Suspiria (1977)

On a stormy German night Suzy Bannion arrives from New York to enroll at a prestigious dance academy there. But her night doesn't go too well. Starting with a less than comfortable taxi ride, Suzy is eventually refused entry to the school under strange circumstances as she witnesses one student, already enrolled, storming out of the school, screaming into the distance. In a scene many have described as misogynistic, we follow the fleeing girl, Pat Hingle, to her friend's flat where she is brutally stabbed several times before being hung. Her onlooking friend is also killed, in one of the film's most iconic images (see picture above), as her face is severed by shattered glass.

The next morning Suzy returns to the academy and everything appears to be normal. Suzy recalls something that Pat said as she fled the school the night before but she can't recall what it was. Remembering this is obviously going to be key to solving the mysterious events that follow. Argento's screenplay is the typical 'everything seems to be normal but something sinister lurks beneath' storyline; it reminded me of the superior Rosemary's Baby in that sense. I won't spoil any of the plot in this supposed Italian horror masterpiece but what I will say is that it is much less successful than Roman Polanski's film at chilling the viewer to the bone.

The films most effective, most memorable scene is the scene that sees fellow student Sarah escaping through a high window using a tower of boxes before falling into an unseen wire pit on the other side, whilst someone or something attempts to pick the lock of the door in order to catch her. The reason is stayed with me because half way through the scene Argento strips it of any music whatsoever and suddenly the urgency that the score fuels falls flat. Is Argento purposely showing us the false facade that a film's score provides? I believe so.

Where the term 'masterpiece' is most apt to apply to this 1977 effort is towards its score which is perfect. Not only is the score, provided by Italian rock band Goblin, unique in it's production but it is one of the most apt scores I've ever heard. I'm not usually one to get over excited by a film's music but Suspiria's is simply sublime. Goblin combine their instruments with excellent breathing-like vocals to create something that perfectly balances the innocent and magic of the ballet with the creepy atmosphere you come to expect of a horror film.

But an incredible score does not make a good film. The acting in Suspiria is somewhat stagy and the overall aesthetic feel of the film, despite occasional impressive colour and lighting techniques, looks somewhat grainy and dated. Further, poor direction and structure in the scenes in the film intended to have the most effect, strips them of any 'scare factor' and they are occasionally totally incomprehensible as the film descends into messy chaos in it's final act.

Rating: 5/10