An exquisite, complex, and potentially cult-classic horror remake about the enduring impact of the past.
Berlin, 1977. The Wall stands firm, our tanks are swift, the Red Army Faction plots and executes its attacks in the distance, and at Madame Blanc’s (Tilda Swinton) otherworldly dance school, nothing seems to have changed. It’s just like in Dario Argento’s 1977 film “Suspiria,” a masterpiece of Italian horror: rehearsals are underway, beautiful young women dance. The same occult rituals take place, sabbaths are held, students die and disappear under mysterious circumstances—all in accordance with the school’s established routine.
A lonely, elderly psychotherapist wanders aimlessly through Berlin, inexplicably fascinated by the cursed school. We’ll learn why at the end, though many may still not grasp the full picture. Simultaneously, the protagonist prepares for her leading role in the school’s new production, aided by the choreographer, who lures less talented students into a mirrored room, drains their souls, and transfers their power to her favorite.
Before delving into the unexpected, paradoxical, and, dare I say, stunning 2018 remake by Luca Guadagnino, Argento’s compatriot who has gained popularity in recent years, it’s crucial to note that this film is largely about the connection between times, about how the past never truly disappears. There was the original film, a classic of classics, which has frightened fans of aristocratic horror for nearly half a century, but with almost no plot (whereas the new one has a plot). The creators of the new “Suspiria” haven’t forgotten it: Jessica Harper, for example, returns, her role drastically changed. She’s no longer the main character (half a century later, Dakota Johnson takes her place, having already worked with Luca Guadagnino in “A Bigger Splash”), but the wife of a very notable character, again played by Swinton. Tilda plays at least two characters here (and actually more, but it’s more interesting to identify them yourself), one in heavy silicone makeup that obscures every feature of the famous androgynous actress, and this is clearly no accident.
Familiar Yet Unfathomable
In “Suspiria,” everything feels painfully familiar, especially to those who have seen the original, yet nothing is entirely clear. But this is one of those rare cases where very strange things happen in a horror film, yet there’s no viewer desire to correct it all, to bring it back to normal. There’s only a sticky (not like sweat, but like blood) sense of approaching, overwhelming chaos. Remember how Trier proclaimed in his “Antichrist”: “Chaos reigns”? Well, Guadagnino quietly but firmly adds: “Chaos reigns, has reigned before, and will always reign.”
So, the entry level to this film: “Suspiria” is about the final death of Europe as we know it, caused by a heart torn out during World War II by collective evil. And this film is primarily not about personal memory, although it is about that too, but about historical memory. In general, you’ll have to think about the plot and its interpretation for a very long time and quite painfully.
Exploring the Depths of Human Experience
Luca Guadagnino regularly tries to delve into subtle matters, for example, to understand love that is stronger than us (his already famous film “Call Me by Your Name”), and that it is actually very beautiful when we don’t hold life tightly in our hands, but, on the contrary, hardly control it. In general, feelings that dominate the human mind, which, like a mental illness, cannot be stopped by mental effort, are the main theme in his work: he had, for example, an unsuccessful but remarkably sexual film “Melissa P.: Intimate Diary,” where a schoolgirl searched for herself in the world of carnal pleasures and also could not subordinate her libido to common sense, but, on the contrary, increasingly struggled with herself to stop limiting herself in exploring sexual horizons. Here, people are dominated by memory, which you cannot refuse, which you cannot take and erase.
A Descent into Nightmarish Horror
Finally, “Suspiria” is, of course, very scary. Even more than that: total madness, a nightmarish nightmare. Moreover, “Suspiria” doesn’t leave the viewer in a state of depression from the violence shown or any dismemberment; all of that is child’s play. We’re not shown anything particularly special, except perhaps the main character’s induced, curse-like dreams, filled with pale girls, flying colored entities (like from Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” Season 3), worms, guts, blood, fear, death, horror. This is no longer a movie; it’s some kind of attractively terrifying video art.
Let’s be straightforward: the best comparison for “Suspiria” is Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” Season 3, except that here the plot is significantly less encrypted and at least lends itself to some interpretation. Naturally, time makes films great (and it was exactly the same with “Twin Peaks”), but here, too, the new “Suspiria” must reinforce its underlying thoughts about the connection between times in deed and become cult, like the original. After all, we are all, like this film, also remakes of our moms and dads.