $? million

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the best dialogue

Dr. Josef Klemperer: [to Sara] Patricia wrote about "Three Mothers" lost to time, predating all Christian invention. Pre-God, pre-devil. Mother Tenebrarum, Mother Lachrymarum and Mother Suspiriorum. Darkness, tears, and sighs.

Susie Bannion: [When asked what dance feels like to her] It felt like what I think it must feel like to fuck.

Madame Blanc: Do you mean fuck a man?

Susie Bannion: No. I was thinking of an animal.

Patricia: [to Dr. Klemperer, in English] If they find me here, they won't hesitate.
[in German]
Patricia: They'll hollow me out and eat my cunt on a plate.

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SUSPIRIA (2018) MOVIE IMAGES

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SUSPIRIA (2018) STORY SYNOPSIS

​Young American dancer Susie Bannion arrives in 1970s Berlin to audition for the world-renowned Helena Markos Dance Co. When she vaults to the role of lead dancer, the woman she replaces breaks down and accuses the company's female directors of witchcraft. Meanwhile, an inquisitive psychotherapist and a member of the troupe uncover dark and sinister secrets as they probe the depths of the studio's hidden underground chambers.

SUSPIRIA (2018) MOVIE REVIEW

 Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 7 November 2018
Pop ​Movee Rating ⭐⭐⭐½

The new SUSPIRIA is a thoughtful reinterpretation of the classic 1978 Dario Argento Horror film of the same name, presenting viewers with a layered story that minimizes genre tropes, opting for a deeper examination of the truly horrific.

It seems fitting that Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino should be the one to bring this new version of SUSPIRIA to the screen. Although his resume of films is vastly different to that of his elder countryman, Guadagnino has stated more than once that the director’s work, and especially the original SUSPIRIA, was hugely influential upon him becoming a filmmaker.

Although the premise and characters are largely the same, Guadagnino’s SUSPIRIA is very different to Argento’s 1977 film, choosing to explore the darker parts of humanity, as opposed to focussing upon the supernatural shenanigans that were central to the earlier film.

Set in the same year Argento’s film was released, the new SUSPIRIA takes place in Berlin, where the distinction of global political tensions were physically manifested by the wall that divided the German capital into East and West. Writer David Kajganich uses the setting to great effect as the city’s physical division serves to reinforce the differences between the events taking place within the Markos Dance Academy and counterpoint them with those beyond its walls.

Unlike the 1977 film, the 2018 is conscious of the outside world and is very deliberate in presenting one of the film’s key characters as being an interloper, whose investigation of one of the Academy’s students is the catalyst for the film’s plot. Many of the film’s scenes involve references to the October 1977 hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 181 and the culmination of the “German Autumn” that had seen the kidnapping and murder of key industry and political figures by the West German left-wing Red Army Faction.

The meeting of the real world and that of the supernatural is important in unlocking the film’s messages...

Kajganich uses these historical events to connect and ground the narrative of this new SUSPIRIA to something more tangible than Argento’s film. The film is explicit in suggesting that the “darkness” (as it’s referred to in much of the film’s promotional material) emanating from the fictional Markos Dance Academy is the epicentre for events happening throughout the country at the time the film is set.

Against the backdrop of this unrest, Psychotherapist Josef Klemperer (a role credited to little known German actor “Lutz Ebersdorf”), begins an investigation into the esteemed Markos Dance Academy after his patient Patricia Hingle (Chloe Grace Moretz), a student at the school, disappears. Klemperer, who is in possession of Patricia’s diaries, is dismayed to discover that his patient believed the Academy is a front for an ancient coven of witches. Klemperer becomes consumed by the need to find out whether Patricia’s psychosis is far deeper than he had believed or whether she telling the truth; a truth which has led to the complete deterioration of her mental state…

In addition to using real events to provide a historical context for the film’s setting, Guadagnino and Kajganich take the opportunity to expand upon elements introduced in Argento’s film but not fully developed, including the concept of “Three Mothers”, inspired by Thomas De Quincey’s 1845 essay titled Suspiria de Profundis. (Argento has gone on to release two further films involving the witches, with INFERNO (1980) and THE MOTHER OF TEARS (2007) creating what has become “The Three Mothers” trilogy.)

De Quincey’s essay purports that there are three Fates, three Graces and three Sorrows. The three main witches in SUSPIRIA are based upon the three Sorrows: “Mater Lacrymarum, Our Lady of Tears”, “Mater Tenebrarum, Our Lady of Darkness” and “Mater Suspiriorum, Our Lady of Sighs”.

Linked to the idea that greater forces are at work, this background material is important in understanding much of the film’s plot, and viewers need to pay close attention to the early scenes between Chloe Grace Moretz and “Lutz Ebersdorf” to understand the events that unfold at the Markos Dance Academy later in the film...

