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Suspiria
— 1977 —
The very first time I watched this film I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect but in fact I ended up being quite impressed with its experimental soundtrack and visuals, as well as the overall feel of the film. It was also my first Dario Argento and obviously I wanted to see more of this madness. I checked out Tenebrae a bit later on but never got through it. The reason was simply that all of what Suspiria didn’t succeed in stood so much sharper, in a film, where colourful visuals and aggressive atmospheric soundtrack wasn’t there to save it.
And when watching Suspiria for the second time I now knew what to expect and could focus more on the different elements of the film; the ones I noticed the first time, and those that went by fairly unnoticed. The soundtrack is still something I respect, mainly because I personally want to see more films doing this, especially in the horror genre, where the soundscape perhaps isn’t listenable on its own, but actually tries to get under our skin using unfamiliar techniques and unique approaches; something that triggers an emotion or feeling in you only by using a specific combination of sounds. But unfortunately the soundtrack showed more flaws the second time around, especially because I was able to turn the volume up higher this time, and therefore I could pick out a lot things I couldn’t the last time – most of which came across rather annoying or just unprofessional. But there were defiantly points in where the soundtrack worked tremendously well, but as I said I have more respect for it than I actually enjoy it. Although as I said, you don’t really have to enjoy it, but still, the potential that it has is higher than its unbalanced and hit-or-miss execution.
The visuals wasn’t as impressive this time around either, but I still really like them, and together with the soundtrack I still think it does a great job at creating this strange and gloomy atmosphere that lifts the film from being a truly boring watch. The story is okay I guess, but you don’t have to be a movie expert to point out the clear flaws of this movie. The acting is pretty bad, especially combined with some of the stupid characters that are being portrayed, the directing isn’t always on point and the low-budget feel is quite strong. If that is part of sub-genre I get it, but well, I’m not exactly a fan. Basically it is a very mixed bag of feelings that I have towards this one. Some elements I like, some I just respect, others I kind of hate, and a few I find downright annoying. But I understand its cult status and I could probably find myself watching it again at some point.
+
Suspiria
— 1977 —
The very first time I watched this film I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect but in fact I ended up being quite impressed with its experimental soundtrack and visuals, as well as the overall feel of the film. It was also my first Dario Argento and obviously I wanted to see more of this madness. I checked out Tenebrae a bit later on but never got through it. The reason was simply that all of what Suspiria didn’t succeed in stood so much sharper, in a film, where colourful visuals and aggressive atmospheric soundtrack wasn’t there to save it.
And when watching Suspiria for the second time I now knew what to expect and could focus more on the different elements of the film; the ones I noticed the first time, and those that went by fairly unnoticed. The soundtrack is still something I respect, mainly because I personally want to see more films doing this, especially in the horror genre, where the soundscape perhaps isn’t listenable on its own, but actually tries to get under our skin using unfamiliar techniques and unique approaches; something that triggers an emotion or feeling in you only by using a specific combination of sounds. But unfortunately the soundtrack showed more flaws the second time around, especially because I was able to turn the volume up higher this time, and therefore I could pick out a lot things I couldn’t the last time – most of which came across rather annoying or just unprofessional. But there were defiantly points in where the soundtrack worked tremendously well, but as I said I have more respect for it than I actually enjoy it. Although as I said, you don’t really have to enjoy it, but still, the potential that it has is higher than its unbalanced and hit-or-miss execution.
The visuals wasn’t as impressive this time around either, but I still really like them, and together with the soundtrack I still think it does a great job at creating this strange and gloomy atmosphere that lifts the film from being a truly boring watch. The story is okay I guess, but you don’t have to be a movie expert to point out the clear flaws of this movie. The acting is pretty bad, especially combined with some of the stupid characters that are being portrayed, the directing isn’t always on point and the low-budget feel is quite strong. If that is part of sub-genre I get it, but well, I’m not exactly a fan. Basically it is a very mixed bag of feelings that I have towards this one. Some elements I like, some I just respect, others I kind of hate, and a few I find downright annoying. But I understand its cult status and I could probably find myself watching it again at some point.
+