(Director: Dario Argento, 1977)
When American dancer Susan Bannion arrives at the prestigious Freiberg ballet academy, she falls prey to the strange and unsettling events that live within the walls. After the murder of a student, the academy keeps a tight hold on its girls; whether they like it or not. Soon it becomes clear that the teachers are harbouring a secret: not only is the academy a front for an ancient coven but also the founding witch is planning a spectacular return…
There are plenty of scares but until the main plot is divulged two-thirds of the way into the film (inadvertently splitting the film in two) the focus shifts so quickly you wonder if everything you’ve seen so far is still relevant. A hand through a window here, a shadow on the wall there; by the time we learn about the academy’s sinister past we’re rushed straight into the third act, where perhaps it’s too late to develop any further threads.
The thunderous soundtrack, although played sparingly and appropriately at first, becomes something of a cue in later scenes, rather like The Exorcist’s reliance on ‘Tubular Bells’.
But these are both minor points in an understated exploration of the occult. The students are inquisitive but intimidated by the teachers who, although solemn and ever professional, are not portrayed as unemotional drones that would’ve easily given the game away. Indeed, it is the vastness of the academy, (all tapered corridors and hidden doors) and the whisperings among its students that keep the tension bubbling over like a cauldron.
Suspiria offers some of its most disturbing moments in a flash - the discovery of an all-out maggot infestation will have you itching - but its strength truly lies in waiting: a blind man stands trembling in a deserted town square, in the dead of night, simply waiting for something to grab him. That’s why they call Dario Argento the ‘master of suspense’.