Suspiria movie storyline. Amid a violent and unequalled tempest, the ambitious American ballet student, Suzy Bannion, arrives in the dead of night at Freiburg’s distinguished Dance Academy, against the backdrop of another young student’s atrocious murder. Forced to remain at school after a sudden fainting spell, Suzy will gradually begin to suspect that the unremitting attacks on the institute’s unsuspecting members and the seemingly endless string of ominous incidents, concur with the disquieting and insidious rumours of witchcraft. Is the renowned academy, indeed, a covert nest of vipers?
Suspiria is a 1977 Italian supernatural horror film directed by Dario Argento, who co-wrote the screenplay with Daria Nicolodi partially based on Thomas De Quincey’s 1845 essay Suspiria de Profundis. The film stars Jessica Harper as an American ballet student who transfers to a prestigious dance academy in Germany but realizes, after a series of brutal murders, that the academy is a front for a supernatural conspiracy. It also features Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bosé, Alida Valli, Udo Kier and Joan Bennett, in her final film role.
The film is the first of the trilogy Argento refers to as The Three Mothers, which also comprises Inferno (1980) and The Mother of Tears (2007). Suspiria has become one of Argento’s most successful feature films, receiving critical acclaim for its visual and stylistic flair, use of vibrant colors and its score by Argento and the progressive rock band Goblin.
Suspiria was nominated for two Saturn Awards: Best Supporting Actress for Bennett in 1978, and Best DVD Classic Film Release, in 2002. It has become a cult classic, and is recognised as an influential film in the horror genre. It served as the inspiration for a 2018 film of the same title, directed by Luca Guadagnino.
uh4>About the Story
One stormy night, Suzy Bannion, a young American ballet student, arrives during a torrential downpour to study at the co-ed Freiburg Dance Academy, a prestigious dance school. Upon arrival, she encounters another student named Patricia fleeing in terror. Suzy is refused entry to the school, forcing her to stay at a motel in town until the next morning.
Meanwhile, Patricia takes refuge at a friend’s apartment in town; she reveals something sinister is going on at the school, before locking herself in the bathroom. She is soon ambushed by an unseen assailant, who manages to drag her up to the roof of the apartment building. A horrifically slain Patricia is then hanged and thrown through the building’s aperture, as her friend attempts to alert other tenants to the murder, only to be impaled and killed by falling debris.
The following morning, Suzy arrives back at the school, where she meets Miss Tanner, one of the head instructors, as well as Madame Blanc, the school’s deputy headmistress. Tanner introduces Suzy to her roommate, Olga, as well as Sara. Some time later, Suzy has an unsettling encounter with one of the school’s matrons and Blanc’s nephew, Albert, before losing consciousness during a dance class. She later discovers from Blanc that Olga has thrown her out of her apartment, forcing her to stay at the school.
However, she discovers that Sara is in a neighboring room and the girls become friends. One night, while the students are preparing for supper, maggots suddenly begin to rain down from the ceiling, seemingly caused by rotten food in the attic. The students are sequestered in one of the dance studios to sleep; during the night, an unseen woman enters the room to lie down on one of the cots; Sara becomes frightened by her hoarse and unnatural breathing.
Some time later, the school’s blind pianist Daniel is suddenly fired by Miss Tanner, when it is discovered that his German Shepherd bit Albert. That same night, Daniel is stalked by an unseen force while walking through a plaza, before his dog turns on him and rips his throat out. Meanwhile, at the school, Sara reveals to Suzy that she was the one on the intercom the night Patricia was murdered. She also tells Suzy that Patricia was behaving strangely before her murder and that she had written down notes that have since gone missing.
Suddenly, Suzy loses consciousness, and Sara is forced to flee when an unseen assailant enters the room. The assailant pursues Sara through the school, cornering her in the attic. She manages to lock herself in a room, climbing through a small window into another room. However, as she moves to escape, she becomes entangled in a pit of razor wire. Sara’s pursuer enters and slashes her throat, killing her.
The following morning, Suzy questions Tanner about Sara’s disappearance, who reveals that Sara has run away. Suspicious, Suzy contacts Sara’s friend and former psychiatrist, Frank Mandel; he reveals that the school was established by a Greek emigre named Helena Markos, who was allegedly thought to have been a witch. Suzy also converses with Professor Milius, a professor of the occult.
He reveals that a coven of witches can only survive with the power of their leader, a true witch whom they draw their power from. Suzy returns to the school, but discovers everyone gone, having left to see the Bolshoi Ballet. She disposes of her food and drink, before following the noise of footsteps to Blanc’s office. Remembering the words “secret” and “iris” from the night Patricia was murdered, Suzy is able to discover a hidden door, activated by turning the blue iris on a mural in Blanc’s office.
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Suspiria (1977)
Directed by: Dario Argento
Starring: Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bosé, Barbara Magnolfi, Susanna Javicoli, Eva Axén, Alida Valli, Rudolf Schündler, Udo Kier, Joan Bennett, Margherita Horowitz
Screenplay by: Dario Argento, Daria Nicolodi
Production Design by: Giuseppe Bassan
Cinematography by: Luciano Tovoli
Film Editing by: Franco Fraticelli
Costume Design by: Pierangelo Cicoletti
Music by: Dario Argento
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox International Classics
Release Date: August 12, 1977 (United States), February 1, 1977 (Italy)
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