Suspiria is a difficult movie to critique.
Among the desaturated streets of post war Berlin, a young woman arrives at her trusted psychologists office, raving of a witches coven, dark forces and of being watched. At the same time, a lost American finds her way into the halls of the highly exclusive Markos school of Dance.
The elderly psychologist seeks answers in the delusions of his patient, and the young dancer seeks her place in a world she has always felt astray in. Nothing will ever be the same for either of them.
Suspiria takes its time period and setting very seriously, and I don't think I've ever seen a period film that captured the setting so perfectly. The impeccable costuming and flawless set design of the broken and conflicted city of Berlin create a supremely atmospheric scene, so convincing that it would be easy to mistake it for a genuine 70's film were it not for the crisp HD.
The sweeping zooms and harsh cinematography work in perfect tandem with the films erratic and unpredictable editing. Scenes that do not match, that aren't set in the same place, without even the same subtext, are weaved directly together without managing to stumble the pacing.
Suspiria can be exhausting to watch. It can be disturbing and sickening. It is intense, with a gripping and passionate heartbeat from start to finish. Slow moments are filled with coiled tension and quiet dread. When it lets loose, Suspiria contains sequences of such absolute uncaged grotesquery that it's authentic fodder for tales of unfortunates passing out in the very movie theater.
Suspiria is built on the shoulders of beautiful performances, with multiple fantastic character performances, especially within the ranks of the school faculty. Tilda Swinton delivers a twistedly nuanced and haunted turn as the stone faced dance instructor Madame Blanc. It is a film of beautiful monsters, and the multi-faceted Tilda is clearly paragon among them.
With a running time creeping over the two and a half hour mark, Suspiria is an investment not to be taken lightly. The intensity doesn't give up until the last dog dies, and it is not a comfortable or playful watch. It is a dark, moody, and uncompromisingly uncomfortable experience. If you have the mettle, Suspiria is a unique horror experience that deserves indulgence.
