Suspiria

It is impossible to discuss the rapturous, experiential masterpiece that is Guadagnino’s Suspiria without dedicating this much space to its thematic density. It’s not a film one considers, but excavates, continually finding additional symbols and meaning within the deceptively simple setting.

I’m happy to report that I have no idea what’s going on in Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria remake, and that’s wonderful. The two Suspirias function more as companion pieces than as mirrored twins.

Much of Guadagnino’s Suspiria feels beholden to nothing, indulgent and overwrought, existing only for itself. Art should never have to justify its own existence, but also: Why does this exist? What motivations conceived this film that seems to want very little—to maybe even dislike—the movie on which it’s based? And yet, it’s unforgettable.

It’s a smart reimagining, but not a particularly compelling one, which is the problem overall.

There are smart moments of fear and subliminal shivers of disquiet, the dance sequences are good and of course Guadagnino could never be anything other than an intelligent film-maker. But this is a weirdly passionless film.

As the first hour of Suspiria grinds into the second and beyond (the movie runs 152 minutes), it grows ever more distended and yet more hollow. Unlike Argento, who seemed content to deliver a nastily updated fairy tale in 90 or so minutes, Guadagnino continues casting about for meaning, which perhaps explains why he keeps adding more stuff, more mayhem, more dances.

Suspiria is not just a movie unworthy of your time. It’s an experience one should reflexively recoil from, up there with things like fire, pain, humiliation and embarrassment. Easily, it’s one of the worst movies of 2018.

darkness, tears, and sighs; it is hardly a remake, it's like the original Suspiria's grungy, emo older sister. Guadagnino takes Argento's classic and trades the jump scares with chilling imagery. it's substance over style, but Guadagnino's style is not to be ignored. regardless, both the original and the remake are two of the best films ever made. I personally prefer Guadagnino's, but by the end of either film, you realize you just experienced a hypnotic nightmare.

I concede it's a fine piece of '7th art', in many ways better than the original. The form is impeccable, the old East Berlin buildings are eerie, the women are beautiful, the lighting is dim and intimate. On the other hand it's not exactly filmed like a horror movie. The maker shouldve copied some of Argento's 'tricks', at least as an hommage. And the meaning is messy, a blend of what was called 'hysteria' once, motherhood, death and very very little of paranormal. So, as usual, don't write about what you don't know. It wouldve been better to make it more intelligible instead of pulling that cheap magic trick, accentuating an atmosphere of soft erotica (since it's the mother of sighs, whatever that means). There is a timid start already, with some scenes but.. well... It's possible it isn't a trick at all, but a view of women through the eyes of a narcissistic only child raised by his mother ^^ Also, the end is completely senseless. Sooo.. when is the rest of the trilogy due ? ^^

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Started with promise but lost itself. Gory but unrealistic cgi. Tilda Swinton very good as usual

Well...that was bizarre to say the least! More of a reimagining than an actual remake of the 1977 cult classic horror film, this was a literal mess! While the original (which I was actually a fan of) was creepy and disturbing, it also managed to be mysterious and haunting in all the best ways possible and was never too over the top. This film was the exact opposite of that unfortunately! It was creepy and disturbing as well, and them some (and I don't mean that in a good way.) Quite honestly, I couldn't believe how dreary, plodding, and just plain boring it was most the time, but then again, I probably should've suspected as much knowing that the film carried a two and a half hour runtime (an hour longer than the original's hour and a half runtime.) In addition, things just got more and more bizarre as the film progressed but even then still managed to remain rather boring all the while. And if that wasn't bad enough already, the film's final half hour or so became so ridiculously grotesque, and to make matters worse, the film tried it's hardest to make it appear really artsy and deep, but it just came off as completely absurd and pretentious and only succeeded in grossing me out. If there's anything remotely positive I can think of to say about this film, it would be Tilda Swinton's brilliant performance, or performances I should say, cause fun fact: In addition to playing the ballet academy director Madame Blanc, she played another small side character towards the end and also donned lots of makeup and prosthetics to play an elderly man named Dr. Josef Klemperer, but for that role she was credited under the pseudonym Lutz Ebersdorf. She's always blown me away with her transformations and acting skills and range, and this film was no exception! Sadly though, it's no saving grace for the film itself, and the rest of the cast's talents were rather wasted to me. Overall, this really was just one great, long, gross, and pretentious bore and a total disservice to the unnerving original! Hope everybody else had a better Halloween than I did watching this!