In Argento’s original, the dance school almost seemed like a prop set, nothing more than a place to provide Argento with interesting visuals and, uh, leotards. In Guadagnino’s remake, dancing became the central method by which the witches were witches. In the film’s most memorable scene, Swinton’s character pinches Susie’s hands and feet, casting a sort of spell over her body. When Susie begins to dance, a woman on the floor below her is terrifying and supernaturally manipulated by her movements. The victim’s body, unprepared for the dance, contorts, twists, breaks and cracks. It is a painful and horrible way to die, killed by the terpsichorean muse. Suddenly it makes sense that witches run a ballet academy. Dance is the best way to evoke demonic power. The dance becomes pagan, threatening and terrifying.
In a new twist, Guadangino’s “Suspiria” follows a character named Dr. Josef Klemperer (Lutz Ebersdorf, actually Tilda Swinton again), the psychologist of Sara (Mia Goth), a fellow dancer at the Academy. Sara tells Dr. Klemperer that her school is controlled by witches, prompting him to investigate any wrongdoing. Dr. Klemperer discovers the complete identity of the clan, but actually discovers something more personal: the fate of his wife, who died during the Holocaust. He too is a survivor and is wracked by survivor’s guilt, feeling that he has not done enough to stem the tide of fascism. It is a symbol of Germany’s continuing awareness of its wartime past and its direct link to the unrest of 1977. Not to mention that the current unrest seems to allow evil to resurface under the noses of German citizens.
Evil, says the new “Suspiria,” is an active choice, and we can fight it, or allow ourselves to be drawn into its grotesquerie. We can gain power, but it is of no use if we do not use it properly. And that’s what the short story “Suspiria” really examines: the uses and misuses of political power. It can be used for good and evil, or a mixture of both, but when misused it leaves cultural scars.
