Shocktober: Suspiria

 Directed by Dario Argento
Starring Jessica Harper (Suzy Bannion), Stefania Casini (Sara), and Joan Bennett (Madame Blanc)

Written by Dario Argento and Daria Nicolodi partially adapting the novel Suspiria de Profundis by Thomas De Quincey

Cinematography Luciano Tovoli

Edited by Franco Fraticelli

Released in 1977

Before I get into the review proper I need to clarify my thoughts on film in general and horror in particular.

1. It is okay for a film to eschew plot and focus on mood and imagery.

2. That does not free a film from being uninteresting. It still needs to spark an emotional response or inspire thought. 

3. If a film accomplishes those first two points, that's a good way to ensure it will become a personal favorite. 

4. I do not consider horror a lesser genre. Plenty of great, interesting horror films have been made and many fascinating ideas and fears have been explored through the genre. 

5. I love many horror films such as Psycho, The Shining, Eraserhead, and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. 

6. All that being said, that does not excuse horror films from massive deficiencies in acting and dialogue. I expect horror films to succeed in those areas as much as I would a drama.

Watching Suspiria was a constant battle between my appreciation for its formal elements and my embarrassment at everything else. As has been said before, the film has the look of a technicolor nightmare. Every set is bathed in blood red. Characters are lit in different colors while standing right next to each other. And Argento chooses extreme angles and odd shots to further the disorientation. It's all very garish, and very lurid. Looking at stills shots from the film is mesmerizing. It's a cliche, but you're not going find anything else like it.

During its opening minutes, Suspiria attains the dreamlike state that so many of its acolytes have praised. Suzy walks out of an airport into a dark downpour and steps into taxi. Harsh red and blue neon lights morph around on her face, distorted by the rain and the glass. The taxi's headlights slash the dark of a forest straight out of a Grimm fairy tale. Suzy arrives at her destination, and sees a young woman in the doorway screaming something nonsensical. The woman runs dreamily through the woods, her ivory white skin contrasting hauntingly with the blackness of the forest.

And then... people start talking and the film whiplashes from atmospheric horror to unintentional comedy at neckbreaking speeds. Everyone speaks with a vaguely European accent, and says their lines in a clipped, robotic manner. It doesn't the help that the dialogue is synced poorly to the lip movements. I am aware that most Italian genre films were dubbed and that this was a problem for a lot of them, but that knowledge didn't temper my immediate reaction. And so much of the dialogue is blatantly expository, forcing the actors to speak in a comically inhuman way. 

I suppose I was expecting the wrong things from Suspiria. Most reviews don't mention the problems I had with the film and focus purely on the its style. Here's a few stereotypical descriptions of the film: 

• "Its outlandish, confounding style does more than virtually any other film to create the exact      sort of unsettled, panicky mood in the viewer that is at the hear of horror." ~ Timothy Brayton

• "Encountered as one might a childhood nightmare or a flesh and blood incarnation of a Grimm   fairy tale." ~ Rob Humanick

• "From stormy start to fiery finish, it's a stylish, compelling, phantasmagoric movie." ~ Philip       French

I desperately want to see the movie that all of those critics saw, and I have seen it, multiple times in fact, but none of them are called Suspiria. I was surprised to learn that Argento's film and Eraserhead came out in the same year. Compared to Lynch's nightmare, Suspiria is a daydream. Despite its insane colors and pounding music, it fails to reach the giddy, deliriousnes heights of House. The issues I've already mentioned tear down any mood Suspria manages to build up. Furthermore, the elements the film is commonly praised for (Goblin's aggressive score, the wild color scheme) become grating by the end. The score is especially tough to deal with. Anytime it starts up is like a giant warning sign saying "SCARY THING ABOUT TO HAPPEN!!!" It's tension-destroying and becomes maddeningly annoying the nth time it's repeated.

The final problem is that Suspiria doesn't attempt to explore a common fear. While horror doesn't necessarily need that quality to be effective, it helps immensely in making a resonant film. Without that, all Suspiria has are a few stylish, but not particularly scary, kill scenes. I don't want that to be held up as an exemplar of anything.


P.S.
Despite my negativity, I consider watching Suspiria a fascinating experience. Usually, when I have a contrarian opinion on a film, it's because I'm nonplussed by a movie others consider a masterpiece. Often with such films, I'm capable of understanding why they're held high regard after doing some reading. Suspiria is the first time my reaction has been 180 degrees away from the critical consensus. I don't really know what to with that. Obviously, I don't consider everyone else's opinion on the film wrong. I've read a few reviews, but can't shake off my response and see the good in the movie. I suppose I should try watching it again.