Suspiria [Includes Digital Copy] [Blu-ray] [2018]

Remake of the 1977 version, this is not it or for you. The contrast of colors is obvious the Gloom versus the vibrancy of the old one. The soundtrack is really somber. The performances are great though Dakota Johnson didn't make me like her for this role but it made me respect her. Tilda is amazing as always and plays like two or three rolls. This movie will stay with you definitely an experience that is going to stay with you and make you think and keep you affected. You will be affected by this movie if you go in with no expectations.

So it seems that the trick to the 2018 Suspiria is to try to go in with an open mind and not draw comparisons to Argento's 1977 masterpiece. This was the route I took when watching this and I was surprised. I really liked the correlation between the dancing and the supernatural and the ending was a complete surprise. Sadly, the ending was also where the film lost me a bit. My father and I were both in the same boat, trying to figure out just what had happened and what it meant. But it keeps you guessing and thinking, which are some of the best kinds of movies. I'm still trying to process the ending and the movie (and the amazing soundtrack by Thom York) is strongly stuck in my head. I'm going to be due for a second and third viewing here really soon. Super happy I blindly purchased the blu ray. There's a few short but sweet features included. The HD transfer for this blu-ray is super crisp and vivid. Nothing could ever touch Dario Argento's original for me. But since this remake had to happen, I think the director did a good job of not trying to just redo what had already been done. There are some similarities to the original but this movie is durastically different. It's definitely a separate entity.

Ok how do I go about this. I am a die hard fan of the original movie and I am already biased. Yet, I am also a huge fan of remakes when done in an entertaining way. For reference I enjoyed Friday the 13th (Michael Bay production), Halloween (Rob Zombie), Nightmare on Elm Street, and heck even most of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remakes/add ons (starting with the Michael Bay version are we up to 4 now!!). Are they "great" films, well no. If I want great, I go back to the originals, but man we gotta move forward eventually don't we? Plus horror films are so much fun anyway. A remake to me should hit the famous points, while delivering on sound and vision and topping off with adding just a little bit more. In other words, a nice update to the original idea (though I would prefer an original idea to begin with, but that isn't the trend lately) That is what this film does, well sorta. The sound and vision are excellent as usual, and the acting all around I find to be decent with Dakota having me enamored to the point of dropping my jaw in a Peanut Butter Falcon experience(excellent film by the way). There is a nice amount of nudity and the blood is galore, and there are plenty of jumps and scares. The acting is pretty spot on as well. This all seems great right? Well the problem is like a lot of new movies. The overdone CGI at the expense of great performances. There is a finale free for all that just comes off stupid for me. This is not because it doesn't have a well played scene and the story itself is really a nice take, but I HATE how CGI is used so much that it really overshadows the great core of story telling that needs just a little more room to breathe! I hate how I was truly touched by the nuances and I just felt so distracted by the obvious geek computer fest. It is like graffiti on a great painting. Yeah sure the splashes of paint may have some merit, but compared to the work of art that is underneath? These complaints aside, it is still a film well worth seeking out for fans of the original. Dakota is something to behold and she rules in a way that no one in the original can try to match (yes I know, this is a bold statement). Watch this movie for what it is. A really good remake, but as a film on its own, it is average. For a horror freak that likes remakes, well again I am pretty liberal with these stars. I choose to see films for what they try to be, and not for what I want them to be. The cluster of CGI crap that is ruining films because they don't use it as a tool, but more as a crutch, well that is another story...

