Suspiria - overrated? (COMBINED with "Suspiria: what a dud!") (1 Viewer)

[TheLongshot]

As a story, I think its poorly paced and not terribly interesting. But as an exercise in orchestrated terror and visual splendour, its breathtaking to behold.

I think you have perfectly described the film. The plot is almost unimportant. All it is there for is to set the mood. It is the set design, colors, and the music that gets under your skin and it is very effective. It is the reason why people think it is so great. Hell, I have a hard time listening to Goblin's soundtrack and not have it affect me. Argento was really good at finding people's buttons and pushing them effectively.

Jason

 

[Reginald Trent]

OK guys, I picked up this DVD because of all the buzz here at the HTF. With high anticipations I fired up the system to view this with 7 other people that I had told this is the scarist movie of all time. Suffice to say, everyone including myself was very disappointed some even laughed at the hokey effects.

I want to know what is so scary about this movie?

 

[CameronS]

Hate to say it, but I felt the same way as Reginald.

I bought the DVD on its street date, and have been wanting to give it a second chance. If I'm still not impressed I will probably sell this 3 disc version that I have.

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

What can I say? Sometimes a masterpiece can't be appreciated by everyone.

 

[DanaA]

Well, mark me down for another who can't appreciate a masterpiece. I liked Suspera, but wasn't overwhelmed by it. I thought the mood established by the picture was excellent, but I just wasn't that scared and the acting didn't impress me as great. Nonetheless, movies are so subjective and I can easily see some people being fans of this movie. My favorite horror pictures are ones like Alien, Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, and the original The Haunting. A lot of those movies have people who can't understand what the fanaticism is all about.

 

[Damin J Toell]

I prefer Argento's Deep Red, Tenebrae, and Phenomena. Oh, and: moving to the Movies Forum.
DJ

 

[cafink]

Congrats on becoming an HTF moderator, Damin!

 

[Damin J Toell]

Congrats on becoming an HTF moderator, Damin!

Since you provided no emoticons, I'll just hope you were kidding around. If you were being serious, I'll just note that it's a common joke that gets posted often to threads placed in the wrong forums.

DJ

 

[Reginald Trent]

No need to get too technical Damin. It fits the review portion of this forum. And actually, I could have also posted this in the After Hours, Polls or Movie sections.

Jonathan quote:

What can I say? Sometimes a masterpiece can't be appreciated by everyone.

------------------------

OK, forget about what others think. Can you tell me what makes this a masterpiece in your opinion?

 

[Damin J Toell]

No need to get too technical Damin. It fits the review portion of this forum. And actually, I could have also posted this in the After Hours, Polls or Movie sections.

Well, with all due respect, it did get moved to Movies, didn't it?
DJ

 

[Brian Kissinger]

I liked the movie, but I too was a bit disappointed in it. I guess it had just been too hyped up. I've wanted to go back and give it a second try. I find watching movies again (with a different perspective) often changes my outlook on them and how much I enjoy them.

 

[rhett]

I like the film, and I think Argento is a master at stylish photography. He really knows how to setup atmosphere using colors and widescreen compositions. Other than the technical brilliance of the film, I didn't think the rest of it was all that great. The story and acting were decent, but nothing to get worked up about. I was somewhat disappointed when I first saw it, but I have since grown to respect and admire the film. It plays like a perfect nightmare, a loose story with some haunting imagery.

 

[Jason_Els]

I really liked Suspiria. I watched the scene with the man and the dog in the plaza and I just had to keep watching it because of the technique. It's a brilliant and startling piece of work.

 

[eric holm]

Make sure you give this one another try. Only this time, do it by yourself.

I had the exact same initial impression. I had some friends over to drink a few beers and watch Suspiria. What a disappointment.

All I saw was a B-grade film with a lot of colored light bulbs and a decent score. Because of the hype from this forum, I decided to give it another chance.

I figured that a group of people was not the best environment to watch this type of horror film. Lets just say that for me, I was right. Upon watching it a second time by myself, at night and sober, I found it to be good.

Still not a great movie for my tastes but something I'm happy to have seen.

 

[Jason_Els]

I think Eric is right. When it comes to horror movies it's very hard to suspend disbelief when you're watching it in a group. More so at home when you can chat with people and perhaps be more animated than you might be in a theater. Being alone, however, just cranks the believability factor.

 

[Derrik Draven]

All I can say is that The Exorcist still has no rival.
Of course, that's mho.

 

[Bill Harris]

In the voice of Comic Book Guy.."Best Score Ever"
Goblin!!

 

[GerardoHP]

"A disappointment" is how I felt about SUSPIRIA when I first saw it in '78 or thereabouts.

Then, for one reason or another, I found myself catching it again and again at on-campus screenings, on late TV and on video, and little by little the incredible power of its imagery and music started to get to me.

I don't think it's the best Argento movie or the scariest horror movie ever made. I think when people say these things about SUSPIRIA they misrepresent it and mislead others that have never seen it.

However, I think it's probably the most experimental and influential film Argento made. Much of SUSPIRIA's influence can be found in dozens of other horror films made since. One big problem for those who see it for the first time now is that this film has been copied over and over since it was made 25 years ago. When it first came out, its ellaborate style was very innovative and shocking.

I think if you don't look at it as a whole but in terms of its parts, SUSPIRIA is much easier to appreciate. Yes, the acting is hoaky and the plot makes little or no sense, but it contains some stunning and unforgettable set pieces that have seldom been staged with the same power or vision since this film was made.

 

[Andy Olivera]

From a stylistic standpoint, films don't get much better. However, it wasn't nearly as "scary" as I'd been told. What it did have is suspense, which I've come to appreciate as Dario's biggest strength. His films are better classified in the thriller genre than horror. For example, take the "counting footsteps" sequence and the revelation that they lead back into the building. The structure of his stories often leans toward mystery, with some elaborate set pieces thrown in...

 

[Mitch Stevens]

I too, had been told for years, that this was the best horror film of all time, and I too, was very disappointed with it. I didn't find it at all scary, and what ruined it for me, was the score. I'm sure I'm the only person on the planet who thought that the score was the worst score ever written for a horror movie. It was very noisy, and it didn't sound good at all (in my opinion). It didn't set the tone of the movie, and I could not concentrate on the film itself, because I couldn't stand the score. Oh well, not all films are meant for all people.

Speaking of bad film scores, my best friend and I, believe that "American Beauty" also has one of the worst scores in the history of movies, but I actually saw past the score and loved the movie. But, you'd better believe that if I had the choice to turn off the score, and watch the movie with nothing but the vocals, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Sorry to have gone off topic, just thought I'd post my opinions.