Suspiria 1977

Suspiria is a 1977 Italian supernatural horror film directed by Dario Argento. The film centres around Susy Bannion (Jessica Harper) is an American ballet student who transfers to a dance academy in Germany only to find out through a series of brutal murders that the Academy is run by a coven of witches. This article will be less of an analysis of the themes or outright review of the movie but more of a look into the visuals and cinematography of the film.

The film starts the protagonist Susy Bannion exciting from an airport seeps in red light as creepy music plays. The scene seems to indicate that she is entering held itself, as the smeary plays off like a drug induced nightmare. The heavy rain complemented with the music further highlights this idea of a Gothic horror fairy-tale-like narrative within the film. As Susy tries to get into the school valves she encounters a student named Patricia, as the film showcases the with surreal layout of a friend’s apartment that Patricia is taking refuge in showcasing at the power of the witches is a presence throughout the film. The lighting highlights the artificiality of the film as well as the mysterious neat shop of the story highlighting the witchcraft element as the cinematography is reminiscent of indoctrination into a cult. In a wide shot showing the outside of the apartment the colourful cinematography showcases the powerful presence of the witches within the film. As she walked around the room music gives an otherworldly quality as if it has been conjured up by demons from hell, this works intentionally with the colourful cinematography giving a weird surreal arthouse film making sis. Unlike a lot of other horror films of the era as the whole film gives off the feeling of one long terrible nightmare. This contrast of beauty and brutality is further showcased with several different bright colours of light being used in the scene where she gets stabbed, as further showcases the beauty and artificiality of the film allowing the symptom photography to lower the audience in likening indoctrination into a witches cult. Her lying down on the multi-colour glass panelling further showcases the beautiful artificiality of the film. Finally, when she gets home and dies killing the other girl in the process with the broken window shards the film showcases the 70s sleazy gore juxtaposed with arthouse inspired cinematography.

Susy goes to the office to meet mad at him blankly person in charge of the dance Academy. Even when the film is not overtly colourful there is still a great use of colour within the film such as a house being a bright red juxtaposed with the dark blue walls inside and the black and white floral patterns on the walls. The bright red walls further link to their idea of a snow white-esc dynamic of the witches luring them in. As Susy walks down a red hallway one of the witches shines a light actor. This further showcases the snow-white with the red apple way that the witches indoctrinate people is that setting up for the gory madness and colourful imagery later in the film. The use of red and green projecting into the room as Susy is lying down on the bed resting, showcases that the evil of the witches is a dominating presence throughout the film. Reds are used to highlight a foreboding presence, such as maggots falling from the ceiling as the teacher goes upstairs to find them in the attic. The attic itself is lit by blight blue lighting highlighting how the evil is integrating into the building in the world of the film. The room where all the girls end up sleeping is bathed in a red light like a presence from hell showcasing that that which is something out of this world. This is further showcased by the camerawork stalking them around whilst they sleep with a red glow as well as the music reminiscent of demonic choir chance from hell showcasing the witches coming through into this world. The blue and red lighting used when Susy and Patricia are talking further showcases the evil is slowly invading every facet of the film. The POV like shots inside the dorm also showcase a feeling of horror and dread as through the music and cinematography it causes the full boarding school itself is alive and watching the characters.

The witches swarm around the character Daniel a blind pianist who is fired from his job ended dance Academy in the film like an unforeseen force causing his dog to maul him to death. This further showcases that evil is everywhere within the film as reinforced by the choir like music plays likening the witches to demons from hell. This is further shown in the pan down shot of Susy and Sofia talking to one another as demonic choir music plays. This shows success. The film where evil is everywhere seeping through the walls and invading the characters’ lives. When Sophia turns the lighter she is alone in a room paved with a green tint showcasing how the evil is all-encompassing. She then runs along a red hallway clearly highlighting the artificiality of the world and the danger of the witches. This danger is further visualised by the blue lighting that is showing as she escapes highlighting the imminent death as she jumps into metal coils and gets her throat slit by unknown killer.

The film also showcases a certain amount of back story to the characters and intake is. Sophia was a psychiatric patient who had to break down after a mother’s death leading to her belief in witches. As the witches themselves the film goes on to explain that the Academy was founded by Halina Marco is a Greek immigrant that lots of people believed was a witch in the 19^th century. The woman had been expelled from several other European countries seeking to sit by religious people dubbing her the black queen. The Academy was originally one of dance and occultism, but after she died in a fire the school was taken over by her favourite people to which the occult elements was dropped and the dance Academy was born. The Prof hotels Susy all of this information believe that magic is a mental illness and that all of this talk of witchcraft can be explained through science. In the film which is of malefic negative creatures that create destruction. Their knowledge of the dark arts and occultism gives a negative power for them to accumulate great personal wealth at the expense of others, from is a cool suffering sickness and death today through. The film showcases more information on the main antagonist Halina Marco’s a black queen who was powerful evil and head of the coven of witches. The Queen of the witches is a hundred times more powerful than the other witches and the coven can only been stopped once the head which is killed, showing that within this scene and throughout Hesperia magic is a phenomenon that is everywhere in the world.

With Susy dumping the food and drink down the toilet she is symbolically rejecting the dominance, power, and control of the witches. The film bathed in red and blue is that she kills a bat flies into the room clearly shows how the evil again manifested itself within dance account may witches solidify by demonic chance music. As Susy ventures into a dam blanks office, which is dripping with colour further highlighting the danger and supernatural presence film she recalls the beginning of the film where the girl shouted to turn the blue Iris. As Susy enters the room which is draped in a blue velvet curtain showcasing the artificiality of the film with colour schemes reminiscent an entrance to how, she continues walking along a gilding coloured corridor as if she’s being indoctrinated into a cult which is further reinforced with the demon -like whales that accompany the film score. This is reinforced by the flashes of red and blue which further showcases. Use of the horror of artificiality. Susy comes across Sarah’s corpse bathed in a blue light. The nightmare like cinematography creating the artificial horror has now invaded the real life for the characters. This is further showcased by the Reds and blues used as Susy hides and escapes showcasing the arthouse horror aesthetic of the Suspiria.

In the climax Susy comes face-to-face with Halina Marco. The film showcases its horror and terror like a nightmare as the artificiality adds to the film’s tension is shown by the scene being bathed in blues and reds. The zombified Sarah then comes to attack Susy showcasing in horror the people we love are also the people we fear and that sis. Does have real threat beyond its artificiality. In the climax Susy overcomes her fear of the unknown, becoming a stronger person by killing Halina Marco’s. This allows Susy’s body to rest in peace as all the other witches die allowing Susy to escape as the house crumbles around town burst into flames ending the nightmare once and for all.

Suspiria is a horror film that takes full advantage of the medium of fiction. It uses its artificiality in order to create a truly nightmarish like state where the and twisted colours delve into our fear of the unknown showcasing a film does not make sense as people’s fears themselves are irrational and how sometimes the scariest things are things that cannot be explained.