The 1977 version of Suspiria is strikingly original. It’s probably the most famous Giallo film. It’s utterly entrancing and atmospheric but at the same time kinda goofy. The practical effects are over the top, and they’ve aged like wine in respect to the fun you get from them, but not so much the realistic quality of them. The film is fairly short and manages to be light-hearted except for a couple of scares. It’s got a lot of colour and relies more on the tone of the atmosphere than the narrative. There are plenty of scenes that have few lines or actions and are more interested in drenching you with the vibe of the film. That’s not to say it doesn’t have a plot or that the story is abstract, it does, but it’s quite simple.
The 2018 version of Suspiria is in a lot of ways a very different film from the original, and it did what most remakes can’t dream of. It justified a reason for its existence. While the first one was a very entertaining but fairly conventional horror movie, the 2018 Suspiria in my opinion takes things to a whole new level. It adds almost an hour more in runtime and tons of characters. There is a lot more stuff happening in the new one, the 6 act structure is interesting, and the addition of the old man character, as well as actually spending more time with the witches was great. It enhances the world of the film and to me, embraces the full potential of what a movie about ‘a dance school run by witches’ could be
Everything in the 2018 version of Suspiria is crazier, from the dance scenes, to the body horror elements. The effects in the new one are much creepier and since it decides to be as scary as it could possibly be, it… is scary. Really freaky, and wayy more disturbing than the first one. But here’s the thing. The new Suspiria isn’t just a much bigger and scarier version of the old one. It’s really interesting to see how two different filmmakers have a completely different approach to the same story. Dario Argento made his Suspiria with flash, and style. The lighting is neon and vibrant, the music is blaring and ‘synth-like’. It’s almost like a Nicolas Winding Refn film before Nicolas Winding Refn. But Guadagnino’s version is a lot more uncomfortable and haunting. The colours are drab and the film feels suffocating. It gradually evolves into madness as it goes on, but in a more reserved way than the original. It takes its time, sets up subplots and pays them off only at the very end. When the chaos ensues, it’s chaotic but until then it makes you feel icky and makes your brain muddled. The experience is vaguely similar to Aronofsky’s mother!
And the thing that makes the Suspiria remake work, is that it does not just serve the same dish on a different plate which is what something like the lion king remake is like. Retreads old ground and makes you just wish you were watching the original. But no, the Suspiria remake adds flavours and dives deeper into the story of the witches and even changes the ending to something more cathartic. It does the impossible and in my eyes improves upon the original film. I much prefer the style of this one. It is a hypnotic nightmare that messes with the mind and the soul, and while the original is a really fun horror movie, the remake is one of the triumphs of the genre. Far from empty provocation and hints at various interesting themes. It’s an experience that is hard to forget, regardless of whether you actually liked it or not.
By @starwards1
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