Suspiria [2018] (3 Stars)

I often say that when a film is remade it has to offer something knew while being based on the same story. The screenwriter for this film took that advice to heart, but he's pushed it too far. Yes, it has the same premise as the classic 1977 horror film. Yes, the characters have the same names. It's the same mystery that the young American woman encounters in a German dance school, but that's where the similarities end. When the mystery is finally solved at the end of the film the hidden secrets are totally different. I can't help thinking that the screenwriter, in collaboration with the director, wrote the film for fans of the original film. He wanted to shock these fans by giving them the opposite of what they expected.

It's been more than eight years since I last watched the original version of "Suspiria", but I still remember it well enough to be one of the people who was shocked.

It's not an easy film to understand. I'm not alone in that opinion. After the film I spoke briefly with the four people sitting next to me, and the consensus was "I don't get it". If anything, the final scenes and the after-credits scene – make sure you don't miss it! – made the film even more confusing. These scenes seemed from their style to be wrapping up the story, but I couldn't see how they were relevant.

The film takes place in September to October 1977. Susie Bannon is a young woman from a strict Mennonite community in Ohio. From what we're told she loves her family, but the religious atmosphere stifled her creativity, so she wanted to get as far away as possible. She's travelled to West Berlin to apply for membership in the prestigious Markos dance school. It's a risk. If she's turned down she's gone halfway across the world for nothing. However, Susie is self-confident and is certain she'll be accepted. She impresses the school's choreographer, Madame Blanc, so much that within two weeks she's given the lead role in the next performance, the presentation of a 1946 piece called "Volk".

Susie could only get this role because the school's previous lead dancer, Patricia Hingle, has suddenly disappeared. The other students think that she's left to join a terrorist cell. The film shows that this isn't true. She visits a psychotherapist, Dr. Josef Klemperer, asking him for help. He diagnoses her with acute paranoia. After a single visit she leaves her diary with him. He reads that the dance school is controlled by a coven of witches, ruled over by three ancient witches who have lived for thousands of years. He becomes fascinated by this story. He doesn't believe it, but he investigates anyway.

That's as far as I'll go with the plot. It's not just that I don't want to give away spoilers; I don't understand everything that happened. That's my reason for the relatively low rating. When I go to watch a film I at least expect to understand it. There might be unclear details that necessitate watching the film a few times, but the major plot points need to be clear. I walked out of the cinema feeling somehow empty.

One of the film's amusing features is that Tilda Swinton appears in three different roles. She looks so different that it's impossible to recognise her as the same person.

Tilda Swinton as Madame Blanc. This is the Tilda Swinton that I know and love.

Tilda Swinton as Dr. Josef Kemperer. Holy Sex Change, Batman! I honestly don't know why she was used for the role. Couldn't they have found an old man to play the doctor? Tilda even wears a fake penis in a brief nude scene. Maybe there's some subtle intention in putting the same actress into the two main roles. Maybe it's just a joke. I don't know.

I haven't found a photo of Tilda Swinton's third character that I can use. All I'll say is that she looks different to both of the above characters.

I need to watch the original film again. I'll probably watch the new version again. It was made by Amazon Studios, so I expect it to appear on Amazon Prime before too long.