Saturday, April 2, 2011
Suspiria
I found Argento's Suspiria to be a very eerie and strange film due to its sound and color scheme and erratic, often confusing storyline. From the onset of the film, I was taken aback by the vibrant colors and accompanying sinister music. The combination truly had the feel of a nightmarish experience, at least for me. I could never quite predict the subsequent actions of the film, let along the dynamic color and music schemes. In addition, I found the erratic and often nonsensical plot added to the feel, often heightening the films suspense and horrific qualities. I never quite understood why the coven of witches began a ballet theatre in the first place; and, after much internal debate, I'm not sure if such a sequence of events needs to be rationalized or if the randomness is intentional, leading the viewer to experience more of a "nightmare." For me, when I have nightmares, I find they are also often characterized by erratic scenes with vibrant colors and nonsensical. This parallels between Suspiria and actual nightmares are striking, which is why I believe the film receives such rave reviews and respect within the Horror genre.
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I agree with you entirely on the nightmarish aspect of the film that was given to it through the Technicolor lighting that brings out the bright primary colors. I also thought it was interesting that the entire musical score was made by Goblin. A heavy rock band that would end up becoming commonly used in several horror Films. They were used by Argento in several of his later films.
ReplyDeleteThis is a slight reach perhaps but I also found that film to be similarly erratic in its filming to Black Swan and in fact even that film could have been seen as a nightmare. I think there is something inherently terrifying about fast camera movements, bright colors, and a high pressure atmosphere like ballet school. While Black Swan is meant to be more thriller instead of horror I think it uses similar dark images, confusion, and music to leave the audience unsure if this is a nightmare or real.