Suspiria: A Nightmare Fairytale For Grown-Ups

We’re getting closer to Halloween, and it’s a perfect time to indulge in a wealth of horror films that put you in a suitably spooky mood. One film that perfectly evokes a suitable amount of terror is Dario Argento’s 1977 cult classic Suspiria. Suspiria is both beautiful nightmare and fantastical grown-up fairytale in one jewel-toned nightmare package. Here’s some of the reasons why Suspiria should be part of your Halloween horror binge-watch:

That magnificent Goblin soundtrack:

Inevitably, when people think of Suspiria, the incredible soundtrack by the band Goblin always comes up. Without doubt, it’s one of the most memorable film soundtracks of the 20th century. Tinkling, fantastical chimes merge with ritualistic-sounding drumming, maniacal howling and the raspy, creepy whispering of Goblin band member Claudio Simonetti, culminating at times with the echoing shout of “WITCH!!!!” From the opening titles onwards, the soundtrack intertwines majestically with Argento’s visuals in a delicious, heady witches’ brew for the senses.

The vibrant use of colour:

Argento’s use of colour defies horror film conventions. Instead of having scenes in moody tones and with minimal lighting, Suspiria drips with colour and is a richer experience for it. Fantastical red and blue lighting illuminates passengers at the airport in the opening scene, rehearsal rooms feature windows with magnificent red, blue and yellow stained glass, hallways are saturated with a voluptuous crimson, and the delicious unrealistic Giallo-red blood drips onto a pristine marble floor in the first murder scene. All of this colour contrasts with Suzy’s clothing and her room at the Academy: she wears predominantly white, and her room at the Academy is a pale cream; alluding to purity and innocence in comparison to the evil around her.

Jessica Harper is a magnetic lead:

There’s something so compelling about Jessica Harper’s performance as Suzy Bannion. She has a wide-eyed innocence that adds to the juxtaposition of good versus evil, a sweetness that is not overly saccharine. She’s not a kick-arse heroine in the same vein as, say, Alien’s Ripley, but she’s not exactly hapless victim, either. Things happen to her, she reacts and is ultimately able to triumph, but with Jessica Harper’s performance it makes Suzy very likeable. In fact, she is returning in the remake of Suspiria (set for 2018), in the role of Anke (Dakota Johnson takes the role of Suzy, spelled ‘Susie’ for the 2018 remake).

It has “so bad, it’s good” moments:

Suspiria is not a perfect film, but the moments which are cringey and “so bad it’s good” actually enhance the film even more. You can be watching a ridiculous-looking stabbing (Pat Hingle’s assailant isn’t a frenzied murderer- his stabbing is stilted and a bit absurd), or an obviously fake dog ripping the throat from their master and find it both absurdly funny and terrifying at the same time. There’s also some utterly ridiculous dialogue (“This is Pavlo, our general handyman. He’s really ugly, isn’t he? Don’t be afraid to say so.”), but whether you choose to overlook its faults or embrace them, Suspiria remains one hell of a cinematic joyride.

50 Films For Halloween ’17 – Children Of The Revolution

We simply could not resist delving into the horror binge this year, the wife and I, as we hover ever closer to Halloween. The 50 films we kind of showcase here, come in 10 parts, and a mixed bag of genres. They are not all all out horrors, sure, nor are they all classics. All worth a mention though. Every film in the 50 the wife and I have seen, but it will be the majority of my words you’re about to read, though my dear Greek kicks things off as we wander through the stories of children, a horror staple.

El Orfanato (2007)

Coming to us through the sharp viewpoint of Juan Antonio Bayona, and clearly influenced by the earlier work of the movie’s very own producer, Guillermo Del Toro, The Orphanage is a tightly shot, lean début movie, daring to throw a brand new, steel spanner in the works of age-old horror banalités, breaking the rulebook’s cogs to thriller-truism oblivion. Scary kid-ghosts? Check! Spooky house that seems coming to life into a character of its own? Check! A history drenched in blood returning to haunt the present with its claim in revenge? Yeah, we’ll go ahead and double-check that one. But do we once get bored of the same-ol’ terror-inducing techniques? Absolutely not since… they’re hardly present. We watch our heroine embark on a challenging journey, with no comedy to juxtapose her tragedy, no sort of relief, no end of torment in sight. Still, even as the walls start closing in around her in a most claustrophobic way, even as our chests tighten with the need for release, in filmmaking brilliance, we remain right there with her. We stay by her side, gripping the edge of the passenger’s seat with might as the Past melts into the Present, as Today itself frays away, threading its path into emotional limbo. We hold her hand and gasp for breath, with nothing left to do but seek to shield ourselves mentally against the dreaded jump-scare… that never comes. Because the film is far more profound and complex than to bid us farewell with a widely predicted extravagance of horror. Because Laura’s multilayered, gothic fairytale deserves more respect. Because El Orfanato is better than that. – – – The Greek

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

Peter Weir has always resonated with me, even when watching his films as a kid. Films of troubled folk, spread through varied landscapes and life events, but never without a kind of serene beauty somehow. Weir is also one of the masters of the final sequence, his last moments often linger longer after you even realize. Picnic at Hanging Rock is no different, his ethereal masterpiece, like an uncomfortable but enticing dream shadowing the mysteries of reality. This is haunting for sure, so brilliant, so vivid, so tragic, you never really wake up from this.

The Boy (2016)

Is it a doll? Is it a boy? A house of intrigue and strange goings-on awaits our protagonist, who has certainly attracted more than she bargained for with this once simple babysitting gig. Depending on your disposition here, this might be the kind of throw-away horror picture you fancy, it might well be up your street – I can pretty much guarantee that you will chuckle from time to time, question the acting, and see most of the plot twists a mile off. So my advice, see it with a pinch of salt, but hold your expectations. We’ve all seen far worse than this, so give it a shot.

Évolution (2015)

Lucile Hadžihalilović’s surreal French horror is both inviting and captivating in all its beautiful and startling images. Set by the sea where only women and boys appear to dwell, a red stafish soon becomes more memorable than the dead boy that introduced it. Évolution is a clinical, mysterious thriller, the unknown journey it takes you on is a huge part of its, well, not sure if charm is the right word, but well worth the experience.

Orphan (2009)

Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard are in a breaking marriage, in fact with their two troubled children, the family as a whole is fragile following the tragic loss of the third child. Adopting 9 year-old Esther, an orphan from Russia, is intended to glue some of the cracks together of the family. Of course, this girl is revealed to be bad news, very bad news. As suspicions grow, as do the horrific events, as the cunning Esther does what she has to do to cover her tracks. Isabelle Fuhrman is extraordinary here, demonstrating a truly sinister presence, portraying a child with a pretend innocence and a figure of chilling maturity.

Let us know if and when you have seen these films, would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.