Suspiria (1977)
★★★ — Suspiria (1977)
Dario Argento had already established himself as a leading figure in Italian giallo cinema through films like The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) and Deep Red (1975) before turning towards the supernatural with Suspiria, his most celebrated work. Produced by his father Salvatore Argento's company Seda Spettacoli, the film was shot largely at the Geiselgasteig studios near Munich, with Argento deliberately pursuing a heightened, almost fairy-tale visual style inspired partly by Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The iconic score was composed by the band Goblin, who had collaborated with Argento on Deep Red. Jessica Harper, an American actress best known at the time for Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise (1974), was cast as the lead, giving the film a transatlantic quality that helped secure its international distribution.
Dario Argento’s Suspiria (1977) is the reddest film ever. It's less a film and more a sensory assault wrapped in neon nightmare logic, and visually, it might be the reddest thing ever committed to celluloid. From the very first frame, you’re drenched in crimson: blood-red lights, lurid shadows, hallways glowing like they’ve been lit from within by hell itself. The production design is surreal and expressionistic, the special effects are grotesque and impressively practical for their time, and the atmosphere is thick with dread. It’s a horror film built on mood, not sense. The story (about an American ballet student who uncovers a secret SPOILER hiding in her dance academy) is barely there. What plot exists is tangled, illogical, and often nonsensical. Characters act like mannequins, motivations vanish mid-scene, and the dubbing is gloriously bad. The dialogue so stilted and awkward it borders on comedy. You can’t help but laugh at lines like “I feel an evil force all around me!” delivered with zero inflection. And then there’s the soundtrack. The Goblins deliver one of their most iconic scores (pulsing synths, eerie chants, shrieking highs) but here, it’s too much. It doesn’t underscore the horror; it dominates it. In scene after scene, the music blasts at full volume, drowning out dialogue, action, even tension. It’s brilliant in isolation, but overwhelming in context. So yeah, considering the hype (this cult masterpiece, this pinnacle of giallo horror) I was disappointed. It’s not coherent, not scary in a traditional way, and not well-acted by any stretch. But I still liked it more than I disliked it. There’s something hypnotic about its chaos, its boldness, its sheer commitment to style over substance. Flawed, messy, and absolutely bonkers, but unforgettable for its visuals and audacity. A fever dream of a movie. Not great horror, maybe, but essential viewing for fans of the strange and the stylish. Just don’t watch it expecting logic. Watch it for the red.
Rating: ★★★ | Year: 1977 | Watched: 2025-11-04
Where to watch (UK)
Stream: BFI Player · BFI Player Amazon Channel · BFI Player Apple TV Channel
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Italy: Nightmare City (1980) · Cemetery Man (1994) · One Way or Another (1975) · Chicken for Linda! (2023)
More from the 1970s: Fantastic Planet (1973) · Here and Elsewhere (1976) · Italianamerican (1974) · Punishment Park (1971)
More horror: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Viy (1967) · Nightmare City (1980) · Angst (1983)
