Welcome boys and ghouls to the first installment in a new fortnightly segment that I like to call Vault of Doom. Every two weeks I will be looking at a different horror film, usually cult films or forgotten classics, and discussing what makes them so great and the impact they have had on me. It is essentially the appreciation of horror cinema by a combination of facts and personal experiences so I hope you enjoy hearing me raving on about the bizzare, the bloody and the brilliant films within the Vault of Doom.
I have decided to begin with my personal favourite horror film of all time, the psychadelic, supernatural Italian masterpiece that is Dario Argento's Suspiria. For those of you who don't know what Suspiria is, it is a 1979 Italian horror film about budding ballerina Suzie (Jessica Harper) beginning her education at a prestigious dance academy in Germany only to discover the dark secrets that lie within its walls. I first became aware of this films existence about three years ago during a phase where I was beginning to build up a tolerance to the general scare tactics of horror cinema. Jump scares became predictable and gore was no longer vomit enducing which led me to seek out some of the scarier films which I hadn't seen, this led me to find a trailer for Suspiria and after watching it a number of times I had to see it immediately. I first watched it one night in the summer of 2013 alone in the dark and as soon as Goblin's haunting theme began to play during the titles I knew I was in for something completely different.
One of the first things that struck me while watching Suspiria was the lighting, the red and blue colours greatly enhanced the mise-en-scéne and along with the beautifully eerie score I was already feeling the goosebumps within the first few minutes. That's the thing about Suspiria, sure it has a few jumpscares and sure there are several bloody sequences, but these are not what Argento relies on to make this film scary. Instead he uses a combination of the colourful cinematography and Goblin's chilling soundtrack to build this atmosphere of suspense that will leave you feeling somewhat uneasy during some of the films more intense scenes. This is only enhanced by the excellent production design, inside the Tanz Academy lies a labyrinth of colourful and bizzare rooms that feels like a Tim Burton movie on acid, you can see that a portion of his influence is drawn from Suspiria. Visually, the film is a work of art as nearly every frame is like looking at a painting. It has a hauntingly dreamlike atmosphere that gradually descends into a twisted nightmare of the occult.
There is one particular scene from the film that I remember scaring the shit out of me when I first watched it, not in an in-your-face jump scare kind of way but in a way that left me feeling uneasy throughout and had that feeling stay with me long after the film had ended. The scene involves the blind pianist Daniel (Flavio Bucci) making his way home from an evening spent drinking at the local boozer, his only companion being his trusty guide dog. The scene plays out with the tune of Goblins spine tingling theme lingering in the background, we follow Daniel as he makes his way through the dark and empty streets before finally arriving at a large, empty town square. There is a real sense of isolation in this scene as Daniel stands alone in the vast square like a single ant in the middle of your kitchen floor, he is surrounded by darkness. The tension continues to build as his dog becomes increasingly uneasy, barking frantically at the shadows projected onto the surrounding buildings. This eventually leads to an unexpected crescendo that I won't spoil, it is a scene that creeped me out very much at the time and still comes to mind whenever I'm walking alone at night.
Of course the film is not without flaw, there are several plot points that seem rather underdeveloped or unexplained. What was the grand scheme of the evil coven who resided in the Tanz Academy? Why was Suzie targeted in the first place? What was the deal with the freaky butler Pavlo (Giuseppe Transocchi)? All questions that linger in the mind when Suspiria ends, but in a way they only add to the surreal mystery surrounding the film and leaves viewers to form their own theories out of the ambiguity. The film also contains some questionable acting and dubbing, certain dialogue seems rushed at times and some of the minor characters come across as quite unrealistic in how they act, but the main players all do a decent job in their roles so it's not all bad. German actor Udo Kier turns up at one point, the only cast member I had any prior knowledge of at the time which made me laugh a little when I heard his strong German accent replaced with a smooth American one. The films flaws are minor though and in the grand scheme of things you tend to be too busy being hypnotized by the visuals to remember them.
All in all, I loved Suspiria when I first saw it, it is a hypnotic visual masterpiece with plenty of chills and stunning imagery, Argento's masterpiece. Even now when I watch it I am still overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of this film, although it no longer manages to creep me out as much I will always have those fond memories of running up the stairs in the dark afterwards while Goblin played over and over in my head. It is a must see for any horror fan and a recommendation for budding cinematographers, or if like my girlfriend you just love nice lighting I'd suggest watching Suspiria. If you have any thoughts or memories about the film let me know in the comments, apart from that I hope you have enjoyed the first installment of Vault of Doom, until next time!
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