THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Competition is one of the biggest aspects in life because it can either bring out the best or the worst of us.
PLOT
Suspiria takes place in 1977 and follows American dancer Susie Bannion joining the Markos Dance Academy in West Berlin. The academy is reeling from the disappearance of fellow student, Patricia Hingle, who last told her psychotherapist, Josef Klemperer, it is ran by a witch coven. Although originally dismissive, he would become suspicious after she disappeared. During Susie’s first day of rehearsal, another student named Olga (Elena Fokina) would storm out when feeling indignant with choreographer Madame Blanc. When she tries to leave, she would be trapped in another room and her body would be severely damaged as Susie performs an aggressive dance. Still alive from the incident, she would dragged away with meat hooks by the academy’s matrons. Later on, Blanc loses an election to lead the coven, to the ongoing eldest leader Helena Markos whose grown to be grossly disfigured. But shortly after this, one of the matrons, Miss Griffith (Sylvie Testud), would commit suicide. Susie’s progress with the academy would exceed expectations as she would be appointed to lead the upcoming piece Volk and befriend her classmate Sara. The latter would start growing suspicious of the academy after she meets Klemperer who shares how Pat wrote in her diary of three witches that predate Christianity: Maters Suspiriorum, Tenebrarum & Lachymarum, aka The Three Mothers. Her suspicions would be confirmed when stumbling into a hallway with various relics. On the day of performing Volk, Sara would find Pat disfigured and kept in a secret catacomb. When she tries to flee, she gets her leg fractured by one of the matrons. She would go on with the show under a trance and her leg would be placed in robotic precision. However, the spell would be temporary as she would collapse during the performance. This happens because Susie was able to intervene in their efforts to manipulate Sara’s body. As Klemperer attended the show, he suspects foul play is at hand when noticing how her eye color is different. The following night, he would be lured by the matrons, posing as his late wife Anke (Jessica Harper) to witness an upcoming witch’s sabbath. After a celebratory dinner, Susie would be led to a chamber where the sabbath is taking place. Inside, she is surrounded by Blanc, Markos, and all matrons as Markos plans to use her as a new vessel. The sabbath begins with Sara being disemboweled, but Blanc suspects something is wrong with the process. When Markos kills her for her hesitance, Susie reveals herself to be Mater Suspiriorum all along and has come to claim the academy, as well as execute Markos for her falseness. She would then summon the personification of Death itself to kill those who choose to follow Markos, as well as give mercy kills to Sara, Pat & Olga. Klemperer would return home from the incident as he was incapacitated throughout the revelation. Susie would see him again confined to his bed, to tell him Anke died at Thereisenstadt concentration camp after presuming she was still alive but missing. She would give him a seizure that would wipe his memories before leaving. The film would end with Susie glaring at something outside the academy.
THOUGHTS
Expectations were high after seeing the original film directed by Dario Agento. It would only make me caught off guard to see a re-imagining be told in not only a good but far better form. Director Luca Guadagnino succeeds in making the story completely his own. The whole time, I was hooked with each scene and each frame thanks to the powerful combo of editing and cinematography by Walter Fasano & Sayombhu Mukdeeprom respectively. Adding that with Thom Yorke’s score, the whole experience of this film will be bone chilling. Even when you’re not seeing violence in display, as in bodies getting ravaged, you feel the action with choreographed dance sequence shown, as it symbolizes a change in power. With all that being said, I think this film is better than what we got in the 70s because it has a strong mark on saying there will always be consequences when perverting power for oneself rather than use it for fair use. If it goes unchecked, it will be bound cause trouble. Seeing this coven have their own election was the perfect mirror of our world where we always need elections to keep everything under control or it’s awry for everyone. Tilda Swinton was able to be both sides of the coin when playing both Blanc and Markos. Markos was instantly a cunning figure for wanting to keep all the power for herself but throughout, you know Blanc is a stern person who remains protective to the cause. And off of that, you gotta respect her. However due to this political conflict never getting resolved sooner, a higher power had to clean up the mess. Enter Dakota Johnson who quickly became more than what met the eye. At first, we connect with Susie for the determination to be the best dancer, but we couldn’t have expected her wanting to be a witch until she revealed she always was one. Every step she took to reveal herself as the invulnerable goddess was a breathtaking twist because it represents you have to sometimes consume evil in order to control it. That was the purpose of the Three Mothers in this case and that includes Mater Suspiriorum, who restores order in bloody fashion. To me, I think at the end she was looking at the horizon of a new era witches that’ll meet her expectations, an era no one will be prepared for. Although this movie was filled with a lot of bad people, it’s a surprise to see there is enough good left to bear witness. From the beginning, you’re already feeling since Chloe Moretz portrayed her as one who was on edge because she couldn’t fathom what she was uncovering. As for Sara, Mia Goth played her as a compassionate friend who didn’t want to accept the truth until it came to her. Seeing them go through such brutal demises like Olga was devastating because it’s obvious how they don’t deserve it. And understandably, this level of bloodshed likely would not have happened if someone pursued the truth sooner. Swinton surprises us with her third performance in the film as Klemperer. The whole time, she plays him as one who is very giving in his line of work. He cared about Pat and wanted her to recover from what was bothering him. He acted realistically about she discussed because it’s difficult to prove such a claim. Once she disappeared, he knew he had to do right by her and be whole from it afterwards. Sadly, it went far from going his way. It did also surprise me to see him survive the seizure because had he been given a merciful death as well, he would’ve reunited with his wife by then. Nevertheless, at least there is no more trouble for him to encounter for the remainder of his life. In conclusion, 2018’s Suspiria is one of the best horror movies ever made for topping the captivating experience that was done before into something new. Whether or not witchcraft intrigues you, this is worth your while.
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