Taglines: Let mother take care of you.
Susie Bannion (Dakota Johnson) is a young American ballerina who travels to Berlin to study dancing at the Markos Tanz Company, one of the world’s most renowned schools under Madame Blanc’s management. On her very first day, one of the students who had been recently expelled from the school is murdered.
As this appalling happening does not seem to be an isolated occurrence, the brilliant new student soon begins to suspect that the school might be involved in the homicide. Her mistrust heightens when Sarah, one of the girls at the school, tells her that Pat, before being killed, confided to her that she knew and guarded a terrifying dark secret.
Suspiria (Latin: [sʊsˈpɪria], lit. “sighs”) is a 2018 supernatural psychological horror film directed by Luca Guadagnino with a screenplay by David Kajganich, inspired by the 1977 Italian film of the same title directed by Dario Argento. It stars Dakota Johnson as an American woman who enrolls at a prestigious dance academy in 1977 Berlin that is run by a coven of witches.
Tilda Swinton co-stars in two roles, including as the company’s lead choreographer as well as a male psychotherapist who becomes embroiled with the academy. Mia Goth and Chloë Grace Moretz appear in supporting roles as students of the academy, while Angela Winkler, Renée Soutendijk, Ingrid Caven, and Sylvie Testud (among others) portray the academy’s matrons. Jessica Harper, the star of the original film, has a cameo role.
A remake of Suspiria was first announced in 2008 after Guadagnino had acquired the option from the original film’s writers, Argento and Daria Nicolodi. Guadagnino offered the project to director David Gordon Green, but it was canceled due to financing conflicts. In September 2015, Guadagnino confirmed his plans to direct, with the film described as an “homage” to the 1977 film rather than a direct remake. A new screenplay was drafted by Kajganich, who had written Guadagnino’s previous project, A Bigger Splash (2015). Kajganich set the film during the German Autumn of 1977 to explore themes of generational guilt in Germany during the Cold War. Additionally, it focuses on themes of motherhood, evil, and the dynamics of matriarchies.
Unlike the original film, which uses exaggerated colors, Guadagnino conceived Suspiria as visually “winterish” and bleak, absent of primary colors. The film incorporates stylized dance sequences choreographed by Damien Jalet, which form part of its representation of witchcraft. Principal photography took place in late 2016 and early 2017 in Varese and Berlin. The score was composed by Radiohead singer Thom Yorke, who took inspiration from the krautrock created around the time of the film’s setting.
Suspiria premiered at the 75th Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2018. Amazon Studios gave it a limited release in Los Angeles and New York on October 26, 2018, where it grossed over $180,000 in its opening weekend, marking the highest screen-average box office launch of the year.
The film received Halloween screenings in select U.S. cities before opening wide on November 2, 2018. Critical response to the film has been notably polarized with some praising its visual elements and acting, while others have deemed its historical-political setting unnecessary or arbitrary in relation to its other themes. The film was released in Italy on January 1, 2019.
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Suspiria (2018)
Directed by: Luca Guadagnino
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton, Doris Hick, Malgorzata Bela, Chloë Grace Moretz, Angela Winkler, Vanda Capriolo, Alek Wek, Jessica Batut, Elena Fokina, Mia Goth, Fabrizia Sacchi
Screenplay by: David Kajganich
Production Design by: Inbal Weinberg
Cinematography by: Sayombhu Mukdeeprom
Film Editing by: Walter Fasano
Costume Design by: Giulia Piersanti
Set Decoration by: Christin Busse, Merissa Lombardo
Art Direction by: Merlin Ortner, Monica Sallustio
Music by: Thom Yorke
MPAA Rating: R for disturbing content involving ritualistic violence, bloody images and graphic nudity, and for some language including sexual references.
Distributed by: Amazon Studios
Release Date: October 26, 2018
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