Suspiria

1977, Dario Argento, Italy

Few who have seen Dario Argento’s Suspiria will ever forget it: a riot of colour and anxiety, rapidly rising to a boiling point and kept there until the final credits roll. Argento’s ability to create overwhelming atmospheres is on full display here, with the plot occasionally pausing for an elaborate, evocative (and often grisly) set-piece.

Arriving in West Germany to attend a prestigious ballet school, Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) finds herself in the midst of a series of occult deaths and disappearances. Learning that the matrons of the school might be responsible, Suzy investigates, discovering the witchcraft at the very foundations of the Tanz Akademie.

Taking its title and partial inspiration from a Thomas de Quincey essay about hallucinogens, Suspiria certainly follows through, with nearly every scene at the academy reduced to stark primary colours (mostly red) and layered with a piercing score by prog-rockers Goblin. Luca Guadagnino reimagined Suspiria in 2018, but without the histrionic tone and the occasional visual gag – such as a pit of barbed wire that seems to only exist when it’s in shot – there’s no beating Argento’s madcap original. A true giallo horror treat.

“Suspiria truly is one of the absolute classics of the horror genre and anyone who considers themselves to be true students of the cinema owe it to themselves to experience it for themselves, especially if they get a chance to see it on the big screen where it belongs.” – Peter Sobczynski, RogerEbert.com