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Figure 1. Suspiria [Poster]

Suspiria is a 1977 Italian turn English film directed and written by Dario Argento about an Americanballet dancer Suzy Banyan played by Jessica Harper who goes to Frelberg, Germany to attend theprestigious Tans Academy boarding school.When Suzy arrives in Germany there is already a sense of strangeness and isolation as there is noone around to help her to the school, many of the taxis drive away when she waves them down forassistance. There is an eeriness in the air that lingers as Suzy travels to the school through thetown. As you watch the journey you start to pick up on the vibrant colours that are not to comfortingbut instead uncomfortable. Colours of greens, blues and pinks that screen horror to a fault. You

see emptiness in the town and begin to wonder when this film will turn on you into a nightmare. AsGonzalez explains in his review of the film, “the lights from the taxicab chillingly illuminate the

crevices between the forest trees; a flash of lightning reveals a shadowy image (perhaps a scytheor a knife) reflected on a large tree stump. All the while, Suzy is innocently bathed in the warm bluetones of Luciano Tovoli's glorious cinematography. Blink and you'll miss a subliminal

superimposition—  reflected on the cab's security divider is the still image of a screaming face

(possibly that of Argento’  s)” (2001).

As she arrives at this mysterious school a girl comes running out in a hurry, this strange girl takesno notice of Suzy but instead runs away through the forrest ahead into the dark. The girl is also a

ballet dancer attending the school we soon learn, but she is to be expelled. She seeks comfort at afriends place onto to behave so strangely, her uncomfortable behaviour is reflected on the coloursthat are shown upon the house. The blues that touch her skin make her look lifeless and drained. Awave of fear washes over her as she is left alone in her room as she cant help but feel there issomeone watching her, ready to pounce at the slight loss in concentration of her safety. Her deathsoon follows as a mysterious figure with vibrant green eyes come out and grabs her. The girl doesnot die immediately but instead falls from the ceiling of the flats to her death where she is hung.This graphic image is displayed as a warning of such. The blood that spews out of the girl all overthe floors of the building, as you her body hung you also notice that the red colours of the walls

almost look as though blood is dripping down them. Maslin wrote “shooting on bold, very fake-

looking sets, he uses bright primary colors and stark lines to create a campy, surreal atmosphere,and his distorted camera angles and crazy lighting turn out to be much more memorable than thecarnage (1977). It seems a lost like the sets are the main characters and the characters are merlyprops that compliment them.

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Figure 2. Suspiria [Poster]

This horror filmed movie only continues to creep you out as it follows Suzy’s strange adventure into

the school and the antics that seem to happen when the teachers all met up in a secret gatheringat night. This film is so creepy in the way that many things lurk in the dark at the school making iteven more creepy as students are not meant to be around in the school at night. They are on astrict schedule to be in their rooms after supper. The perfect place to set a horror film, a teacherground in which you may only know it to be a place where you go to study during the day and aplace in which is a dead empty place at night. It continues to grab the audience as it sets youthrough this lucid dream like world that you cannot seem to figure out. All of which is set through

the night to keep you on your toes. PinHeadLarry145 explains it better when he says “Its easy to

get sucked up into the lavish architecture and atmosphere of the school as well as its myriadcharacters. You feel like a new student at school and soon the routine becomes to feel comfortable

and enthralling. Its cool to see a boarding school movie during the daytime hours and then it turnsinto a nightmarish murder mystery by nightfall. The secret murmurings and intense glares. The people moving about at night. The gossip. The secrets. The deadly history. The secret rooms and

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 chambers. Its an overwhelming experience to say the least; but a trip into Argentos abyss that

always rewards a return voyage” (2013).

Figure 3. Suspiria [poster]

Illustrations

Figure 1. Argento, D (1977) [Poster] SuspiriaURL: http://www.museyon.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/SuspiriaDarioArgento.jpg(Accessed on 10.12.13)

Figure 2. Seamans, J (Landland) (1977) [Poster] SuspiriaURL:

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&docid=kISFoGmAiUr07M&tbnid=j8SJh62A4MVKBM:&ved=0CAUQjBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fa248.e.akamai.net%2Forigin-cdn.volusion.com%2Fprakm.mcyzp%2Fv%2Fvspfiles%2Fphotos%2FDALL01-2.jpg&ei=0eqmUue0CfKd7ga5roDwAg&psig=AFQjCNGWI4heo5-0I9oHH_LM0f9MgW7Jzg&ust=1386757201224845(Accessed on 10.12.13)

Figure 3. Argento, D (1977) [Poster] SuspiriaURL: http://brattleblog.brattlefilm.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/suspiria-Technicolor.jpg

(Accessed on 10.12.13)

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 Bibliography

Gonzalez, E (2001) ‘Suspiria’ In: Slantmagazine.com  [online]

URL: http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/suspiria(Accessed on 10.12.13)

Maslin, J (1977) ‘Suspiria (1977) ‘Suspiria’ A Specialty movie Drips with Gore’ In:

TheNYTimes.come [online]URL:http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=990CEFDB1F3BE334BC4B52DFBE66838C669EDE(Accessed on 10.12.13)

PinHeadLarry145 (2013) ‘Suspiria’ In: Letterboxd.com [online]

URL: http://letterboxd.com/pinheadlarry145/film/suspiria/1/(Accessed on 10.12.13)