An American woman enrolls in a dancing school in
Italy that has experienced a string of mysterious deaths.
When I think about it, Suspiria goes against all the things I normally like in horror movies. It's colorful. It's loud. It employs all sorts of cuts that manipulate the audience. It's deliberately staged. These are all things I condemn other horror movies for.
But, I don't care. I loved Suspiria. Go big or go home! At certain a point, excess turns into an asset. The soundtrack/score is great, so the fact that it's blaring throughout the movie isn't a problem. The use of primary colors are so striking that the whole movie feels like a nightmare. You are always aware of Dario Argento's direction while watching this. It never takes a break. Where most horror movies get into trouble is that they don't own up to what they are doing. When a movie plays it straight for 20 minutes, then slips into cheap horror manipulations, that annoys me. When it commits to the fact the it's a horror movie from the beginning to the end, it's much earlier to excuse.
I came across a review of the film that said the movie only makes sense to the eye. Despite the glibness, I completely agree with that. It's a feast for the eyes [and ears]. For a brief, 90 minute film, that's fine. I kind of get the story, but not really. There's a witch coven at the school. When people start to figure out the truth, the witches kill them. If I start breaking the plot down more than that, I lose track of a lot of the decisions, but again, I don't care. Frankly, too much horror is concerned with explaining everything. Explaining rarely helps horror. No one is afraid of answers.
I'm eager to see this movie again and I'm still processing it. It has shot up my board of favorite horror movies though.
Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend
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