Retro Review: Suspiria (1977)

Suspiria is a highly stylized horror classic that spends the majority of its time admiring its production designs more than offering a cohesive and smoothly flowing story. However, considering what I'd confidently call both a strong beginning and final act, I was able to manage through the entire runtime despite bumping into certain issues along the way. These issues would include questionable editing choices that resulted in choppy feeling scenes and an occasionally disorienting sense of direction that simply didn't work for me whether or not it was intentional by director Dario Argento. 

A good portion of that disorienting viewing experience stems from the film's score by Goblin which frequently drowns everything out during several of the scenes. The funny thing about this personal nitpick of mines however is the fact that the music itself is by far one of the greatest horror film scores of all time. This same sentiment can be said about the notably beautiful set designs and visually striking direction behind some of the horror centric moments which are equal parts alluring and overbearing. Suspiria is one of the most cinematically attractive horror classics in the history of the genre, but this praise towards artistic value is also a bit of a double edged sword for me. 

The problem with this 70's supernatural horror icon is that it evidently comes across as an art gallery showcase with a killer soundtrack where story and character development ends up being sacrificed for visual flare. Now I do have to give a bit of context towards the reader here and admit that the Italian horror genre (where Suspiria falls under) is a corner of the genre that I haven't quite explored as much. There are certain sensibilities within this vibrantly brutal side of cinema that may be a bit of an acquired taste that I'm still exploring. So try to understand that though Suspiria may be considered an absolute masterpiece of Italian horror filmmaking, as someone who's looking at it from a more americanized palette, it just seems like an abundance of alluring surface level spectacle with a lack of substance beneath. 

The premise of the film centering around a dancer traveling to Germany to a ballet school where she gradually uncovers something sinister and frightening taking place behind the academy's walls is such an intriguing concept. There's this classic horror-mystery appeal that just demands the viewer's attention especially with Argento's eye popping visuals, Goblin's spine tingling score, and the general idea of witches being involved somehow. You have these perfect ingredients laid out to make an exceptionally crafted horror film filled with dazzling but disarming imagery, suspenseful storytelling, a thrilling mystery being slowly revealed, and terrifying scares from the supernatural/slasher elements taking place. 

And yet, I felt as though I was given more of a chaotically cobbled together beautiful art show version of that very description with a protagonist that I hardly felt any emotional connection towards. But perhaps this is what Italian horror films are generally like and I'm simply a foreigner walking into this exotic land trying to make sense of what my expectations should be. At the end of the day, I can happily say that I enjoyed a lot of the sights and sounds being thrown at the audience here especially when isolating and absorbing certain scenes for its artistry. But as a film overall, I think Suspiria leaves a lot to be desired where its mystery narrative potential is concerned. 

Rating: 7/10