Suspiria Remake Trailer
Prime Video

When remake news came out about Dario Argento’s much-loved horror masterpiece Suspiria, fans – including me – were up in arms against it. A large portion of horror fandom believed that a remake of Suspiria shouldn’t even be considered, let alone actually get made. The film is a work of art, blessed with a lurid visual palette and an atmosphere akin to a nightmare. The tension winds tighter and tighter until its breathtaking climax, and age really hasn’t dulled its power. The plot is very much of its time, as is the style of direction, music, and editing, but its legend continues.

It is a byword for unsettling classic horror movies, usually mentioned among the greatest genre films ever made. The coupling of the Giallo aesthetic with supernatural horror turned the original Suspiria into a work of delirious art. The remake came in for a lot of hate even before it had shot a single frame. However, once more details started to emerge regarding the project, it is had to deny that eyebrows were raised, and some interest started to grow.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring an incredibly talented cast such as Tilda Swinton, Dakota Johnson, and Chloe Grace Moretz, it became hard to maintain the same level of disdain for it. The trailer arrived, and many fans played it with a sense of trepidation, which is understandable given the pedestal upon which the original resides.

Watching the trailer, it’s clear to see that a lot of things have been pulled off brilliantly. The composition of each shot, the surreal imagery, the pacing, the music (composed by Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, no less), it’s all looking pretty damn strong. Granted, The Phantom Menace looked like a masterpiece when the trailers came out, but the Suspiria remake does look like the core elements are there while the approach has been updated. The dizzying colours may not have translated to this version, but in the context of what is seen in the trailer, it all seems to work well together.

The remake may be better seen as a companion piece to the original rather than just a remake, so lumping it in with remakes like A Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Friday the 13th would be downright rude. In fact, Guadagnino has stated that this film is more a homage than a direct retread of the original, and I can live with that.

The question is, will everyone else? Will the film have enough of a modern audience interested? If you view the trailer with no prior knowledge of the original movie, then this one may look largely like an art house thriller rather than a supernatural horror film. Conversely, if you view it as a fan of the original, it’s hard not to go in with the expectations that it should be on par with Argento’s vision.

Will Suspiria be the film that helps to break the curse of horror remakes? Will this one feel like a real film and not just a cash grab in order to make use of the property? Will it set up remakes of Inferno and Mother of Tears? Will it have enough of an impact to bring the whole trilogy to the screen for a new generation, or will it just be another failed project that leaves audiences asking why Hollywood can’t do anything original anymore?

Fans have been pleasantly surprised by the trailer, and many are cautiously optimistic. As long as the core of the story is there and Argento’s mastery is respected by it, there may well be a chance that this is one remake that has some longevity.

1 COMMENT

  1. As a writer yourself it confuses my mind to see you mention everyone attached to this film except that of its writer. Why do not even cinephiles respect the writers of cinema? It’s as if you forget they are even there. You realize much of what will be differently and distinctively about this film would come from the mind of the writer who wrote this Suspiria 2018 script?

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