Susie, do you know anything about… witches?
An American woman travels to Germany to study at a dance academy. What she doesn’t know is that it’s run by witches. And they are evil witches.
The first 15 and the last 15 minutes are some of the best I’ve seen in any movie, in any genre. There are two things I’m going to remember from Suspiria. The way colors and light are used, and the score Goblin made. It’s wild to see how detailed and controlled the light and colors are in Suspiria.
Every time I watch Suspiria, I sit with my mouth open and just stare at the screen, taking in the incredible atmosphere during the first 15 minutes. Everything is so carefully planned, and the first murder is the perfect closure to the fantastic opening sequence. I can say the same about the ending. It’s fantastic.
But there’s a big problem with Suspiria. It’s brilliant for a total of 30 minutes. The rest of the movie is mediocre. Not much happens, and some scenes become involuntarily funny, especially the blind man and his guide dog. I’ve always hated the long scene with this annoying character, which I feel kills a lot of the pace.
The acting performances are uneven. But that has always been part of the charm with these movies. Some actors are more annoying than others, so that’s something we just have to live with.
There are a few murders, and only the first one impresses. The third murder is so bad, especially when a woman completely freaks out. She doesn’t block the door, and she’s terrified when she jumps into a pool of steel wire. It’s not barbed wire. It’s ordinary steel wire. Dario Argento should never have included this stupid scene. I understand what he’s going for, but he should have used barbed wire. Jackie Chan would have used real barbed wire. The entire scene feels out of place. Again, I know what Dario Argento is going for.
The story is pretty bad, and there’s not much point to the empty story Suspiria tells. It’s the visual style, the score, and the atmosphere that are the experience. The story stinks for the most part. There’s a lot of weird stuff going on here, so I have to agree with those who say this is a nightmare. One shouldn’t think too much when watching Suspiria. Just enjoy the visuals and the fantastic score by Goblin.
To give Suspiria an 8/10, based on 30 minutes, is something I have never done before. And I don’t think it will happen again.