Suspiria (1977)

"Suzy Banyon decided to perfect her ballet studies in the most famous school of dance in Europe. She chose the celebrated academy of Freeborge. One day, at nine in the morning, she left Kennedy airport, New York, and arrived in Germany at 10:40 p.m. local time." Those are the opening lines of Suspiria, as spoken by the narrator. Those lines are the beginning of a must see experience for all horror fans... period.

Dario Argento has to be one of the most talented directors in Italian film history. He was influenced by some of the greatest directors in cinema including Alfred Hitchcock. Dario Argento did it all with Suspria. Suspria breaks all the barriers. Not only is it completely nightmarish and bazaar, but it uses different colors of light in a brilliant, chilling way. Suspiria has some of the most memorable scenes in history, whether it be the first shocking murder, the dog biting the man's neck, or the very good ending which will have your eyes glued to the screen.

One of the most nightmarish aspects of Suspiria is the over-the-top creepy music that it offers. When "Goblin" performs music for a movie, that should be instant indication that the movie will be very tense experience. The tension and suspense in Suspiria is built up by the music.

Gore hounds will not be disappointed by Suspiria. Keep in mind, I said "won't be disappointed" not "be impressed". Suspiria has enough gore to be realalistic, but not enough to impress. However, people who watch Suspiria shouldn't watch it for the gore, they should watch it for the haunting atmosphere and tension.

Suspiria was shot in Italy, therefore, if you are watching the movie in an English language you will find that it is dubbed. This may very well be the only reason I found the dialoge in Suspiria to be fairly average. The dubbed audio didn't fit very well, but it isn't beyond terrible.

The only con of Suspiria is the fact that it seems to be dragged out. However, this hardly hurts the film in anyway, and is almost unnoticeable to first time viewers. The first time I viewed Suspiria will be a experience I will not forget.

I highly recommend Suspiria to every euro-horror fan out there. It is very nightmarish, creepy, suspenseful, nightmarish, terrifying... Did I mention nightmarish?

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Fmovies: In a stormy night, the American dancer Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) arrives in Freiburg coming from New York to join a famous and expensive ballet school for a three-year training. On the next morning, she is informed by the direction of the school that a student she met leaving the place on the previous night was violently murdered and the police is investigating the crime. She becomes friend of another student, Sara (Stefania Casinia), and she realizes that the house is indeed a coven of evil and destructive witches led by the powerful Helena Markus, the Black Queen, who has a tremendous talent for doing evil.

It took me twenty-eight years to have the chance for watching "Suspiria". This masterpiece of Dario Argento has never been released on VHS in Brazil, and only a couple of months ago a new Brazilian distributor released this magnificent double DVD, recorded on DTS and having lots of extras, including a documentary about Dario Argento. "Suspiria" is outstanding, and has exceeded my best expectations: the story is excellent, its atmosphere recalls a nightmare, with the amazing use of strong bright colors and the soundtrack from the Italian band Goblin is very scary. The cult actress Jessica Harper has another great performance and her character Suzy seems to be trapped in a nightmare. I certainly include "Suspiria" among my favorite horror movies and I only regret the time I have missed without having the chance of watching this stunning work of one of my favorite directors. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "Suspiria"

Note: On 08 July 2013, I saw this movie again.

On 02 December 2016, I saw this film again.

American ballet student Jessica Harper (as Suzy Banyon) goes to study at a European dance academy, where grizzly murders and hungry maggots reign supreme. "The Tanz Academy" is fronted by elegant Joan Bennett (as Madame Blanc), with stern Alida Valli (Miss Tanner) well-suited, as head teacher. Chief among the young leotard set is Ms. Harper's relatively long-lived pal, lovely Stefania Casini (as Sara). As hair-raising events continue, Harper begins to suspect a coven of witches may have infested the dance Academy.

The storytelling part of "Suspiria" is relatively weak, with events unintentionally serving to lesson the dramatic impact of the horror. The superb opening scenes, for example, are never really improved upon. Interesting characters are underdeveloped, and should have been more cleverly woven into the plot. Despite its haphazard script, and some obvious budget restraints, director Dario Argento's "Suspiria" remains an excellent film.

Mr. Argento's innovative, imaginative direction is the film's greatest strength. His cutting edge camera sense is often striking; and, the color photography, with Luciano Tovoli, is illuminating. The sharp soundtrack music, by the appropriately named "Goblin" band, is reminiscent of Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells". Ms. Bennett and Ms. Valli are a treat. The usually underutilized Bennett is especially noteworthy, in her only post-"Dark Shadows" feature film appearance.

Bennett accepted the project on the strength of the director's reputation, and a chance to visit Rome. When "Suspiria" appeared in the USA, she received some unwarranted poor notices, and professed dissatisfaction with the film's violent content. Still, Bennett was "Saturn Award"-nominated as 1978's "Best Supporting Actress" for her work. Bennett duplicitously gives the "Madame Blanc" character just the right amount of respectability, or "class"; she keeps her Academy dancers enrolled, and helps hold the slim story together.

******* Suspiria (1977) Dario Argento ~ Jessica Harper, Joan Bennett, Alida Valli

Suspiria fmovies. This movie is generally regarded as Dario Argento's best work and it's not hard to see why. Argento's direction adds a lot of atmosphere to the movie, particularly in the way he uses lights and color. There's a genuinely creepy mood through the whole film that doesn't let up. Special mention should be given to the excellent score by Goblin, which really adds a lot to the film and helps set the mood in all the right places. "Suspiria" definitely earns its place as one the finest horror movies ever.

Having heard such mixed things about "Suspiria," I was actually somewhat pleasantly surprised. My main interest in seeing the movie was because of Joan Bennett and Alida Valli.

The sets are quite marvelous and the opening sequence appropriately gripping. I can't say that I was scared by the film. The maggot sequence was actually pretty funny. One minute they're dropping all over the place and the next there's poor Joan Bennett (I read somewhere that she did the film so she could go abroad) in her best finishing school posture and accent explaining away the problem. Don't get me wrong, but there are some genuinely creepy bits. The scene with Jessica Harper walking down the hall and seeing the old woman and the little boy and then her dance class with the sadistic Alida Valli character was unnerving.

The script needed some work. It is, as others have said, a very dreamlike/nightmarish film, but I need some sort of narrative cohesion in my movies. I also have to agree with the reviewer here who questioned the whole sleep apnea thing.

The acting is . . . uneven. Jessica Harper does fairly well as the young woman who's come to the dancing school and discovers there's much more going on. I'm not sure what to say about Bennett and Valli. I've seen it suggested that their performances were supposed to be like that--why, I don't know--but it would be to their credit if that were the case, because both of them gave much better performances in their careers. Still, glad I saw it and I will probably watch it again.

Dario Argento's crowning achievement in stylish film-making.

Suspiria is the most beautiful horror film ever made. Every single frame of this film is expertly lit and colorful. With this technique Argento manages to create an almost unbearable amount of tension and the extremely brutal and bloody murder sequences look so good one can only admire their beauty. The music score by Goblin is one of the most effective score ever to grace a horror movie.

The story concerns an American ballet student who discovers that a coven of witches run the school as bodies begin piling up.

Not much of a story here, but that's really not the main thing. Style and atmosphere is the main course here, and it's execution is completely flawless. Acting and dubbing are okay and the dialogue is a bit stiff. But these are minor flaws in an operatic horror ride one is not likely to forget that easily.

So sit yourself down, turn out the light, and watch this movie in surround sound, 'cause the music alone will totally give you the creeps.