Suspiria, Witches be hating

 

 
If I learned one thing in my many years of watching horror movie aimlessly into the wee hours, it’s that most of the time “good”American horror movies are “highly influenced” by foreign movies. I use quotations lavishly to protect my ass from the internet backlash from my “many” readers. Recently, the plague of one word titles from Japan at the box office has had me sticking to the subtitled counterparts from years prior. I blame this solely on one particular film from Italy from decades ago, highly influential in its subject matter, use of camera, colors and lights and that creepy music. Dario Argento’s Suspiria heavily influenced movies like Halloween, Friday the 13th, The Shining and Nightmare on Elm St.  Before I delve further, I recommend to watch it unlubricated, as the saying goes. Horror films have a better impact when you  don’t know what to expect, just know it is one of Papa Rex’s favorite movies of all the time, not just of the horror genre.

Suzy, the cute big-eyed American teen finds herself  in Freiburg, a small German town famous for both its prestigious school of ballet and fits of sudden monsoon rain. When she arrives at the school for the first time she is turned away, while leaving, Suzy sees a young women running out of the school in terror, fleeing into the dark forest. As Suzy’a cab pulls away she sees the scarred girl fade into the dense forest. The next day when she is let in to her new school, Suzy witnesses several unsettling events happen, things of an occult nature, missing students, night terrors, sudden plague of maggots and the eerie breathing of an unknown sleeping figure behind a curtain.

Suspiria uses colors, shapes and symmetry to paint a horrific picture in your head and leave it there long into the night. The strong visuals and lurking musical number will leave you unsettled from start tot finish, really feeling the terror of those haunted by…whatever it is that lives in the bowels of the school. The writing and pacing of the film is done well, what this means for horror flicks is that there is a constant state of anxiety the spaces between build up and kill scene are just right, there is never a “come on just kill the bitch” feeling that most slasher films are famous for. Like any good slasher movie, it must be filled with believable terrified women, Suspiria is no slouch. Filled to the brim with scantily dressed, pasty skinned teenage girls with big brown eyes, which I find better convey a look of utter terror.

Dario Argento’s Suspiria is an overlooked genre staple, wich is a damn shame because it so clearly influences the who’s who of horror movie directors. Get your hands on this classic and find out exactly what you have been missing.