Those who dismiss horror as a schlocky genre with no merit would do well to look out for the forthcoming remake of Suspiria.
The 1977 tale of an unsuspecting dancer drawn into a supernatural conspiracy at a mysterious ballet academy became a cult classic, and this reimagining certainly has pedigree.
Taking over the reigns from original director Dario Argento is fellow Italian Luca Guadagnino, better-known for the critically-lauded and decidedly un-horrifying Call Me By Your Name. He has his A Bigger Splash stars Tilda Swinton and Dakota Johnson on board as well as Chloe Grace Moretz, and the star of the original, Jessica Harper.
Italian director Luca Guadagnino appears to pull no punches in the brutal remake. Photo / YouTube
It would appear that Guadagnino pulls no punches. When first footage was aired at CinemaCon in April, audience reactions were visceral, with many finding scenes of a ballet dancer being ripped apart difficult to watch.
Johnson has apparently been in ballet training for Suspiria since 2015, and told Elle magazine that the shoot, which was in an abandoned hotel on top of a mountain, "f----- me up so much that I had to go to therapy".
Whereas the original featured music by prog-rock band Goblin, Guadagnino has drafted in none other than Radiohead's Thom Yorke to create the remake's nerve-jangling score. (Argento forced his actresses to listen to the score on-set in order to keep them on edge.)
Guadagnino has drafted in Radiohead's Thom Yorke to create the remake's nerve-jangling score. Photo / YouTube
Meanwhile, Swinton has apparently been having fun in the prosthetics department again and appears to transform from a strict ballet mistress to an old man. Or it could be her co-star Lutz Ebersdorf, a German psychoanalyst who Guadagnino has drafted in to play Dr Josef Klemperer, a German psychoanalyst. Or is Ebersdorf an elaborate double bluff? As in the film itself, conspiracy theories abound.
The Amazon Studios production is set for a US release on November 2, 2018.
