It's difficult to know quite what to make of SUSPIRIA, a film that meanders all over the place as it tries to emulate Hitchcock's skill at creating suspenseful situations. Trouble is, the whole thing is over-egged. A relentlessly monotonous six-note musical soundtrack by The Goblins, plus unremitting screaming from various females, might well give some the creeps, but in between, there are longeurs of endless creeping down corridors, the usual lights suddenly failing in frequent thunderstorms, and of course the majority of exterior scenes are accompanied by torrential downpours of rain. A few set pieces are well done, (for those who have a taste for gruesome mutilations), and it must be said that Jessica Harper acquits herself well as the American student forever glancing around to see what mischief is likely to befall next, but poor Joan Bennett I'm afraid comes across as a role-model for Divine, and Alida Valli seems to think she's really on the set of ILSA, SHE-WOLF OF THE S. S. I don't know if it was intentional, or if it was meant to be read the way I read it, but in the final shot as the Academy is consumed by flames and Jessica Harper walks away to safety, a smile of deepest satisfaction appears on her face which at the same time also seems to be a smirk of profound relief that at last it's all over. I felt much the same way.
Review of Suspiria
