On audio and visual terms, Suspiria and Blood and Black Lace are the two best 4K DVD releases, and it’s not even close. Often categorized as giallo even though it’s a supernatural Horror with no connection to the subgenre aside from being Italian, Suspiria is truly unlike any film I have seen, which may come off as hyperbole considering how many I’ve seen. It is also unbelievably riddled with a severe case of The Dumb, to the point where defenders hide behind the excuse of “dream logic,” trying to wave away all problems in a single stroke. It is cinematically effective and when you return after the initial rush… unintentionally funny.
While giving you thrills in a way you’ve never experienced before, Dario Argento has shots and editing choices that are silly. Never mind story. Even if I accept the dream logic defense, the shock scenes keep slapping you in the brain, like pressing the first victim’s face against a window, where she makes comical expressions. And then suddenly she’s on the roof!?! Meanwhile the roommate runs through the halls in a hysterical fit like she can see what’s happening.
Or how about the razor wire scene? Dream logic can explain the existence of such a room, but the character would be looking at the danger before she blindly dives into it. Argento is only playing with the audience because he frames the shot so we cannot see the wire. The woman, however, cannot possibly miss it. And why does she choose this path? Because the killer is trying to open the door latch with a straight razor. Why can’t he lift the latch? We clearly see it wouldn’t be difficult, but instead we get endless shots of the razor playing with the latch like he’s struggling. It goes on so long even the blistering score gives up.
However, technically Argento is onto something cinematically new, and he never made another film that was so visually audacious. The set design is one of the few in cinema history that can rival Wes Anderson and his liberal use of red, blue and yellow is continually interesting. His best shot is when the lights go out for the girls to sleep and the room goes from stark white to deep red with black body silhouettes. The score by Goblin is classic, but it rarely seems to be in the same rhythm as the editing and it’s about three times louder than the dialogue.
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