Like Argento’s SUSPIRIA, Susie Bannion, played by Dakota Johnson in the 2018 version, is the new film’s central character. The aspiring dancer has travelled from a small community in the American state of Ohio to audition at the Academy and her entry causes a stir, among both the staff and students, when Tilda Swinton’s Madame Blanc accepts her despite the absence of any formal training.

Susie is not an easy role to play, but Johnson is a real highlight, delivering a performance that is as much about its physical impact as its emotional one. The role requires a number of high energy dance routines, pushing the boundaries of limb tolerance. Each successive performance is more elaborate than the last and it’s clear early in the story that Susie has a raw power that enables the coven to exercise their power.

Johnson also does a nice job of balancing the melodrama that is present in this film...

It’s not hard to imagine that a certain amount histrionic behaviour exists within an all-girl performing arts school, but Johnson matches her drama levels to that of her dance performances. Her emotions tend to spill out at the end of each routine as if she’s releasing the sum of her pent-up energy at the precise moment she reaches a crescendo before collapsing to the floor, unable to give Swinton’s Blanc any more blood, sweat or tears.

Ah, Tilda Swinton… What a wonderful actress she is!

Having previously worked with Guadagnino on A BIGGER SPLASH (2015), I AM LOVE (2009) and THE PROTAGONISTS (1999), the SUSPIRIA Director allows Swinton to indulge herself in this outing, playing multiple roles of varying importance.

Madame Blanc, the school’s enigmatic head of choreography, is the most obvious of her roles, as, unlike her other parts in the film, this character has no prosthetics covering Swinton’s face.

It may be an unusual comparison, but Swinton is reminiscent of Sigourney Weaver’s later versions of the Ellen Ripley character in the ALIEN movies. Swinton has a graceful, yet inhuman, manner in the way she carries her body. Small details such as holding out her hand turn into elaborate actions that focus the viewer’s attention entirely upon the actress.

Swinton is tall, relatively thin and has striking, almost hard (but not unattractive) features.These physical attributes help to exaggerate her actions further, allowing the viewer to interpret meaning that may or may not exist within the performance. When Blanc interacts with Susie, it’s almost as if she’s stalking her young protege. Swinton pushes an innate sensuality in her scenes with Johnson that suggests there is much more going on than meets the eye, adding to the unease at play.

To reveal the other roles Swinton plays would spoil the film, but, it’s enough to say, there is a delicious irony in these. One of the roles is a key character in the story and, with a little bit of effort, is not that hard to pick.

A CURE FOR WELLNESS (2016) actress Mia Goth plays Sara, another of the key characters from the Argento film.

Goth is not quite at the same level as Johnson, but she’s not far off.

One of the improvements the 2018 film delivers is a far greater level of character authenticity and Goth certainly benefits from playing Sara more like a young adult than a hysterical teenager. Her character becomes an important part Josef Klemperer’s investigation into the Dance Academy, going to see the Doctor in an attempt to uncover the truth about what happened to her friend Patricia.

Guadagnino’s SUSPIRIA is not a Horror film that relies upon the genre’s tropes or visual impact, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a Horror film.

Much like Stanley Kubrick’s THE SHINING (1980), the new SUSPIRIA is not so much concerned with the physical manifestation of horrific or violent imagery. The story delves more into each character’s psyche to examine the darkness that engulfs the Markos Dance Academy. While the witch coven from Argento’s film is still present, Guadagnino downplays the gratuitous in favour of the deeper, more disturbing concept of psychological abuse and tortured souls.

The Verdict

Guadagnino’s SUSPIRIA is no light-hearted affair...

Viewers need to be prepared to think hard about what is unfolding before them.

For those prepared to open themself to its bleak tone and slow-moving story, SUSPIRIA eventually reveals itself to be a film more uplifting and textured than fans of Argento’s original may have anticipated.

SUSPIRIA is not a remake. It’s not a sequel. It’s a complete reinterpretation of Argento’s concept based upon Thomas De Quincey’s one hundred and seventy-three year old work.

The darkness it explores has connection to the supernatural, but the film is not really concerned with that. It’s a story about the guilt of men and the power of forgiveness, especially among women.

That’s not to say the women in SUSPIRIA are themselves without guilt.

Viewers may not agree with everything this new SUSPIRIA may have to say, but Luca Guadagnino’s passion for this film is unmistakable. It’s a beautifully crafted film, with wonderful headline performances that capture the mood and intent of a more mature investigation into the definition of “horror”.

SUSPIRIA (2018) USEFUL LINKS

Suspiria (2018 film) - Wikipedia
​Suspiria (2018) - IMDb
​Suspiria (2018) - Rotten Tomatoes​

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