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Posted By: JonnyRotten at 12:12am, September 19, 2008
I didn't hate this movie, but I do think it is VERY over rated. This is the only Argento movie I have ever seen. Since this is widely regarded as his best work I won't bother to watch any more. It was hard to follow, the deaths scenes were stupid, and the score was over bareing. I also think that the end was a bit of a let down. I have seen a lot of movies from this era that are just as good if not better that don't receive near the hype. It took me three tries to make it through the whole thing without falling asleep. Rent this one before you buy it.
Posted By: thedescent08 at 12:38pm, September 5, 2008
Suspiria tries hard to be a mature children’s movie—along the same lines as Pan’s Labyrinth and Halloween—and it fails. The reason it fails may be due to its age, but I doubt it. In 1970 films like Alien created doom atmosphere in the most believable way with no cheese, and simply make this movie look like a student film by comparison. No, the reason it fails at being a children’s fairytale done wrong is because it tries so hard to be mature by creating suspense that it just creates boring, predictable, and sloppily executed.
The movie opens with the first murder, and I simply cannot think of a more amateur, sloppy way for it to have taken place. It’s more reminiscent of a cheese parody than a horror movie. It actually had me chuckling. Once again, I can’t blame this on the era it was made because other movies in that same era nailed death scenes better than any modern movie could hope to do: the cheese is from poor ideas and poor film making. If this is Dario Argento at his best, what is his worst? An episode of Sesame Street? I’m worry, I can sometimes excuse an old movie of cheese, but I can’t get over the fact this was made after Alien. Dario Argento should have known better, and he could have done better, but he didn’t, thus I’m not going to look past the fact the murder scenes were so poorly done I couldn’t hold back laughing.
As far as gore goes, there is so little I don’t even find it worth mentioning. So I won’t. Just know that most of the stab wounds don’t even show blood, and the blood that is in this film looks more like clown paint than plasma.
But by far the biggest flaw of the film is the lack of any cohesive storytelling whatsoever. One scene will be an over-the-top (but not graphic or violent) murder scene, the next will be a ballerina scene that adds nothing to the movie, and the next will be some teachers talking about nothing that has anything to do with the movie. There is no order. At least 50 minutes of the runtime are completely pointless to the rest of the movie—and this is supposed to be scary? These scenes don’t build suspense or character, they just build boredom.
In the end when all the mysteries are explained it was almost like a cute, trite, cliché slap in the face. The explanation for everything going on has been done so many times in horror movies I honestly would have liked the movie better if it cut off and ended right before explaining it all. I don’t understand how something that is supposed to be a “work of art” is as unoriginal or sloppily done as this. If this is a work of art, the entire film is nothing but a poorly drawn stick person drawn with bright colored Crayons.
The only sole good thing I can say about this movie is that the soundtrack is great. That is all.
I’ll never understand why so many people seem to think that if something is old, it has to be good, and if something is new it has to be bad. Also, especially with the horror crowd: if something is indie or foreign it is good, if it’s American it’s bad. This film the perfect example of why that thinking is wrong. Especially when the American, 1970’s Alien came out in the same era. There is no reason for Suspiria to be as bad as it is, and I cannot excuse its faults because it’s old.
All I can say is what I said in the beginning: Dario Argento should have, could have, and probably does know better than he put into this movie.
It was pretty top notch. This and Inferno are the most psychadelic horror films I've ever seen. I havn't seen many Argento films but I liked this one much better than Inferno, although both are excellent I found Suspiria to be a little more intense. j34ngr4y just so you know man, Suspiria is actually the first of the three mothers series by Argento. I believe it was 1976 or 1977. Inferno came out 1980. And though I wouldn't doubt that Suspiria is the best of the three, I would like to know how you ended up being able to see La Terza Madre, the last of the trilogy, as it is not available for U.S. theatre goers to see until September of this year. Do you know where to get a bootleg? La Terza Madre is supposed to be brutal, I wouldn't doubt if the final movie will not be my personal favorite.
OMG I f-ing love this movie!!! One of Argento's best films the second in the three mother films and the best of the three!!! The acting is good and as usual the atmosphere is perfect the music is great and the gore is so Argento. SUSPIRIA is Argento at his horror best!!! I love this movie and recomend it to everyone...
