Suspiria is a mind-meld of styles you won’t understand but will remember

Suspiria is a wild phantasmagoria that gets into your bones and requires multiple viewings to even begin to understand its dark heart

In 1977, Dario Argento crafted the Italian giallo film, Suspiria, a splashy tale of witches in a ballet school remembered just as fondly for its exquisite set design as for its drenching of the set in red corn syrup. Fellow Italian director Luca Guadagnino’s remake of Suspiria is a far cry from his previous film, last year’s sun-drenched romance, Call Me By Your Name, marking a severe departure for the director that yields dividends.

Suspiria is a wild, mystifying film that defies easy attempts to summarize it. Led by an enigmatic performance from 2018’s Queen, Dakota Johnson, Suspiria lodges itself in your brain whether you like it or not.

Susie Bannion (Johnson) travels to Berlin in 1977 to attend the legendary Markos dance company. Once there, strange things start happening leading a psychiatrist to theorize the matrons of the company might be witches.

Calling this a remake is misleading as nearly every facet of Guadagnino’s film is different than its predecessor. Argento’s film, though fantastical, was straight-forward in its approach. Guadagnino offers the audience very little in the way of linear storytelling, blending Susie’s story with that of the Red Army Faction that dominated Germany in the late ’70s. This latter plot point will confuse many unclear about world politics, lending the movie a historical insider context more akin to the work of Yorgos Lanthiomos. In fact, Lanthimos is just one influence that will determine your enjoyment of Suspiria as the feature also draws comparisons to Darren Aronofsky’s mother! and the work of Ken Russell.

This is all to say Suspiria is an art film with a horror-movie bent. Susie arrives in this strange land of late-’70s Berlin where bombings are commonplace, a far cry from her Mennonite upbringing in Ohio. Johnson, who has crafted such a fascinating body of work post-Fifty Shades of Grey, continues to showcase her talents here. As the meek Susie, she presents the character as a woman who never believed she’d make it anywhere, nearly crying when she’s offered a space in the company. As she becomes more infused in the world of dance, something dark starts to brew and what Johnson illustrates is that Susie isn’t frightened of it, but intrigued and wants to become part of it.

Oddly enough, this isn’t Susie’s story per se. Many times Johnson is off-screen until the film’s bloody conclusion, which has to be seen to be believed. Her performance is so quiet and introverted that even when Johnson is present, the audience isn’t particularly drawn to her, which ends up defusing the overall impact of the story. Think of it like watching an alien invasion movie where you assume something is too obvious… and it is.

Johnson is beautifully paralleled by Mia Goth’s Sara, a long-term member of the company who befriends Susie upon her arrival. Goth takes on an investigatory role within the film. Where we’re never privy to what Susie thinks about what’s happening, it’s etched into Goth’s face. Disturbed by the disappearance of her friend, Patricia (Chloe Grace-Moretz), Goth’s Sara attempts to mitigate and bargain with what she knows. But when it’s impossible to assume anything but the worst, the look of fear and horror is palpable with Goth upstaging Johnson, at times. It helps that Goth’s character also gets the majority of the film’s gorier elements.

And, make no mistake, Suspiria is not for the faint of heart. Early reports of screenings saw journalists discussing how physically ill it made them, and whether it was hype, weak stomachs, or studio interference, the gore factor is pronounced but not outrageously gratuitous.

Unlike its predecessor, there’s little ambiguity into what’s happening. Tilda Swinton’s Madame Blanc leads the numerous “matrons” that oversee the Markos company, and right away it’s apparent they’re up to no good. Much of their discussion manifests an overt feminist message about believing women that’s amazing to see. But there’s a pronounced emphasis on doctor Joseph Klemperer (also played by Swinton) that seems to undermine this message. His character, the film’s depiction of a “good man” seems to fly in the face of what the movie wants to focus on, yet by the time this is properly contextualized the audience is still grappling with a Ken Russell-inspired third act that overwhelms everything.

Suspiria will definitely not work for everyone. Dakota Johnson and Mia Goth are spellbinding, as is the mysterious Madame Blanc played by Swinton. Gudagnino proves he’s capable of making a dark, nihilistic tale, but it does feel disorganized at times.

Enter at your own risk.