Suspiria (1977)
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An American ballet student discovers that her prestigious new dance academy is a front for a sinister coven of witches.
The story
Suzy Bannion, a young American ballet student, arrives in Freiburg, West Germany, to study at the prestigious Tanz Akademie. After witnessing a fellow student flee in terror and a subsequent mysterious death, Suzy is forced to stay in town. Upon entering the academy, she meets the instructors and other students, but the atmosphere is unsettling. After a series of strange occurrences and the disappearance of a classmate, Suzy begins to realize that the school's beauty masks a dark, supernatural secret. She must navigate the academy's corridors and its mysterious inhabitants to uncover the truth behind the sinister forces lurking within the walls of the dance school.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Suzy Bannion, an American ballet student, arrives at the Tanz Akademie in Freiburg, West Germany. After witnessing a student flee in terror and a subsequent murder, Suzy is forced to stay in town. She eventually enters the academy and meets the staff and students. The atmosphere grows increasingly eerie; a student named Sara disappears after a confrontation, and a pianist is killed by his own dog. Suzy eventually learns from a former psychiatrist and a professor of the occult that the school was founded by a witch, Helena Markos. Upon discovering that the school's leadership is a coven of witches, Suzy finds a hidden door in Madame Blanc's office. She discovers the truth of the human sacrifices and eventually confronts the witch, Markos. After a violent confrontation where Suzy kills Markos, the school is consumed by fire, and the coven perishes, allowing Suzy to escape into the night.
- First release year
- 1977
- Runtime (minutes)
- 99
- Production countries
- Italy
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Dario Argento
- Writers
- Dario Argento · screenplay; Daria Nicolodi · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Jessica Harper · Suzy Bannion; Stefania Casini · Sara; Flavio Bucci; Miguel Bosé; Alida Valli; Udo Kier · Frank Mandel; Joan Bennett
- Genres
- supernatural horror; giallo horror; gothic horror
- Themes
- witchcraft; human sacrifice; supernatural; motherhood
- Tone and mood
- nightmarish; visuallly stylish; gory
- Setting
- A prestigious dance academy in Freiburg, West Germany.
- Premise and plot tags
- ballet; cults; witchcraft; supernatural
- Source material / true-story basis
- Thomas De Quincey's 1845 essay Suspiria de Profundis
- Franchise connections
- The Three Mothers
- Reception
- The film received a positive response from critics for its visual and stylistic flair, use of vibrant colors, and its score. It is recognized as one of the most influential films in the horror genre and has been cited as a cult film.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 94% · scale: percentage · review count: 64; Metacritic · score: 79 · scale: 100 · review count: 11
- Awards and nominations
- Saturn Award · Best Supporting Actress · 1978 · Nominated; Saturn Award · Best DVD Classic Film Release · 2002 · Nominated
- Production trivia
- The film's score was used in several Hong Kong films.; The main title theme was named one of the best songs released between 1977 and 1979 by Pitchfork.; The film was one of the final feature films to be processed in Technicolor.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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