Argento’s Stylish “Suspiria” is a Cut Above the Rest

It was 2008 when I saw Dario Argento’s Suspiria for the first time. I went down in the basement/entertainment room to watch the film. It was already dark outside, and in the basement you had big windows where you can see out to the dark woods. I turned off the lights, started the movie, and it gave me chills because I had no idea what I was going to get myself into. I looked out the windows a couple times to see if those eyes ,like in Suspiria, would stare back at me.

By the end of the film, the film creeped me out. But it also became my favorite Dario Argento film, and it still is today. Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) has just been sent to ballet school,but once she arrives strange things start happening, and the people around her start getting killed off one by one. I know the story detail is short,but I would not want to give anything away if someone hasn’t seen it. But it’s one to check out first if you want to start getting into Dario Argento films.

In my opinion, Dario Argento’s Suspiria is a perfect film, and Argento’s best film by far. There have been great films by him,but nothing compares to Suspiria. Dario Argento is able to drawl an audience into this haunting, nightmare, and chilling of a film for many reasons. The colors throughout the film, the visuals, the camera work, over the top scenes, and music by Goblin is really what makes this film chilling,but also an awesome film. By far, the music in the film is the best part of this film. It’s very simple,but also very creepy. You also have some great acting in this film especially from Jessica Harper who plays a great final girl.

She was actually a character that you rooted for because you never wanted anything to happen to her. The film is also known for a lot of awesome, chilling, and classic scenes including the ending, when one of the lead characters get captured in some type of barbwire, and the best scene by far which involves the first vicitim who is killed, falls through a glass ceiling, and then hangs from that glass ceiling. Again with all those elements I mentioned, Dario Argento’s Suspiria is a perfect film. Dario Argento has made a lot of great films including Inferno and Mother of Tears, which are sequels to Suspiria in the Three Mother’s Trilogy. But none of those films compare to Suspiria. Like I mentioned, if you want to start watching Dario Argento films then start with Suspiria.

–Justin Rhine

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