The upcoming remake of Suspiria isn’t something that I’ve been getting too excited over.
If you read my previous post you’ll know I’m a Dario Argento fan and like most fans, I tend to balk at the idea of remakes of films that I’ve cherished for years – I first saw Suspiria during a short run in Glasgow at the tail end of 1977. Although my memory might be faulty here I think I can just about remember it being part of a X certificate double bill with Black Christmas. Oh and me still underage! Those were the days, my friends.
Despite my completely predictable reservations about the reboot, I was curious enough to have a gander at the trailer when it was released earlier tonight.
Surprisingly enough, it does look promising enough. If I hadn’t known it was for the remake of Argento’s supernatural horror classic, it might even have sold me on the film. And I can confidently predict that, if nothing else, the ballet this time round will be more authentic.
Notably, it looks as if Guadagnino has completely ditched the neon primary colours of Argento’s original – which is very possibly the reddest movie ever made – and doesn’t seem to be following the original script too closely either. Indeed, Guadagnino has voiced his opinion that while his movie is ‘inspired by the same story… it goes in different directions, it explores other reasons.’
Trailers, of course, aren’t the most reliable indication of whether a film will be any good or not. At this stage pedigree is more important.
Directed by recent Oscar nominee Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name), the remake stars Dakota Johnson (Guadagnino’s A Bigger Splash) and Chloë Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass) together with frequent Guadagnino collaborator Tilda Swinton. Jessica Harper, the star of the original, also appears in a new and much smaller role. Thom Yorke is providing the score.
So, a very decent pedigree. Well, if we ignore the fact that Johnson also starred in that 50 Shades nonsense.
Okay, here I have to admit that despite the talent involved, there’s next to no chance that this film will match the magic of Argento’s masterpiece.
Hopefully, though, a decent percentage of younger cinema-goers who have never seen the original will be persuaded to seek it out.
Currently in post-production, Suspiria should make it to British cinemas around November of this year.
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Jun 04, 2018 @ 23:34:30
I feared the worst when I first heard rumblings of this project. The original is such a director’s statement, with every element aesthetically important. It really is almost like remaking 2001 A Space Odyssey or Citizen Kane. Sure, anyone can tell the same ‘story’, but with Argento’s brilliance the result would fall flat. Or the filmmaker could directly homage Argento and remake specific setpieces, but what would the point of that be? I dreaded an upstart appropriation of the name, imagery, and so on to capitalise on the original’s perceived hipster credibility. As it stands, I think that is exactly what is happening, but the taent involved is quite convincing and it might just work. I’ll keep an open mind and reserve judgement until I’ve seen it. Thanks for the post. I think the original did a lot of work as one half of an EMI double bill in the late seventies, apart from Black Xmas, it also played with Cross Of Iron, and (I think) Kim Newman recalls seeing it as second feature to Zoltan Hound Of Dracula (of all things).
Jun 10, 2018 @ 15:12:03
Interesting comments William. I generally try to just ignore remakes of my favourite films like that American version of The Wicker Man but here I’ll be trying to keep an open mind myself. And now you mention it I do seem to remember Kim Newman mentions seeing it with Zoltan on the audio commentary.