As hard as it may be, this film really should be seen outside of the original. Hands down, nothing, and NO ONE, will ever truly ever be able to recreate, or recapture, the phantasmagoric experience of Dario Argento’s masterpiece. And that’s the last thing the 2018 version attempts to do - in fact, one might think the director’s prowess was to stylistically steer in the opposite direction. Given Argento’s original is a product of the 70’s, it’s not hard to understand that it most likely has a rough time resonating any further than those die-hard horror fans from the echoes of that era. Or those like me, product of the 80s/90s, who continue the cult pull as much as possible. So to take the strides necessary to remake a film like Suspira are more a product of passion, rather than pure monetization - though that factor will always be involved somewhere. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, who is definitely a wonderful and calculating filmmaker, but FAR from a noted horror visionary, Suspiria 2019 is a very bleak and dry film. Only offering flashes of color/flare to embolden areas/moments in which the viewer is meant to engage with. Most notably when the film’s narrative is at its most active - a troupe/school of female dancers that operates at the most highest degree, attracting the world’s most sophisticated and devoted players. Which opens the characters and narrative open for massive manipulation, something Guadagnino takes advantage of like a master mathematician etching out lines of mystical geography that takes shape in the form of bodies - like a moving art exhibit. Never letting the camera break immersion and reveal itself. The film focuses primarily on one dancer, whom is new to the house, and must deal with the struggles that come with the territory, from both dancers and instructors alike. Breaking away from the main plot, the background is set against its own story that plays into the dangers of residing on 1960’s Berlin, most namely the Baader-Meinhof riots. This provides a sort of claustrophobic atmosphere as we watch the main protagonist make her way through the dangerous streets in the opening scenes, something that is constantly lurking like it’s own chaos magik in the streets. We’re not trapped inside the dance house, but we may as well be, like a Stockholm syndrome that feeds the obsession of those insude. And even more so pressurizing to the main protagonist, who is alien to almost everything, save for moving her body properly. Instead of dancing, the body is treated more like that of a contortionist, creating a sort of subliminal horror to the already tonally heavy atmosphere. Making each movement a captivating spell of its own. On the whole, there is always something strange or sexual lingering in the subtext of the entire film. All lending to the dread and horror - especially when on display. Suspiria 2018 pulls absolutely no punches in delivering its suffering pain and gore. All of it amped up to 11 by the subtle moment in-between. Nothing goes to waste here, and I mean NOTHING. Every single moment is filled with talent, pure and raw. The story is strong and twisted. Performances hypnotic as ever. Directed by a real auteur and master of the film craft, everything feels taute and properly paced. And without spoiling anything, the ending is definitely worthy of being called horror. This is one of the finest horror films in a long time, and even more surprising is the fact it’s a remake - a remake that steers wide away from its original, but still retains the proper symbiosis to make a new Suspiria that can stand on its own 2 feet.

Luca Guadagnino might seem like an unusual choice to remake a revered bit of horror pulp from the 1970's, Dario Argento's garish horror fantasia "Suspiria." Guadagnino was last heard from with the gay-themed coming-of-age romance "Call Me By Your Name," which earned an Oscar nod for Best Picture a couple years ago. That film was pastoral, stately and poetic. This new one is cold, frenetic, and hallucinogenic. It tells the story of a witches coven that uses a prestigious girls' dance studio in Berlin as cover for their demonic devotions. Dakota Johnson plays the wide-eyed neophyte dancer from the USA who comes to the school hoping to become an artist but soon catches on that she's being groomed for something much more sinister. Tilda Swinton, one of the most versatile actresses in movies, plays multiple roles, including one that you won't identify until the closing credits. At nearly two hours and thirty minutes, this remake is nearly an hour longer than Argento's original, but Guadagnino captures the bizarre and dizzying horror of a group of women who have embraced the dark side in all its perversity and ugliness. The climax is a bloody spectacle you have to see to believe.

I really, really didn't want to like this, but it ended up being one of the best horror films I've seen in years. It's not as pretty as Argento's version, but the story is a helluva lot more coherent.

Young American dancer Susie Bannion arrives in 1970s Berlin to audition for the world-renowned Helena Markos Dance Company, stunning the troupe's famed choreographer, Madame Blanc, with her raw talent. When she vaults to the role of lead dancer, Olga, the previous lead, breaks down and accuses the company's female directors of being witches. As rehearsals intensify for the final performance of the company's signature piece, Susie and Madame Blanc grow strangely close, suggesting that Susie's purpose in the company goes beyond merely dancing. Meanwhile, an inquisitive psychotherapist trying to uncover the company's dark secrets enlists the help of another dancer, who probes the depths of the studio's hidden underground chambers, where horrific discoveries await. Special Features and Technical Specs: "The Making of Suspiria" Featurette "The Secret Language of Dance" Featurette "The Transformations of Suspiria" Featurette Optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles for the main feature English Dolby Atmos Audio track

Almost as creepy as the original Argento classic. Tilda Swinton is excellent playing 3 characters!