Jessica Harper stars as Suzy Bannion, an American ballet student who has been accepted to the prestigious Academy Of Freiberg in Germany. When she arrives, during a nighttime deluge of biblical proportions, the woman on the intercom refuses to admit her inside. On her way out, (luckily for her she told the taxi to wait) Suzy another student fleeing through the woods. This turns out to be Pat Hingle--no, not the character actor who’s best known for playing Commissioner Gordon in the first four Batman movies, but a young woman who has been kicked out of the academy for improper behavior. But Pat finds even worse improper behavior when the forces of evil find her at a friend’s apartment.
The next day, Suzy is finally allowed in the Academy, which turns out to be a hotbed of weird goings-on. Suzy makes friends with another girl named Sara, who’s something of a Nancy Drew regarding the strange happenings at the academy. For one thing, it’s common knowledge that the teaching staff don’t live at the academy, always leaving at 9:30 pm sharp--but both Sara and Suzy soon realize that the staff actually never leave the school at all. And as they continue their investigation, people around them start dropping like flies on red velvet (sorry, couldn’t help it).
Suspiria was director Dario Argento’s first full-on foray into the supernatural--and, some thirty years after its release, it’s still a very potent blend of horror and dark fairy tale fantasy. While the gore is copious and overflowing, Argento still manages to create a very creepy atmosphere, which he effectively sustains throughout the film. Jessica Harper, who turned down a role in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall because it conflicted with this film, is marvelous in the lead role of Suzy. With her broad face and wide, frightened eyes, Harper lends a quaint gothic quality to the proceedings, while still retaining a charming innocence.
Argento, who co-wrote the script with his then-lover Daria Nicolodi, originally
wanted to shoot the film with a much younger cast. But when the producers balked
at the thought of having to deal with a large cast of minors, Argento made the
characters older--in their late teens; early twenties--but he still kept the
idea that they were children by having all the door knobs on the set be higher
than usual. In fact, the adult actresses are often dwarfed by the grandiose and
stylish sets they are on. The widescreen DVD does a great job at recapturing the
sets, as well as the garishly colorful lighting used throughout the production.
The two-disc DVD comes with a fifty minute, retrospective documentary. Made in
2000 (when this disc was originally released), the documentary does a fine job
at detailing the production of the film, as well as its impact on horror fans,
as well as overall culture. Argento is on hand to give his thoughts, as well as
most of the cast, the director of photography, and even members of Goblin, who
did the memorable score. Suspiria is often very lurid, some of the acting is
sub-par, and the excessive gore will turn off many. But if you can overlook its
minor flaws, then settle in and enjoy an old fashioned, horrific-flavored fairy
tale. Argento followed up on this tale with Inferno in 1980.
--SF
