Suspiria was a highly stylish horror, just as many Italian horror films are. The director Dario Argento used very bold lighting, color, and sound effects to really keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Although the scenery and framing create a beautiful setting, Argento did not hold back on the gore. He is known for making very gory movies, but this one really takes the cake. The opening scene is supposed to be one of the most gory in history. The poor girl who is murdered first has her face shoved thru a glass window, then she is stabbed repeatedly in the heart, then she is tied up, and her body is dropped thru the glass skylight of a building, but is stopped by a rope around her neck! Watching this first scene made me very wary of the rest of the film. The music by Goblin, however, was just awful to listen to. Perhaps their horrendous sound added to the uneasiness I felt while watching the film.
I also found the first scene to be gruesome and it made me uneasy. However, the film failed to build on this scene in my opinion. It almost seemed to me like they wasted their best scare in the opening scene. The rest of the movie lacked the atmosphere of a good horror film. A dance academy and witches and murders just did not seem to work for me. People have mentioned how the movie was supposed to be like a nightmare, and I can sort of see this, but its more like one of those strange dreams where you wake up confused rather than a true nightmare where you wake up terrified. From an artistic standpoint, the movie was very well done. The music (while at times over the top) set up kill scenes very well with its creepy sound. The setting of the dance academy was very colorful and added to the artsy feel. However, it lacked the scares required to be a truly good horror film.
ReplyDeleteWhile I did enjoy the visual effect of the set of Suspiria, I regret to say that it was the only thing that I enjoyed about the film. I also found the plot to be disconnected and I had trouble following the progression of the film. The worst aspect of the film in my opinion, though, is the score. I understand that the score was made specifically for the film by the band Goblin, but I found it to be grating and painful to listen to. At one point, my roommate was so baffled with the sounds coming from the TV room that she came out of her room to ask what in the world we were watching. Another thing that added to my distaste of the score was that it would end abruptly before the climactic/horrific event. Most horror films use the score to build suspense and the music often heightens as the death scene occurs. But in Susperia I often felt that the music was not in line with the plot which contributed to my confusion about the story line.
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