Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
An American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.
Suspiria is one of cinema's great sensory experiences — Argento and Luciano Tovoli's lurid, supersaturated Technicolor-style cinematography is genuinely singular, a painterly assault of primary reds and blues that remains unmistakable and unrepeatable. The Goblin score amplifies the film into pure audio-visual art. Novelty is unambiguously high: no horror film sounds or looks quite like this. However, the plot is tissue-thin and largely functional, existing mainly to string setpieces together, and the acting is variable at best, with dubbing and stilted performances throughout. The ending is atmospheric and satisfying enough but somewhat abrupt. Cinematography and Novelty are its towering strengths; narrative craft is where it concedes ground.