"Susie, do you know anything about...witches?"
SUSPIRIA (1977)
Directed by Dario Argento
The horror movie as dark fairy tale. A visually ravishing story of innocence and beauty threatened by corrupt and unclean evil, with a narrative that seems to follow the logic of a dream.
Of course that's just a fancy way of saying this is a beautiful film that doesn't make a lick of sense.
Here's the thing though. Horror, especially supernatural horror, is a genre that can allow for poetry (in this case overpowering visual aesthetics) to supplant prose (a coherent plot) while still effectively accomplishing the filmmakers goal. In this case, to frighten and disorient the audience, echoing the prediction of the heroine. That heroine is Susie Bannion, well played by Jessica Harper, an American ballet student studying abroad. Once she reaches the prestigious Italian academy where she's meant to study, it doesn't take her long to realize that there is something profoundly wrong with the place. (Or is it normal for ballet schools to have rooms filled with razor wire? I gotta plead ignorance here.) Anyway, the plot thickens. Something about witches and ancient evil and, you know, the usual.
Dario Argento seems to have slipped in recent years, but this is one of his masterpieces, made at the height of his creative powers. The juxtaposition of lovely colourful visuals, sensuous camera movement and absolutely brutal violence is strange, jarring and entirely cinematic.
This is pure film.
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