Suspiria

R

Released Feb 1, 1977

1h 32m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

List

94%

64 Reviews

Tomatometer

83%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Suzy (Jessica Harper) travels to Germany to attend ballet school. When she arrives, late on a stormy night, no one lets her in, and she sees Pat (Eva Axén), another student, fleeing from the school. When Pat reaches her apartment, she is murdered. The next day, Suzy is admitted to her new school, but has a difficult time settling in. She hears noises, and often feels ill. As more people die, Suzy uncovers the terrifying secret history of the place.

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Critics Consensus

The blood pours freely in Argento's classic Suspiria, a giallo horror as grandiose and glossy as it is gory.

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Christian K

Not as insane as I would of preferred for a giallo. Has the expected incredible score and vibes.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/03/24

Full Review

Enrico P

My all time fave horror movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/23/24

Full Review

Eeva V

Absolutely a great movie! I appreciate the camera angles and the lighting of the movie. It combines my two favorite things: dance and horror.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/17/24

Full Review

Greg T

Best horror movie ever made, Dario is a genius...

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/22/24

Full Review

lena s

that movie was great, and while it might not been scary, it was still so amazing and so beautiful. I love the way color was used in this movie, the soundtrack might just be one of my favorites.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/24

Full Review

Mike P

(spoilers)Brilliant and classic 70s Giallo... One of the all time horror classics...Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) is a young exchange student at a very prestigious German school for dance...The Tanz Akademie.. Which turns out to be a witch's coven... As Suzy begins to put the pieces together; that this school is really a front for demon-worshippers; who use this University as a cover for their diabolical coven related activities; which includes sacrificing and raping the female students...Suzy gradually learns her life is in danger; and she has to kill the head sorceress...Which is essentially the source of evil here...Otherwise more deaths will happen...I will echo the other reviewers here who are saying that the movie is really all about the creative kills and the spectacular effects and atmosphere...Some of the best ever for a supernatural thriller like this...Worth seeing for that alone. The story is goofy and trippy; and it's really just there for Argento to hang cool effects upon...which he does with a vengeance. There are images here you won't forget.... Argento was famous for concocting intensely violent but also beautiful and elegant kill scenes; they're as aesthetic as they are gruesome; which is a strange and wonderful combination... And even though the story is strange, you still feel the Heavy Handed presence of fear breathing down your neck the whole time while watching; it effectively freaks you out and keeps you in a state of tense suspense... So it works in spite of itself... And the iconic tubular bells type score from Goblin is just delicious... And as stated before; it's really just a brilliant masterpiece about witchcraft...Hard to think of another more terrifying witch story out there...(Besides Blair Witch Project; of which there's no comparison.. Or the VVitch; which this certainly stands toe to toe with...It would be interesting to do a Bewitched Double Feature with the two)... And it's an essential part of the Dario Argento ouvre and canon... So Anyway.. Overall: Highly recommended P.S. "Suspiria" means sighs or breathing in Italian...And English speakers also assume it has something to do with suspicion and hysteria; which is intentional...

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/05/24

Full Review

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Dario Argento

Director

Jessica Harper

Suzy Bannion

Stefania Casini

Sara

Joan Bennett

Madame Blanc

Eva Axén

Pat Hingle

Flavio Bucci

Daniel

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Alyx Vesey

Bitch Media

What makes [Suspiria] especially effective is how they use horror to make a point about educational institutions' enforcement of gender hegemony to interrogate conventional femininity.

Jan 7, 2021

Full Review

Adam Nayman

The Ringer

What lingers is not a sense of evil but exhilaration in how far Argento and his fellow filmmakers were willing to go to shock and delight; the movie's sheer exuberance is the cinematic equivalent of a blood transfusion.

Oct 5, 2018

Full Review

Christy Lemire

ChristyLemire.com

Argento accomplishes so much simply through lighting and music - which goes a long way to compensate for the stilted dialogue and awkward character interactions.

Rated: 3/4

Apr 16, 2018

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

... a stylish, surreal, downright puzzling piece of seventies Grand Guignol weirdness ...

Nov 4, 2023

Full Review

Howard Waldstein

CBR

Suspiria is abrasive, corny in all the right ways, and a blast from start to finish.

Jul 18, 2023

Full Review

Steve Warren

The Barb (Atlanta)

Suspiria is more interesting for its style that its story.

May 5, 2023

Full Review

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Synopsis

Suzy (Jessica Harper) travels to Germany to attend ballet school. When she arrives, late on a stormy night, no one lets her in, and she sees Pat (Eva Axén), another student, fleeing from the school. When Pat reaches her apartment, she is murdered. The next day, Suzy is admitted to her new school, but has a difficult time settling in. She hears noises, and often feels ill. As more people die, Suzy uncovers the terrifying secret history of the place.

Director: Dario Argento
Producer: Salvatore Argento
Screenwriter: Thomas De Quincey, Dario Argento, Daria Nicolodi
Distributor: Joseph Brenner Associates Inc. [us], Anchor Bay Entertainment, Fox Lorber
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Italian
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 1, 1977, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 13, 2017
Runtime: 1h 32m
Sound Mix: Dolby
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)