From its eerie opening sequence the mysterious and uneasy tone of Suspiria is set in motion. Supposedly based on a real-life account told by actress Daria Nicolodi’s grandmother, Nicolodi co-wrote the script with Argento and was also his wife, Suspiria is a pristine example of beauty and brutality in cinema.
The plot is a simple, yet effective one. A young dancer, played by actress Jessica Harper, arrives at a German academy to further her artistic studies. It isn’t long after her arrival however that strange things begin to occur. Some of the students are mysteriously murdered and it is slowly revealed that there may be something evil dwelling beneath the surface of the academy’s artificial exterior.
The Opening Chapter of The Three Mother’s Trilogy
The first part of Argento’s Three Mothers Trilogy, Suspiria stands alone as easily the best film of the three. One of the key factors that sets Suspiria apart from so many other horror films is its combination of aesthetic style and supernatural violence. The colour of the film is absolutely brilliant, it was one of the last films printed on technicolor, and the set design and art direction is truly a revelation. Strange buildings, baroque sets and array of visually rich stimuli constantly greet the gaze of the viewer and further the uncanny, almost foreboding mood of the film.
Goblin’s Scary Suspiria Score
Along with its striking visual style, the soundtrack for Suspiria was also an integral part of the film’s horror. Composed by Italian prog rock group Goblin, the score is mesh of chants, chimes and instrumentation that either makes one’s skin crawl with apprehension or viciously jolts the terror out of you! Argento was said to play Goblin’s music at full volume to the cast as they performed to truly produce the most authentic results.
The image and sound of Suspiria was pure terror, but what truly tips the film over the edge in both the horror and art genres is its grandiose and operatic scenes of mayhem. An Argento trademark since his early Giallo films, the first death scene in Suspiria is a curious mixture of the macabre and the beautiful. The attractive victim plummets through a window, spraying shards of glass throughout the ornate setting. It is a strange combination for the audience and perhaps an uncomfortable one. For how are we to take pleasure in such psychotic endeavours unless we are truly psychotic ourselves?
It is this feature of Argento’s work fact that has rested uneasily with audiences for a long time. Often tagged as a misogynist due to his trademark death sequences with women, Argento is a true master at turning hideous into striking, perhaps even alluring cinematic sequences. Is he disturbed for creating such carnage or are we for watching it…even liking it?
The Influence of Argento
The influence of Argento’s work would immediately be felt in the horror realm, most especially by the young group of gifted genre directors that were making their mark in the U.S. The subsequent works of directors such as John Carpenter, George A. Romero and Brian De Palma, all showed that they had closely followed the films of the “Italian Hitchcock.” In fact Romero and Argento would go on to work together on Romero’s zombie classic Dawn of the Dead (1978) and the less successful, Edgar Alan Poe inspired, Two Evil Eyes (1990).
Forgetting the misconceptions that may follow a genre such as horror, Suspiria stands as a sterling example of ingenuity and artistry in cinema. From its rich colour, innovative score and magnificent settings, Argento’s film led the way for many subsequent artists in combining style and aesthetics with the screen image, especially in horror. The fact that he so well presented the images of horror with such artistry and flair is perhaps his true masterpiece.
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