"Suspiria" (1977)

Directed by Dario Argento, 1977’s Suspiria centers around a young woman who attends a ballet school in Germany. She is soon involved in a murder mystery of students at the school, that is then thought to be work of witches and witchcraft. What is interesting about the witch aspects in the film is that it isn’t mentioned, or thought of, until the third act. Other films that center around that aspect is usually a huge aspect of the story, sometimes used earlier in the story. Here. It’s used more of an afterthought that isn’t put into the character’s minds until close to the end after all of the murders happen.

Argento creates this visually interesting story with a slab of unconventionalism. Everything from the setting, which is the ballet school, to the staff there, which is the ballet teacher, the director creates this weird and cold setting that enhances the mood of the film. The later revelation that witchcraft could be a factor in the happenings in the story. The which craft isn’t exactly the usual type that most people would think of, but it’s more of a spiritual aspect where you aren’t sure if it’s actually happening. All of this helps solidify the weirdness that Argento’s Suspiria creates in his film of witches and ballet slippers.