Road to Halloween: Suspiria (2018)

The road to Halloween is paved with good films. Wherein we countdown to the spirited season with a hundred doses of horror. 21 days to go.

Remakes, by nature, are low risk cash cows. Whenever a studio signs off on one, you can always guarantee three types of people will show up. There’s the nostalgic fan who’s here for a good time, the nostalgic fan who’s there to say they saw it so they can complain about it, and there’s the people who are unfamiliar with the original who are there out of pure curiosity.

Needless to say, Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria is not made for any of those people. Suspiria is easily one of the most divisive movies of 2018. Fans as well as critics of the original were divided on the creative choices made by Guadagnino and screenwriter David Kajganich.

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It is a film seemingly made out of spite and hatred of Dario Argento’s original giallo classic, and based on some quotes from Kajganich, I would say that’s true in regards to the screenplay. The original is built on a bombastic score and bold production design, and the modern interpretation is built on a mountainous script and tight direction.

The seemingly pointless aspects of the world-building from the original are made vital to the new film’s plot and themes. The Berlin Wall goes from another piece of set flare to a symbol of darkness hanging over the coven of witches. The dance academy and subsequent dancing is changed from a setting and establishment to a full-fledged plot device. Kajganich scrapes every detail from the original and turns it into something new effortlessly.

Suspiria is what I would call a horror epic. It’s long and very slow-paced, with a gigantic finale to bring everything home. It has a lot of emotions and themes to process, coupled with several scenes of bone-chilling horror. We’re an hour into this film before we get our first horror scene.

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But when it comes, the tight editing, dedicated performances and haunting Thom Yorke score all come together to craft one of the most memorable horror moments of the decade. After the film has had enough time to set itself up, it grabs you by the throat and lets you know that it isn’t holding anything back.

One element seemingly overlooked in discussion of Suspiria is the story of Josef Klemperer. Klemperer fills the protagonist role here, investigating the coven of witches from outside the academy until he is thrust into their ceremonial processes. Klemperer’s arc is the strongest of the entire film, allowing Guadagnino and Kajganich to explore themes of grief and national guilt through the subplot involving his wife.

For those who haven’t seen the film, Klemperer (played by Tilda Swinton in heavy makeup) is a psychologist who is investigating the coven of witches after a patient informs him that they are using a dance academy as a front for their dark deeds. Klemperer is a victim of World War II, his wife Anke having disappeared during the events and leaving him alone. Just before the climax, when Anke appears to him, we see Guadagnino’s taste for star-crossed lovers overpower us, until it is revealed that it is a ploy by the witches, who kidnap him and bring him to their ceremony as a witness.

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After the ceremony is complete, the final scene with Klemperer is tear-jerking. Dakota Johnson’s Susie appears to him and tells him that his guilt and suffering is not needed for the witches to accomplish their goals. This is where the national guilt angle comes full circle, the matriarchy of the witches relieving one innocent man of his suffering, even if they know that there will be more in the future.

Guadagnino crafted a controversial and divisive film with his remake of Suspiria, but the passion shows in every frame. I love it almost in spite of some of the flaws that I have with it. Either way, it’s one to check out.