Suspiria was the first Dario Argento movie I watched, almost exactly 11 years ago to the day (Letterboxd tells me it was 16 May 2013). In the years since, I've seen most of his filmography, and I think this is the first film of his I've ever rewatched. It was kind of an unfair place to start, because I think it's his best by a decent margin. I'm not the biggest fan of him, but he is an interesting filmmaker, without a doubt, and Suspiria just feels like it offers the most of what makes him compelling.
It's all about how it looks and how it sounds. The use of color and all the sets/locations used are just amazing. It does capture the more nonsensical and indecipherable aspects of nightmares, to some extent, and in that sense, I think it has the capacity to still be decently unnerving. And the score by Goblin just never gets old. That theme repeats so much, but it's continually reworked and always used purposefully, and so I was never bothered by how much the same distinctive passages of music are used.
Suspiria is sluggish in parts, but does fly by when compared to the 2018 version (not exactly a remake). That one I also like, but felt a bit too long. 1977's Suspiria is tight enough so that the slower parts never feel too slow. There are nitpicks to be had surrounding the way it's written, with the characters and dialogue feeling rudimentary, but it's all in the style. It's big, loud, and in-your-face enough that Suspiria works purely based on how it looks, sounds, and feels, the last of those especially so during the more intense scenes. It's a fun horror film, and I think mostly deserves its classic status.
It's all about how it looks and how it sounds. The use of color and all the sets/locations used are just amazing. It does capture the more nonsensical and indecipherable aspects of nightmares, to some extent, and in that sense, I think it has the capacity to still be decently unnerving. And the score by Goblin just never gets old. That theme repeats so much, but it's continually reworked and always used purposefully, and so I was never bothered by how much the same distinctive passages of music are used.
Suspiria is sluggish in parts, but does fly by when compared to the 2018 version (not exactly a remake). That one I also like, but felt a bit too long. 1977's Suspiria is tight enough so that the slower parts never feel too slow. There are nitpicks to be had surrounding the way it's written, with the characters and dialogue feeling rudimentary, but it's all in the style. It's big, loud, and in-your-face enough that Suspiria works purely based on how it looks, sounds, and feels, the last of those especially so during the more intense scenes. It's a fun horror film, and I think mostly deserves its classic status.