MovieChat Forums > Suspiria (1977) Discussion > Suspiria: Overrated, Boring, Annoying

Suspiria: Overrated, Boring, Annoying

posted 15 years ago by jadedalex
109 replies | jump to latest

This was the last film I saw at a REAL movie house, the great old Norwest theatre in Detroit. I picked up the VHS copy years later, and found it tough viewing.

How this film achieved cult status, or even been considered one of the best horror films is beyond me.

The movie is very slow going. Jessica Harper is cute, but to me, a bit lightweight and funny-looking for a female lead.

I tried to watch this movie a third time and couldn't make it. The main culprits? First, the aforementioned slow story line. And the idiotic, electronic soundtrack, by those masters of the genre, the Goblins, is exceedingly annoying.

It's not scary music. It's not even music. It's just moronic.

I prefer to remember Joan Bennett as the beautiful film-noir actress that she was in the forties. I prefer to remember Alida Valli as the sad girlfriend of Harry Lime in 'The Third Man'.

I understand that Argento is regarded highly in some circles. But this movie is to me a text book example of how NOT to make a horror movie. Then again, my taste runs to classics like "The Old Dark House" (the original, of course).

In short, I wasn't scared by any of the witchy proceedings at the dance school for girls.

Two thumbs down, and a bash on the heads of all of 'The Goblins' with a moog synthesizer.

Tom Tom
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[–] mustaffa9996 12 years ago

Just finished watching it. What a load of BS!. Boring and not at all horror!. I am EXTREMELY surprised to see 7 stars for this.

Pathetic, pathetic movie!.

[–] xfastfurious15 11 years ago

i gave it a 5 out of 10, and i was being generous.

If you like it, you like it. I though am with the people saying this movie was bad. The acting was bad, the voice dubbing was horrible, the music was annoying and i don't know if it was the 70s style of film-making but every little scene seemed to stretch out FOREVER. Like when the blind guy is walking home OR when the bat flies into the main character's room. Especially the bat scene.

Honestly i almost fell asleep.

"I bet your wondering what a place like this is doing in a girl like me" -The Mummy

[–] tsheridan94 12 years ago

I have to say, I completely disagree with every facet of this statement. But other points have already been debated to death, such as the quality of Goblin's score.

However, I will say this: I can't really say it scared me, because I haven't been truly scared by a film for a long while, since I first the Shining six or seven years back. However, Suspiria managed to unsettle me in a way that no other film (including Kubrick's horror masterpiece) has been able to. From the opening double murder, this movie isn't so much a typical film as a canvas across which Argento paints his surrealist vision. However, the high point of the movie, and one of my favorite horror moments ever set to film, is Sara's death. From the opening moments, when the camera peers through a light-bulb before it is extinguished, and replaced by haunting nightmarish colors, I felt that Suspiria went from being a good movie to one of the all time greats, an idea further backed up by the red light dancing through the door, contrasting the green interior, and, later, during her frenzied rush through the halls into a room bathed in a deep blue, with a window placed high out of reach along the wall, through which a thick, oppressive yellow light streams, it's simply one of the creepiest moments I've ever experienced.

[–] jmbwithcats 12 years ago

I thought it was okay but yes, it's incredibly overrated. The script is paper thin, the ending exceedingly anti-climactic, and it has little going for it except some nice camera angles, overall it was a pretty dull story, much ado about nothing.

There are no deep themes, or character development or emotional intensity, or even anything to keep you thinking... it's just a rather mediocre film with some nice camera work.

6/10

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[–] tommary1962-398-415647 12 years ago

I could not agree more. Argento is the Ed Wood of Italian films - easily the worst director in the last fifty years. This is surely the most tedious, drawn out, non scary film I've ever seen. I am shocked to find it has more than a passing nod from people. No accounting for bad taste...

[–] sduck 12 years ago

I love how people hold back and try so hard to be respectable to these cult classics. I'll put it blunt and honest. This movie is absolute trash and just another overrated piece of *beep* horror movie on an endless market.

[–] michahardy 12 years ago

I really enjoyed it! I think its because I have never seen a horror movie like Suspiria in my life. The music and atmosphere of the movie really creeped me out and I think maybe that's what kept me from getting bored. Not the guys singing that weird goblin tune, but that woman wailing and the instrumentals.

I like slow build ups in movies so the pacing was not an issue for me, it made everything more...erm suspenseful. I really had no idea how things were going to pan out since I had never read much about it, so I kept expecting something bad to happen at any moment. It was fun and I liked it but I did not love it.

I will have to check out that movie you mentioned, I have never come across the title before.

[–] atomicstuffing 12 years ago

The "horror" sequences are brilliant. Beautifully staged and unforgettable. Too bad everything in between is so simplistic -- which is why people find some parts a chore to sit through.

I get a feeling Argento put more thought into the deaths (and succeeded), but could've made the plot more mysterious and layered rather than scenes where we simply wait for the next death.

[–] robbytara 11 years ago

I agree also, it was boring, not scary or creepy at all to me at least. The soundtrack and odd lighting colors were a distraction. I watched the unrated version (orig. X rated) and other than the minor mutilation scenes, it could have been rated PG-13.

[–] JudgeX 12 years ago

I agree, mostly. It is too slow for what it is, and it really is only a 6/10 at best.

I mean, it's great to appreciate it as a classic, and, watching it when it first came out in theaters? This could have been wonderful... but it has not aged well.

Still well above average in overall quality, and definitely good if you're looking for more of a "Creepy" than a "scary"... but, it is a little overrated.

[–] SlickySlixta 11 years ago

I agree, I saw this expecting it to be a good film after reading good things about it but I thought it was horrendous and boring.