I’m one of those people who, when watching movies, relishes in the visual aesthetics more than any other element. Suspiria (1977) was a feast, I devoured every inch of the screen. Universally regarded as one of Argento’s greatest accomplishments, Suspiria is a hyper-stylized masterpiece—a gory, visual and colorful one at that. 

Suspiria is the first in a trilogy (Le Tre madri) of supernatural horror films by Italian film director Dario Argento. When seeking a new creative direction, Argento decided to draw inspiration from the macabre lore of Old Europe. The other two films in the trilogy are Inferno (1980) and Mother of Tears (2007). Simply put, each film deals with one of the titular “Mothers”, a trio of ancient witches. Suspiria deals with the Mother of Sighs, hence the latin title “breathlessness.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LGjcZyTSQ4

The film is a “giallo” film, which is essentially an Italian exploitation film. Italian for mystery fiction, a giallo is a hyper-stylized that often includes gory murders and erotic themes. Giallo is defined by “outrageous design, bold close-ups, intense color, memorable scores filled with sighs and shards of sound, and strange, gruesome murders performed by a very particular type of villain.” They’re often lush, colorful and make for great midnight movies. While it may seem like Suspiria perfectly ticks off each criteria, it’s another Argento film that takes the cake for arguably the ultimate giallo movie: Deep Red (1975). 

Suspiria is a visual assault, from the moment Suzy reaches the exterior of the Tanz Dance Academy. The lighting and the film sets paint the screen with beautiful, vivid colors that are captivating and unsettling. The vast majority of the shots in the film are painted with a singular color that dominates the screen, a chromatic journey.

“We were trying to reproduce the colour of Walt Disney’s Snow White; it has been said from the beginning that Technicolor lacked subdued shades, [and] was without nuances—like cut-out cartoons.”

Argento on the colors of Suspiria

These few stills from the film really showcase the magnificent use of colors throughout the film:

What struck me the most in the film was remarkable architecture and décor. Designer Giuseppe Bassan was instructed, by Argento, to recreate some pieces of furniture based on the German Art Deco and Art Nouveau styles, which shines through throughout the entire film. The academy is adorned with features of Art Nouveau, most noticeably the feminine arches of the doors and windows. Other rooms in the academy are as Art Deco as can be, which is extremely noticeable during Patricia’s death. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3akP01sgrM

Lastly, the score of the film is something of wonders, a synth masterpiece. This Goblin chef-d’œuvre shot straight up to my favorite horror soundtrack of all time. Argento wanted Goblin’s score to set Suspiria apart from his other films. Not only has Suspiria gained a huge, unwavering cult following, the soundtrack also helped Goblin pick up a cult following. In the ’70s, it was still pretty rare to hear a synth in film scores.

“You would never use a synth to do soundtracks [then]. Normally it would be made with an orchestra, or with a band. No one was using a synthesizer for that. I think we were maybe one of the first using [the synthesiser], then in the ‘80s the synthesizer and drum machine became more famous and it became more usual.”

Claudio Simonetti 

I know I say this practically every week, but I loved every second of Suspiria, and it will stick with me for a while.