[Movie Review] Suspiria (2018)

Posted on November 2, 2018 by thegrandshuckett in Movie Reviews // 0 Comments

Plot Summary: A darkness 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.

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Writer: Dario Argento, Daria Nicolodi

Runtime: 2h 32min

Main Cast:

Dakota Johnson as Susie Bannion
Tilda Swinton as Madame Blanc / Dr. Josef Klemperer / Helena Markos
Chloë Grace Moretz as Patricia
Angela Winkler as Miss Tanner
Alek Wek as Miss Millius

Review by: Chris F

I walked into this film aware of the original 1977 Suspiria, but without seeing it myself, coming into it without any preconceived notions of what to expect, I was quite surprised. In a year of art house, slow burn horror classic Hereditary, I was all in for another atmospheric, slow burn. I've heard some good things about the director, whose previous film Call Me by Your Name making waves. Suspiria tells the story of Susie Bannion, played with a quiet intensity by Dakota Johnson, is in Berlin to join a prestigious dance school run by Tilda Swinton. At the same time, Tilda Swinton is playing a Doctor curious about the goings-on of the school due to its connection to a possible disappearance. It's easy to assume that there is more to the school than either of them realize, with a dark mystery surrounding the school and its headmasters. To say anything more would spoil some of the fun. Suspiria is a difficult movie to get through and endure, but man does it feel worth it.

What I Liked:

This is a beautiful movie that is extremely confident in its tone and its look. Its well shot with very clean yet claustrophobic camera angles. When nothing exciting is happening on screen, I was glued to the screen. The design and low light of the school itself are very ominous, even in the daytime it gives an aura of unease. From normal conversations to intense and powerful dance scenes, the way the camera moves and flows is something to behold. This movie has some of the most beautiful yet horrifying imagery I’ve seen this year.

The look of the film adds to its tension. Through long at about 2 and a half hours, there is a consistent feeling of dread throughout. Many of the films acts are punctuated with a display of violence or beauty, often at the same time, having me at the edge of my seat. It’s a lot to be able to keep a person invested when your film moves at such a deliberate pace. As more is revealed and the film begins to push the plot forward it goes to so many different places but manages to keep it all consistent and true to its theme.

The acting is superb in this film. Dakota Johnson steals the show playing her character with both naivety and a quiet menace. I never know her exact role in the puzzle and was kept guessing up until the end. Her character is so complicated yet understated which is a heavy load for a film that takes its time. The layers are slowly peeled back and her journey is a wild one to watch. Tilda Swinton continues great character work by playing double duty playing both a male and female character. The head teacher at the dance school, and a doctor whose patient was a former student. She adds so much mystery to an already intense film. Moving with a confident stride she is perfect as the dance school’s lead teacher. As her relationship to Dakota grows, the connection between the two becomes one of the best parts of the film.

Not a typical horror as one would expect, it does have its share of horrifying moments. When the film goes into macabre territory, its violence is both brutal and gorgeous. One of the earlier scenes involves a dance routine that acts as a sort of voodoo doll to another character. With the dance moves of one character affecting the movements of another. It’s deeply unsettling with some of the best and worst sound design. It’s a scene that will stay with me. The film has a few more moments of extreme horror that is perfectly effective due to the slow pacing.

What I Didn’t Like:

I mentioned pace a lot in the earlier section and through thrilling at times, you can feel just about every minute of the 2 hours 30-minute runtime. There are scenes that though necessary, just seem to go on and on and on. This movie likes to take its time and build its story. Plot lines move slow, and many moments can feel redundant. Added to that, the story with the doctor not related to the dance school feel unneeded. His role is important, but how they frame some of his background is cumbersome and confusing at times.

Cumbersome and confusing could be said about the main plot as well. I was curious to see where the story went due to how slow and creepy everything was, but the story itself didn’t need the runtime. A lot of time was wasted on visuals and sequences that were redundant in their messages. Maybe its just me personally, but I felt like a good 30 minutes of this film could’ve been avoided altogether and their removal would not have taken away from the film.

7.8/10

- 7.8/10

7.8/10

Summary

Though sometimes over long, too slow, and sometimes confusing, Suspiria is at the same time is able to be intense, beautiful, and aluring. Though an almost throwback to older, slower horror films its a tough sell in terms of demanding patience in the audience. Most of the waiting around definately has its payoffs, but as the movie ends I imagine it will allernate most audiences. For me though, it was a hell of a right, a frustrating and compelling thriller.

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