E's Reviews: Suspiria (2018)

SUSPIRIA was written by David Kajganich based on characters created by Dario Argento and Daria Nicolodi and was directed by Luca Guadagnino. The film stars Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton, and Mia Goth and is about a darkness that swirls at the center of a world-renowned dance company, one that will engulf the artistic director, an ambitious young dancer, and a grieving psychotherapist. Some will succumb to the nightmare. Others will finally wake up.

The film itself is being released to limited audiences and I was lucky enough to be a part of a Halloween special screening at my local Alamo Drafthouse. Let me start by saying that it was a very weird night. The entire day leading up to the screening, I had a weird feeling. Sure, I might just be paranoid or something, and yes it was on Halloween night, but the things that happened during and after the film kind of freaked me and the others that were there out. For starters, just before a very freaky scene happened, the emergency fire door that was located maybe 4 feet away from me (and cannot be opened from the outside) swung open violently. There was no one nearby, and no one had touched it. Also, the alarm didn't go off. We just kind of stared at it in shock, then shut it and went back to watching the movie. A little bit after that, one of the servers basically face planted in the aisle. They had to be rushed to the hospital (possibly because they may have a concussion). After the movie ended and I was attempting to tweet out my thoughts, none of the apps on my phone (not even the WiFi) would work, despite having a strong signal. Like I said...weird.

But let us now speak of the technical aspects of the film...and try to forget the creepy stuff that was happening in real life. This film is beautifully shot. Each scene has the characters front and center and the director really wanted you to focus on what he was showing you. The screenplay is fantastic and, I believe, the writer had to actually study contemporary dance for a while so he could really put into words exactly what the characters were doing. The choreography for each dance sequence is intense, beautiful, scary, sexual, and demonic at the same time. The uses of color are, like the original Suspiria (this is not a remake, more a re-imagining) are fantastic, each color vibrant and gorgeous. The score is superb, Thom Yorke really draws you into each scene with his music and amazing vocals in some sequences. Now, I'm not the biggest Dakota Johnson fan. I thought she was fine in Bad Times At The El Royale (one of my favorite films of 2018), but her other films (notably the Fifty Shades series) are downright terrible. Here, I found her mesmerizing. Each time she was on screen I could not look away, my focus being drawn directly to her. Likewise, Tilda Swinton is fantastic in multiple roles.

The only real downside I see in this film is the run time (it clocks in at about 151 minutes). It could feel really long for a long of people who aren't used to this sort of slow burn type of a film. I actually didn't have that hard a time, but I did feel some moments kind of dragged, but I also felt nothing was done without purpose. The film had a great flow to it and each sequence developed the characters and when it finally came for everything to come to a head during the final act, it did so with violence and terror. The movie really does mess with your head and really does make you think. It's meant to create conversation and make you theorize just what in God's name was going on. The effects were also great, especially in the now famous "Olga Scene" (you'll know wheat I mean when you see it...) which made me look away in shock.

Where Argento's film took a more murder-mystery approach, Guadagnino went full on supernatural with his vision and it really does take Suspiria to a whole new level. This film will not be for everyone, but the art-house horror/cult crowd will definitely enjoy it. If you get a chance to see this film in your area, do so. I feel like horror films like this one really don't get the recognition they deserve in the mainstream (see also: The Witch, It Comes At Night, Hereditary) and they most definitely should be pushed to as many audiences as they possibly can be. It opens this weekend and I hope you all get a chance to check it out.

Final Score: 9.5/10

PS: This movie gave me nightmares...so damn disturbing...