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The film is a nightmare. The good kind of nightmare, the one where you're breathing increases and there seems to be no escape. The kind of nightmare where you wake up and you need several minutes to catch your breath. I may be slightly embellishing, but there are moments that catch you off guard. The film works quite well at establishing tempo and uses its handheld camera very efficiently from start to finish. I have not had an opportunity to see the American remake Quarantine. However, I can only speculate that the spirit of the original is painfully lost.

 To some, the beginning of the film may seem like a lost cause. There are moments that can feel meaningless. However, the viewer's emotions are being played with in order to satisfy the director's vision. The opening sequence of viewing the Firehouse and meeting the staff is not integral in the plot. However, it does allow the viewer to identify with the female lead. Her performance is good and believable. Lately, some of the more recent horror efforts out there, the acting seems to be less of a focal point. This is not the case with this film. Viewers actually care about the characters, even if they are only on the screen for a little over 70 minutes. The directors establish this with the profound use of the handheld camera.

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Dario Argento’s film Suspiria is a pillar in the horror film genre.   Argento has crafted an aesthetically disturbing film with his use of color and violence.  What separates Argento’s body of work from other directors is his disregard for the normal conventions of narrative cinema.  By constantly disorienting the audience with unmotivated long shots and graphic violence, Argento never lets the viewer get comfortable. 

The violence that Argento uses frequently in his career makes his films stand out.  In Suspiria, the score during the credits exemplifies the agitation that the viewer will endure throughout the film. This is why Argento comes back to the score over and over again.  After the first murder, the audience is now cognizant of the brutality that Argento is famous for. In the book Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento Maitland McDonagh discusses Argento’s infatuation with violence: “Argento murders and maims and splatters blood with abstract abandon, reveling in the mayhem with glorious unselfconsciousness; he is a hedonist who finds his pleasures in unacceptable places and has no compunction about letting everyone in on the fun.” What McDonagh is establishing is Argento’s awareness of the violence in his films and even though it may be construed as a crutch in the over used sense, Argento could care less. In Suspiria, each incident of violence plays an essential role in Argento’s vision.  An example of this is when Sarah (Stefania Casini) is being chased throughout the dance studio and the audience gets an opportunity to see all of the lush colors and skewed camera angles that Argento uses. Once Sara has served her purpose, Argento disposes of her with a graphic zoom in of a throat being gouged open.  Most directors would cut away; however, Argento zooms in and disrupts the viewer with the grotesque image.  In all of Dario Argento’s works, the constant reoccurring trait is violence.

What is it that makes us cheer for the bad guy sometimes? Is because the villain is often the most interesting character, such as Hannibal Lecter in anything they place him in? If so, can one construct this likeability? Rob Zombie is certainly making great efforts to make his “devil’s rejects” a super team of depraved serial killers who are also marketable enough to become action figures in the real world. If this is all true so far, then to what lengths of depravity should we allow our villains to go?