“Suspiria”: Double review

Samuel Goodrich, Staff Writer

Landon Roberts, Contributing Writer

Sam’s Take:

Guilt is a powerful, life draining emotion that creeps into our minds when we’re alone. Imagine an entire country feeling that and waking up every day to see the symbol of your guilt dividing you from the world, looming over your head.

The 2018 remake of “Suspiria” explores multiple levels of guilt, expression, rebirth and witches.

Using guilt, the characters are able to beautifully and expertly express themselves through dance. Dance becomes an extension of witchcraft. The movements serve not only as artistic expressions, but magical ones too. These scenes are breathtaking, and are tied to a violent act happening in another room. The guilt that powers the magic is hidden just like the violence to the magic users.

While dance, art and general expression help release guilt, they cannot relieve it. Only true self-reflection, acceptance and help from loved ones can stifle and heal these emotions.

“Suspiria” is one of the best movies of 2018, if not the best. I have not been able to stop thinking or talking about it weeks after seeing it. The movie also has a human pretzel, so that’s neat too.

Landon’s Outlook:

It’s been more than two weeks since I’ve watched “Suspiria” for the fifth time. My appreciation of the film grew fonder and subsequently every theme that the film brought forward became more vivid and beautiful each time I saw it.

Dario Argento’s original “Suspiria” was an aesthetic treasure trove of vibrant blues and reds, but the wonderful visuals were the only thing the film had to truly offer. Luca Guadagnino’s 2018 reimagining abandons the colorful visuals and expands on the empty husk of a story from the Argento original.

The bloody style of giallo filmmaking that Argento pioneered is still intact but the epicenter of these violent acts have more complexity behind them.

The post-WWII Berlin setting brings forward echoes of the Holocaust. The guilt that dangles above Germany’s head is mirrored in every character following the acts of violence they execute.

The only point in the film where violence is portrayed as an act of beauty is when the guilt is released and those who act out in senseless ways are punished. The ideas of guilt, beauty and art are represented fully within the use of music and performances.

The music produced by Thom Yorke encapsulates these themes and offers moments of juxtaposition between beauty and violence, which are accompanied by pure horror and intensity that drives audience members deep within their seats.

Every performance is intense, especially Dakota Johnson’s Susie, Tilda Swinton’s Madame Blanc and Mia Goth’s Sara. The faces of each character reflect the film’s complexity. As the insanity of the film builds up, you can see the actors become fully enveloped and bathe in the madness.

Not only does this film hold some of the most intense scenes I’ve seen this year, but it is also home to some of the best moments I’ve ever seen in film. “Suspiria” is the best film of the year — as soon as you have an opportunity to see it, you should.