Suspiria (1977)

Over the past few days, I have been working another 10-minute play potentially for an event later in the year in Pittsburgh. I have been so amazed by how my first play, Not Always What It Seems, continues to grow as the performance date approaches. Personally, I think I am hooked and love the process. Getting back to the blog before finishing my next play, I decided to venture into some darkness for some inspiration. My selection was the 1977 classic Suspiria.

Plot/ A newcomer to a fancy ballet academy gradually comes to realize that the school is a front for something far more sinister and supernatural amidst a series of grisly murders.

Staying inside the 1970s can be a fun time for any horror/sci-fi fan, as there are many classics that left an imprint on the genres to choose from. Suspiria is one of those films, and one of the movies that left a lasting imprint on me when I first started watching horror in my youth. In revisiting it this week, I found what I already thought; this Dario Argento masterpiece stands the test of time. Filled with a tremendous color pallet, a perfectly unsettling soundtrack from Goblin that blends into the atmosphere like a character, decent performances, and an incredibly dark and heavy atmosphere that that is woven into every second. Yes, the plot is thin with some giant holes in the storyline and the vibrant use of colors may turn some viewers off, but those are but minor flaws inside this mesmerizing journey into the depths of horror. In the end, this trip into darkness is one of the greatest Italian horror films ever made and a classic that every horror fan should watch. Find it and check it out.