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Suspiria (2018) N
Suzie, a girl from Ohio, comes to prestigious dancing school in Berlin. It just happens that the school is run by a coven of witches.
Back when this remake was announced I was very skeptical. After the release the reviews have been mostly positive though and my expectations have risen considerably. Unfortunately the film itself couldn't match my hopes and I ended up being very disappointed.
Lets start with the good stuff. Luca Guadagnino did at least one correct decision as he didn't try to replicate Dario Argento's style but made his Suspiria completely different kind of film. Other than that there's very little good; wintry Berlin looks nice, film is clearly made with R-rating in mind and there are few good looking shots.
My greatest issue with Suspiria is its length or more precisely the fact that at least an hour of it is completely meaningless fluff. Dr. Klemperer should have been written off the film completely for that alone would make the pacing far more bearable. Also despite of repeated news reports of contemporary political events the film failed to connect itself to any of that tension - the story wouldn't be affected at all if you'd cut those out of the script.
Acting is mostly fine but the decision to cast Tilda Swinton as a man was an obvious failure and Dakota Johnson just failed to bring her character to life at the end of the film. Visually the film is very grey and I think the outdoor shots work fine but inside the school everything looks just bland. Soundtrack is decent but the folk(?) songs don't fit at all.
I don't get all the positive reviews. Argento's original is a unique gem but the remake just drags on forever. And no, I don't trash this because it's not the original but because I think it's a bad film on its own.
Suzie, a girl from Ohio, comes to prestigious dancing school in Berlin. It just happens that the school is run by a coven of witches.
Back when this remake was announced I was very skeptical. After the release the reviews have been mostly positive though and my expectations have risen considerably. Unfortunately the film itself couldn't match my hopes and I ended up being very disappointed.
Lets start with the good stuff. Luca Guadagnino did at least one correct decision as he didn't try to replicate Dario Argento's style but made his Suspiria completely different kind of film. Other than that there's very little good; wintry Berlin looks nice, film is clearly made with R-rating in mind and there are few good looking shots.
My greatest issue with Suspiria is its length or more precisely the fact that at least an hour of it is completely meaningless fluff. Dr. Klemperer should have been written off the film completely for that alone would make the pacing far more bearable. Also despite of repeated news reports of contemporary political events the film failed to connect itself to any of that tension - the story wouldn't be affected at all if you'd cut those out of the script.
Acting is mostly fine but the decision to cast Tilda Swinton as a man was an obvious failure and Dakota Johnson just failed to bring her character to life at the end of the film. Visually the film is very grey and I think the outdoor shots work fine but inside the school everything looks just bland. Soundtrack is decent but the folk(?) songs don't fit at all.
I don't get all the positive reviews. Argento's original is a unique gem but the remake just drags on forever. And no, I don't trash this because it's not the original but because I think it's a bad film on its own.