Suspiria (2018) Review
Personally, I would call Luca Guadagnino’s 2018 remake of Dario Argento’s 1977 Suspiria film more of a reimagining than a remake. Aside from the main theme of a secret society of witches running a dance school and the names of the characters involved, most aspects of the plot and characterization have been drastically altered to fit with a more progressive setting, with serious themes such as fascism and feminism. I’ll divide this review into two; (1) discussing the 2018 Suspiria remake in comparison with the 1977 Suspiria film, and (2) discussing the 2018 Suspiria film more objectively as a standalone film.
On one hand, the original excelled in the usage of vibrant exaggerated colors and the mystical soundtrack made by the band Goblin, fitting into the absurd story that is Suspiria. You can’t help but feel hauntingly mystified with each brutal death due to how well the colors blend in to the scenes. Additionally, the plot is simple: Suzy, an American aspiring dancer, studies at a dance academy to learn ballet; however, she soon realizes that there might be something sinister lingering, as numerous characters with a connection to the dance school seem to be killed in mysterious ways.
On the other hand, the colors in the remake were purposefully bland and dull to give off a sense of realism and hardship. The soundtrack, made by musician Thom Yorke, instills a sense of hypnotism and grace, which may not fit in the original Suspiria but suits the emotions of this Suspiria well. The plot is more complex than the original: the protagonist Susie is also an aspiring dancer who wishes to master the dance of Volk, yet her motivations and characterization were completely changed. It is revealed at the end of the film that she was Mother Suspiriorum, one of the Three Mothers, and that she wishes for all fake Mothers and their followers to be killed. The characters have immensely different personalities to their counterparts in the original. Susie lives up to the name of the film, Patricia and Olga are given more character (and have also suffered in the movie due to it), and every teacher in the academy have their own personalities, some having more complex ones than the others. Madame Blanc is one example of such.
Personally, I would choose the first act of Guadagnino’s Suspiria over the whole of Argento’s Suspiria; however, overall I prefer the original Suspiria despite its simple plot, mostly because the simplicity takes away any room for complications and plot holes. The remake starts of as an amazing and artistic take into the realm of Suspiria, with awe-inspiring cinematography, interesting characters, and amazing soundtrack, but its plot loses its way further into the film, with pacing problems and numerous plot holes sprouting out.
Now, enough with the comparison. I would like to talk about the 2018 Suspiria film as its own movie. The acting is phenomenal, wherein you can actually truly believe that these actresses and actors portray their own respective characters. The same can be said with the sound and production design. Every whoosh and breath can be heard every time they dance, solidifying the grace and elegance of their dances. Additionally, upon researching more on this, I actually found out that Tilda Swinton not only portrays Madame Blanc, she also portrays Dr. Josef Klemperer and Mother Markos through incredibly detailed and convincing makeup. Through a second watching, I also observed that the editing and transitions were seamless and doesn’t take you out of the movie. The cinematography in this movie was one of the best that I’ve ever seen. The technical aspects of this film are outstanding and deserved to be commended.
However, technical aspects alone do not make a movie. The plot has to be consistent, believable, and purposeful as well. The first act of the movie was the best in terms of plot. It excels in characterization and setting through the magical songs of Thom Yorke and extraordinary cinematography. The pacing was calming, as if building up to the inevitable later on. Then, we get our first horrifying scene, the infamous Olga scene. It was petrifying to watch for the first time, and I can’t help but feel terribly sad for a character I’ve only known for a few minutes. It felt that it played out a little too long however, though that’s more of personal preference.
The events following after it is where I felt it devolved. The pacing suddenly became way too slow, where it seemed like elements were being added in the movie only to pander out the time. There were still amazing scenes, yes, but they were unfortunately overshadowed by somewhat unnecessary plot exposition. The “dreams” Madame Blanc gives to Susie felt quite too much like a generic horror movie trope, using quick flashy scenes that ultimately did not lead to anything later in the movie. There were times where I got a little bored, but overall, the second act was still fine.
Unfortunately, I cannot say the same with the third act. The reason why Dr. Klemperer has a backstory became apparent. It turns out that his shame and guilt on the fate of his wife was needed for the witches’ ritual. Not one scene before this was it said or implied that shame or guilt was needed, so it lead to the feeling that his backstory about the war felt forced. The background events about the Baader-Meinhof terrorist group seemed forced as well. Radio and TV news about the events were played throughout the film, and yet after the events were resolved, it was ultimately forgotten.
Finally, the biggest offender for me was the plot twist at the end. The plot twist of Susie being Mother Suspiriorum felt very forced and unearned. A problem I’ve always noticed when a character was revealed to have powerful abilities in the end is that there were multiple times in previous scenes for the character to stop fatal actions and decisions, but are unable to do so as to keep the audience unaware of the twist. The twist felt very unnatural because Susie, who is supposedly Mother Suspiriorum and is powerful enough to summon an incarnation of Death, is unable to prevent Sara’s tragic demise. One might argue that she wants to keep the facade in order to be part of the ritual so she could kill of the fake Mothers, to which I would argue why a character who can instantaneously kill powerful witches is unable to locate Mother Markos and has to follow the ritual, sacrificing a caring friend of hers. If there were limits to how powerful she can be (which would be ironic given that she’s said to be one of the Three Mothers), it wasn’t implied beforehand.
In conclusion, I have very mixed feelings with Guadagnino’s 2018 version of Suspiria. I commend its decision to be different from Argento’s 1977 Suspiria, and I truly enjoyed its first act. The cinematography, acting, soundtrack, sound design, production design, and editing are exceptional and makes it stand out from other horror movies. However, there are also plot holes and pacing problems as the film progresses, seemingly forcing some themes into its plot. Overall, I have my own faults with the movie, but as an experience, I would highly recommend watching this movie, preferably watching this first before watching the original Suspiria.
