Age of The Nerd
If there’s anything more scrutinized than a remake of a movie that was good to begin with, it’s definitely a remake of a good horror movie. The last decade has given scary movie aficionados much anxiety and concern as they’ve watched countless favorites get a fresh coat of paint with a splash of glitz while sacrificing the quality that made the originals stand out in the first place, reaching a point where the remake craze became joke fodder in the late Wes Craven’s Scream 4 when potential victim Kirby (Hayden Panettiere) is asked to name the “remake of the groundbreaking horror movie” that jump started the craze. And what does she do? She lists practically every classic in a minute, a most damning reflection of the direction the genre had gone in the hands of major studios. Untouched at that time, one of those classics considered as the genre’s holy grails is Italian maestro Dario Argento’s seminal 1977 film Suspiria, which meant the day anyone announced plans to remake it would surely to be a dark one for fans worldwide. After all, how does one try to reinterpret such a unique film?
For over a decade, talks circulated that David Gordon Green was going to do his own spin on Mr. Argento’s movie with Natalie Portman and Judi Dench in the roles originated by Jessica Harper (Phantom of the Paradise) and Joan Bennett (TV’s “Dark Shadows”); that eventually fell through and Ms. Portman immediately went on to win the Oscar for Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, another tale of psychological terror at the ballet. Mr. Green tried to get his remake off the ground again, this time with Isabelle Fuhrman and screen legend Isabelle Huppert as the leads. That version also fell through and Mr. Green would leave the world of Suspiria behind to put his touch on another horror classic, with the latest entry in the Halloween franchise coming this October (and a trailer dropping this week). Enter another famed Italian filmmaker: Luca Guadagnino, hot off the now Oscar-winning Call Me by Your Name, bestowing the leads to regulars Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton and giving the unenviable task of making a soundtrack worthy of succeeding Goblin’s iconic sound to Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, all while guaranteeing worried fans his intention is not to simply do a “remake,” but a tribute to the power of Argento while telling something “cold, evil and really dark.”
And now that the first teaser has just been unveiled, how do Mr. Argento’s phantasmagorical ideas look in the eyes and hands of the man who helped turn young Timothée Chalamet and his peach-loving ways into an overnight sensation?
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uGIEY7tdg8&w=560&h=315]In so many words: F * * KING SINISTER.
Retaining the general plot of the 1977 film, the teaser hints at the psychological effect the prestigious dance academy has on young ballerinas Susie (Ms. Johnson, who said the shoot’s intensity drove her to therapy) and Sara (Mia Goth) as things take many turns for the sinister, surreal and supernatural, thanks to the school’s malefic instructors led by Ms. Swinton. Also prominent is the sole male figure, a grieving psychotherapist played by German therapist-turned-thespian Lutz Ebersdorf (who is either Ms. Swinton in some of the best old age makeup this side of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button or this generation’s Alec Cawthorne from Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s Sleuth) investigating the disappearance of another student, Pat Hingle (Chloë Grace Moretz), and the academy’s connection to the malevolent “Three Mothers.” For those who know the original, they’ll know the character Ms. Moretz plays is key to the film’s most iconic sequence, which would go on to inspire the climax of Drew Barrymore’s murder in the original Scream.
While the visceral footage that caused quite the ruckus at CinemaCon in April isn’t present, though a glimpse of the scene is, what ultimately is, lovingly brought to life by Thai cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, evokes a genuine feeling of chilling dread thanks to its surreal imagery of haunted dancers, frightening tools of death and haunting sound work harkening back to the horror of the turbulent 70’s while opting not to replicate original cinematographer Luciano Tovoli’s iconic color palette and vibrancy. Another key to Suspiria‘s unsettling effect comes from another grand tease: Mr. Yorke’s prominently showcased score. The aspect of this film that was certain to be scrutinized even more than the film itself Mr. Yorke’s sound certainly pays homage to the aural spirit of its predecessor while, similar to Mr. Mukdeeprom and the cinematography, going in his own direction without attempting to evoke a note of Goblin’s sound.
When it comes to remakes, it’s been said the best are those that return to the basic idea and take it in new directions (David Cronenberg’s The Fly) while the worst are those that merely copy and repeat the original’s successes without any thought into improving or building on the foundation (Samuel Bayer’s A Nightmare on Elm Street). Given Mr. Guadagnino’s pedigree, as well as that of the talent both in front of and behind the camera, and what’s been seen of and heard about this iteration, it may be presumptuous, but justifiably so to say his Suspiria seems poised to join the ranks of those remakes considered to be as worthy as the originals. And in a time where good horror movies, remake or not, are needed, that’s certainly a good thing.
[quote]“As a darkness builds at the center of a world-renowned dance company, its artistic director, a young American new to the troupe, and a grieving psychotherapist become entangled in a bloody, sighing nightmare.”[/quote]Suspiria will haunt a theater near you November 2nd, 2018 courtesy of Amazon Studios.
