At a Prestigious Dance Academy, Students Suffer for Their Art

Dakota Johnson in "Suspiria"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com

In 1977, director Dario Argento gave us the horror film, "Suspiria," which told the story of a school of dance that harbors dark secrets.  Although it was rather thin with the story, you can't deny that it has some of the most gorgeous visuals of any horror movie, which were made possible by the stunning set design and haunting cinematography, both of which made the colors pop off of the screen and invited you into the film’s sinister world of dance.

Director Luca Guadagnino now brings us a remake that captures the strangeness and visual gorgeousness of Argento's original.  However, Guadagnino has made a movie that's so different from the original that it’s unpredictable where the story will go, and it's one of the most unsettling and intoxicating viewings that you'll have at the movies this year.

In 1977, Susie Bannion (Dakota Johnson) is a young woman who moves from Ohio to West Berlin to study dance under the tutelage of Madame Blanc (Tilda Swinton) and her staff at a distinguished academy.  After spending some time there, Susie soon finds out that there are disturbing secrets that are hidden within the walls of the school.  Meanwhile, psychotherapist Dr. Josef Klemperer (also Swinton, but in heavy makeup and billed as Lutz Ebersdorf) begins investigating the disappearance of one of his patients, Patricia Hingle (Chloë Grace Moretz), who was a student at the academy.

Johnson, who takes up the role that was originated by Jessica Harper, shows an individual who's experiencing the world for the first time.  She calls forth a persona of someone who's more than confident in herself, despite being in a foreign land and having somewhat of a shy persona, and what makes her character so appealing is how Johnson shows how Susie is up for any challenge.  However, this isn't her only trait draws us in; Johnson also captivates in showing how there might be more to Susie than her character lets on, and the way in which Susie establishes an easy connection with Madame Blanc hints at unexpected possibilities for her character.  There’s determination in Susie to be the best, and Johnson let's that strength blaze through in her performance.

Swinton couldn't be more fascinating as the academy’s mysterious lead choreographer, who was played by Joan Bennett in the original.  Throughout the movie, you keep trying to figure out where her character is going to go, making her an enigma for which you can't end your speculation.  Even if we think that we’re aware of her intentions, we can't help but wonder what will become of her character, and we're left on edge as we try to decipher what ideas Madame Blanc has waiting in the wings of her mind.  Swinton has so much to give to her character, which emphasizes her ability to command an audience's attention and unsettle them, no matter how subdued her character might seem.

Although the remake has the same core story as the original a few scenes that are brought over from that film, the screenplay by David Kajganich offers a story that diverts so much from the source material that, at times, it seems like a remake in name only, which isn't a bad thing.  This provides us with a remake where you see that it's not trying to replicate what came before, but is instead determined to be its own entity, while still maintaining the spirit of the original.

At two and half hours, the remake is almost an hour longer than Argento’s film.  This allows for there to be much more to the story than the original, providing the opportunity for the narrative to explore certain aspects of Argento’s film in greater detail.  Two examples include having a deeper examination into the academy and how it operates, as well as a look at Susie's background and how it plays into her current situation. 

However, what contributes the most to this remake steering away from the original is how it explores the political upheaval in Berlin during the '70s.  This part of the story adds a considerable deal to the storyline involving the psychotherapist, with his storyline connecting with the narrative of the academy later in the film.  Within the political aspect of the narrative, the film explores two sets of divisions, that of east and west Berlin, and that of the academy staff trying to vote on their next leader, all of which is incapsulated in Susie's eerie lines, "It's all a mess.  The one out there…The one in here…The one that's coming.  Why is everyone so ready to think the worst is over?”  The change in location for the academy provides the film with an opportunity to have a more intriguing story of what’s happening outside of the school, whereas the academy in the original film seemed disconnected from everything else, taking place in Munich in the middle of the woods.

The cinematography by Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (who worked on Guadagnino's "Call Me by Your Name" last year) has haunting imagery in abundance.  But, what's most notable about his camerawork is how he makes the most out of the story's foreign setting.  While most of the original was confined to the school, Mukdeeprom’s cinematography explores the academy's surroundings and its insides in equal measure.  We go through the streets of Berlin and the frightening corners of the academy, often following the characters in medium shots that allow us to see the fullness of the space around them and how they interact with their environments.

As a director, Guadagnino does spectacular work in bringing us into the disturbing backdrop of the academy, resulting in some of the most unsettling images and scenes that you'll see this year, all thanks to some frightening dream sequences; a scene involving a lone dancer in a mirror room that's painful to watch, to say the least; and a final half hour that puts you through a gauntlet of grotesquery.

However, one of his biggest accomplishments in the film is a climactic dance sequence that occurs within the final half hour.  The dance moves are so intricate and the visuals are so impressive that I almost didn't want the scene to end.  This is a scene that exemplifies, to the fullest extent, Guadagnino's ability to display the artistry of which the horror genre is capable, making you not want to miss one frame of his offerings, no matter how unsettling that they may be.

Although Argento's version is wonderful in its own way, Guadagnino's interpretation is a rare occurrence where the remake is superior to the original.  There's so much to unpack once the movie concludes, and it proves to be a film that could become richer upon a few re-watches.  Despite being a remake, Guadagnino's "Suspiria" offers a horror-movie experience that feels one of a kind.

Grade: A