Formula: Suspiria
/ Rosemary's Baby
He keeps the same
backbone of the movie. It's about Susie Bannion (Dakota Johnson): a dancer who
just got accepted to an elite dance academy in Berlin in 1977. Unlike the
original, this Suspiria wastes no time letting you know that there's a
coven of witches who secretly run the academy. The second-in-command among the
coven, Madame Blanc (Tilda Swinton), is the face of the dance academy. Susie
gets her spot in the class after another student, Patricia (Chloe Grace
Moretz), goes missing. Susie quickly rises in the ranks at the school under the
tutelage of Madame Blanc, who unbeknownst to Susie, has bigger plans for her.
Meanwhile, an old doctor who treated Patricia starts looking into her fantastic
claims about the school, and some of the other students start to suspect things
aren't what they seem there. I couldn't spoil the rest of the story for even if
I wanted to, because I only sort of understand what happens.
Much like the
original, understanding the story is secondary or tertiary to liking the movie.
Guadagnino has so much fun with the camera and cutting of this movie. He often
treats the camera lens like a wandering eye, observing the events of the movie
as they happen. The cuts are quick and frantic, like the camera is as paranoid
as some of the characters. Other times, the camera is static and distant; very
much a fly on the wall. For any other kind of movie, even a different brand of
horror movie, it would be too much and too playful: the director calling too
much attention to himself. It works in this though. It's not like the direction
of the original was subtle either. Guadagnino's film is hypnotic. He uses
movement and cutting in a way that made me forget to think about what was even
happening.
Tilda Swinton is
too perfect for this movie, right? As soon as I heard that bit of casting, I
didn't even need to know what character(s) she played. It just made sense. It
isn't even that she gets to be all that weird in the movie. She simply gets the
tone of the whole thing. She fits. I've liked Dakota Johnson for years (Does
anyone else remember Ben & Kate?), and it's been a thrill to see the
new directions she's gone in her career. Her character is a bit of a blank
slate. Most of the time, she isn't driving the movie. The movie is happening to
her. But she never looks like she's lost control of herself. It's a tricky
balance that she pulls off. The cast is very European and exotic, so I don't
recognize the actresses like Mia Goth and Elena Fokina, who play the other
dancers. They fit the look and style of the film.
I love the
production design for the movie. Guadagnino and production designer Inbal
Weinberg really capture the look and style of the time. The architecture and
look of the rooms in the dance academy look mundanely otherworldly. This felt
much more like watching a 60s or 70s horror movie (Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist) than
a period movie made in the modern day (i.e. The Conjuring
movies don't feel anywhere near as authentically 1970s).
Look, I enjoyed
this movie a lot, so I'll keep my issues with it brief. It's about an hour
longer than the original movie. I like giving the story some breathing room,
but 2 and a half hours is too much. In particular, it expands out the story of
the doctor character far more than I cared for. The movie isn't torture porn,
but it is really brutal at some points, Enough that I physically had a hard
time watching at times. That's about it though. This is by far my favorite
horror movie of the year. It rewards your patience with some truly bonkers
stuff by the end. It's a niche movie that won't be for everyone. It isn't going
for jump scares or inventive deaths. It would rather put a spell on you.
Verdict (?):
Strongly Recommend
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