Suspiria (1977)

DARIO ARGENTO

SUSPIRIA

ITALY, 1977

9.5/10

"Who is it? Who's there? Ah, I've been expecting you! The American girl! I knew you'd come. You want to kill me! You want to kill Helena Markos!"

I first watched this film around five years ago, and initially, I was disappointed. Every horror fan has at least heard of SUSPIRIA (1977), and it's often cited as one of the best horror films ever created, or, at least as Italian horror master Dario Argento's masterpiece. And so I watched it with very, very high expectations, and the movie ended with me feeling remarkably underwhelmed (it's worth mentioning that I was watching this in the middle of the day, and PEEPING TOM (1960) is the only horror film that's been able to creep me out while the sun is still in the sky, so that no doubt hindered my enjoyment of the film at first). I thought "This is SUSPIRIA? This is this film I've heard so much about?" And for three years I held a huge prejudice against SUSPIRIA, claiming it was an overrated, over-cited, and over-colored piece of shit. And then, two years ago, I decided to watch it again. And while I still had criticisms, I enjoyed it much, much more. And over the past two years, I have re-watched it many more times, and each time I enjoy it more and more. 

Now, like I said in my review of OPERA (1987), SUSPIRIA has many, many flaws. Even if you think the film is the greatest achievement in horror cinema, you have to admit that. The plot is almost non-existent, some of the dialogue is incredibly childish (though I heard the characters were going to be 12, but the age was changed without changing the dialogue, making it seem childish; whether or not this is true, I don't know), the dubbing is so bad in the scene where Suzy talks to the psychiatrist about witches that it actually distracts from the scene, the blood looks like ketchup, and while the soundtrack is haunting at first, it becomes repetitive, annoying, and intrusive as the film continues. Still, SUSPIRIA is much greater than the sum of its parts. 

As you would expect with an Argento film, the direction of the film is fantastic, and it involves some of the most inventive use of color I have ever seen in my life. The opening scene (see the picture above) is absolutely fantastic, as it manages to effectively scare the audience while having a very nice death sequence, and on top of that, it sets the tone for the entire movie. It's honestly one of the most effective opening scenes in the entire genre. I loved Jessica Harper in PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (1974), and (pretty unpopular opinion here) I adored her role in the generally disliked movie SHOCK TREATMENT (1981), so naturally I loved her as Suzy Bannion here. The film works very well as a twisted and disturbing adult fairy tale, something that the DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK (2010) remake tried and failed to do. The death scenes (while there aren't as many as in, say, an '80s splatter film) are, mostly, incredibly interesting, inventive, and terrifying. The snoring of Helena was very, very creepy, especially the last of the two times we hear it. The tension in this film builds wonderfully, making the murder sequences, complete with pounding music and non-stop scares, even more amazing. Every single shot of this film is a work of art, the colors and angles all used exceptionally.

In conclusion, SUSPIRIA is one of the best horror movies from the 20th century, and is a must-see for fans of the genre. I do recommend multiple viewings if you disliked it, because I only really started to appreciate how this wasn't really a film, more like a nightmarish, violent fairy tale after re-watching. While I love it, I cannot bring myself to give it anything higher than a 9.5 because it does have flaws and I still don't love it as much as some other people do (maybe in a couple of months I'll rewatch it and change the score to a 10), but it is still highly, highly recommended. 

Opera (1987)

DARIO ARGENTO

OPERA/TERROR AT THE OPERA

ITALY, 1987

8/10

"I am nothing like my mother! Nothing like her!"

While the film is rather flawed, I still have a soft spot for Dario Argento's OPERA (1987), also known as TERROR AT THE OPERA. It was the first Italian and Argento film I had ever seen (I think it might even be the first non-US horror film I have ever seen, but that fact I'm less sure of), and so I still love it and forgive its faults. I believe another factor may be the fact that I'm an absolutely massive PHANTOM OF THE OPERA fan (I love the novel, movie adaptations, and musical, I honestly just adore anything Phantom), and this film did remind me of that story. I mean, it has a mysterious murderous man becoming obsessed with a young opera singer, the rest is pretty different but that basic story-line is still the same. The idea of placing needles under a girl's eyes to force her to watch murders occur in front of her was so sick and twisted that it captivated me. I mean, I'm a horror fan, of course I love anything sick and twisted.

The soundtrack for me was hit and miss. I absolutely adored the opera soundtrack, and I thought that to have something like that featured in a horror film was just so new and so fascinating. Yet the heavy metal just felt completely out of place, and I actually feel it dumbed down the murders. I'd love it if the murders occurred while an opera piece is playing, as I think the beautiful music would provide a wonderful contrast with the horrors occurring on scene. I'd like to get off track for a minute and talk about another film I love, BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974). If you've seen the film, you no doubt remember a scene in which (I will not be using names to not spoil anything) a character opens the door to find a group of young children singing Christmas carols, while another character was being violently murdered within the sorority house. This is one of my favorite scenes from the movie, because cutting to the peaceful group of children, singing songs while the snow falls and then to the horrifying act inside captivated me. I feel, if OPERA got rid of the heavy metal score, the film's rating may have increased to 8.5/10.

Like many other Argento films, the storyline isn't amazing (though, as mentioned earlier, the story in this captivated me), the acting is nothing to write home about, and the dubbing is pretty abysmal, but the colors are beautiful, and in this film there are multiple above-average murder sequences (there is an unforgettable shot involving a peephole in the middle of the movie), and even with all its flaws, OPERA still comes together to form a wonderful, enchanting movie. 

I do believe the final twist ending is slightly unnecessary (I am going to refrain from giving too much information here), but the final shot of Betty, speaking about insects is incredibly crucial to the entire film and ties all of Betty's character development together, despite it seeming weird at first glance, so I forgive what really felt like an afterthought of an ending. 

If anyone has not seen OPERA yet, I would highly recommend it. Another reviewer on IMDb commented this, and I'd like to add that Betty is not a normal girl, and her reactions to the murders are not normal, because of what she's witnessed in the past. If you have not seen it, or disliked it initially, I urge to go back and watch the film, keeping this in mind. I did, and I ended up enjoying the film a lot more. Overall, OPERA is a great film with some setbacks, but I have a soft spot for it, and it is a personal favorite. If you have liked Argento's previous work, I highly recommend it.