Following Thursday’s release of the official trailer for Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria, it is already
trending on YouTube and gaining millions of views. Initially, Guadagnino seemed like an odd choice
for a remake of a 70s horror film, especially as his last film was the romantic Call Me By Your Name.
However, the trailer shows that Guadagnino may have achieved the impressive feat of not only
making a genuinely scary horror film, but a successful remake of a classic.
The 1977 original follows Suzy, an American dancer who goes to Tanz dance academy in Germany to
continue her training. After arriving and meeting the unsettling Madame Blanc, Suzy realises that
she has gotten herself into something dangerous. The trailer shows Dakota Johnson as Suzy, with
Mia Goth and Chloë Grace Moretz as fellow dancers as well as the formidable Tilda Swinton as
Madame Blanc. This impressive line up just adds to the film’s potential.
The remake seems to be Black Swan meets The Wicker Man, with the intense dance academy and
shady cult environment creating a mind-bending and disturbing looking horror film. The original
film was big on gore, and the remake looks like it could amp it up even further, with an ominous
curved knife recurring throughout the trailer.
Radiohead’s Thom Yorke provides the soundtrack to the film, some of which is featured in the
trailer. From this preview, Yorke seems to be the perfect addition to the film, adding an
atmospheric, eerie soundtrack that is bound to rack up awards.
The original film boasted a bold, Technicolor aesthetic, creating nightmarish yet beautiful
cinematography. By contrast, the remake has gone in the opposite direction, using mostly subdued
browns and greys (with the occasional pop of symbolic red). This could be a good move as
attempting to emulate the original’s saturated, psychedelic colour wheel would surely backfire. The
remake’s visuals might even become iconic in their own right, creating an atmosphere that is
oppressive, chilling and dark.
Suspiria is set to hit theatres on November 2nd, so the Halloween vibes can bleed into November this
year.
Words by Lucy Ingram