Marco Castellini
•Suspiria
Susy Benner, a young American student, moves to Freiburg (Germany) to attend the most famous dance academy in Europe. Once she leaves the airport, she finds herself at the center of strange and unsettling events, as well as a series of brutal murders that lead to the disappearance of several characters from the academy. Is it the work of a mad killer or something beyond human imagination? Will poor Susy manage to uncover the secret of this cursed mansion and save herself, or will it already be too late? Helena Markos is waiting for her...
With this film, Argento transitions from the thriller of "Profondo Rosso" to pure fantasy. At the beginning of the film, the viewer will believe they are dealing with the "usual" Argento mystery, given the incredible opening featuring two women murdered by a mysterious individual whose hand is all we see, but appearances can be deceiving...
Upon its release, the film was highly appreciated abroad, while in Italy it was largely overlooked and only reevaluated later.
From a directorial standpoint, there is nothing to fault: no shot is the same as another. Argento took it as a challenge and succeeded brilliantly. The cinematography is stunning: using Technicolor, the national "Darione" (with the help of Luciano Tovoli) delivers unique images, made even more surreal and terrifying by the combination of red, green, and blue colors, which evoke the atmosphere of a dark fairy tale. Indeed, the fairy tales that inspired Dario Argento and Daria Nicolodi (co-screenwriter) for this film are "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Bluebeard," and "Hansel and Gretel."
The special effects, as was customary at the time, were crafted manually and filmed live. The screenplay, however, is not exceptional but still flows smoothly. The only flaw is the ending (where the expected twist is missing), which leaves a slightly bitter taste. However, the real strength of the film does not lie in the plot but in the setting and the brutality of the murders. Each death is a small masterpiece in itself, especially the first murder where two girls are savagely killed in one go. According to many, this scene is one of the most beautiful the horror genre has ever offered.
What can be said about the masterful soundtrack, once again composed by Goblin? The music created for this film proves to be fitting and more oppressive than ever, so much so that it can rightly be called a masterpiece within a masterpiece. The setting, vivid and surreal colors are in perfect symbiosis with the sound, which only increases the tension throughout the film: there are few moments of respite for our nerves!
In the role of the protagonist, we find an inspired Jessica Harper, who manages to immerse herself extraordinarily in the role of "Snow White" in this dark fairy tale. Also excellent are the performances of Alida Valli (as the teacher) and Joan Bennet (as the deputy director).
Originally, the film was supposed to feature children as the main characters, but due to external factors, Argento had to abandon his project and cast young women instead. Nonetheless, attentive viewers will notice that, within the academy, the door handles are much higher than usual (the same height encountered by an 8-9-year-old child in front of a door), or that, in some scenes, the students appear very childish when they argue with each other. All of this serves to maintain a certain connection with Argento's original idea.
In conclusion: Absolute masterpiece of Italian horror! Highly recommended for every generation passionate about the genre, because a film like this has never been seen and perhaps never will be again. "The only thing more terrifying than the first 12 minutes are the last 92" (as an old poster stated).
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