Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		3.0

Suspiria 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 1, 2024

Luca Guadagnino's "Suspiria" (2018) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Imprint Films. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critic Miranda Corcoran; new program with editor Walter Fasano; new program with film historian Davide Pulici; making of featurettes; archival cast and crew interviews; trailers; and more. In English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Had this awful film been made by a big Hollywood director, it would have been extremely easy to explain it. The Hollywood director, almost certainly a young American director, would have failed to grasp what is and is not important in its narrative, and then just as effectively mismanaged the tone and atmosphere that should have made it appealing. So, the final result, which again is absolutely awful, would have made perfect sense. But the film was directed by Luca Guadagnino, an Italian in his fifties, who is undoubtedly familiar with Dario Argento’s cult film and, just as importantly, must have seen it theatrically. In other words, there are plenty of good reasons to expect a contemporary remake of Suspiria, which is what Guadagnino was hired to deliver, to be at least a decent film.

Oddly, Guadagnino’s film is even worse than the contemporary remakes American directors tend to produce. It is a strikingly disorganized, almost suspiciously bloated film that routinely looks and feels like an old-fashioned vanity project. So, the obvious question to ask is: why did Guadagnino fail so convincingly?

There are multiple problems with this film.

Guadagnino returns to Germany, sometime during the 1970s, but this time the playground where all the drama unfolds is a gloomy, violent West Berlin. In an unspecified corner of the city, the young Ohioan Susie (Dakota Johnson) is accepted at a famous dancing academy where Helena Markos (Tilda Swinton), a strict, often openly abusive perfectionist, begins preparing her to fit into a large troupe. However, as Susie quickly settles down and starts interacting with the other dancers, a tragedy rocks the academy, exposing dark secrets that draw her into a deep, dangerous rabbit hole. But instead of immediately pulling out, Susie confronts the evil hiding at the bottom of it.

A third of the film features repetitive, utterly meaningless, often unbearably pretentious material that is impossible to associate with Argento, which is a big problem. For example, Johnson and several other dancers keep rehearsing different acts and taking directions from Swinton, who tries and repeatedly fails to appear knowledgeable and ominous. Dreadful politics routinely slice the narrative as well. For example, a dancer is linked to the notorious far-left terrorist group Baader-Meinhof, which is described as a unit “hunting fascists”. During the 1970s and 1980s, Baader-Meinhof committed some of the most heinous terrorist acts in Europe. Its grand masterpiece was the massacre of the eleven Israeli athletes at the Summer Olympics in Munich, which was a joint project with Black September, a militant Palestinian group. Elsewhere in the film, it is casually declared that the Church is like the Reich, too. This is a terrible bending of history, regardless of the context in which it is placed, that only damages the already very shaky integrity of the film.

The biggest and most consequential problem is the wrong atmosphere that flourishes in the film. While it is not surprising that it cannot match the one from Argento’s film, which is brilliant and its greatest strength, its glaring inability to blend the real and the surreal makes all developments leading to the finale appear badly staged. What exactly is different here? A lot. Argento’s film is like a surrealist painting that has come alive, while this film looks bland and dull. Argento’s film is a masterclass in creative color and sound utilization, while this film’s bag of tricks produces only a few dull camera moves and predictable graphic visuals. Everything that happens in Argento’s film works to reveal a bold cinematic concept of a psychedelic nightmare, while this film is simply a collection of sequences with the occasional gotcha moment.

Jessica Harper has a tiny part in this film too, but the cast is incredibly underwhelming. Argento’s film had such greats as Alida Valli, Joan Bennett, Udo Kier, and Renato Scarpa. The original soundtrack, which is undoubtedly the film's greatest strength, was created by Thom Yorke, who is the vocalist of the British rock band Radiohead.

Suspiria 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Imprint Films' release of Suspiria is 4K Blu-ray/2 Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray and the two Blu-ray discs are Region-Free.

Please note that some of the screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

Screencaptures #1-17 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #25-36 are from the 4K Blu-ray.

I viewed the entire film in native 4K and then spent some time with the 1080p presentation on the Blu-ray. I have to say that there is a substantial gap in quality between the two presentation. The native 4K presentation does not just boast better delineation, clarity, and depth. In many areas, it reveals better ranges of colors that produce visuals with a superior dynamic range. While the HDR grade is undoubtedly responsible for some of the improvements, it feels like different grading work was done, too. Needless to say, I was very surprised because this is the type of difference that usually emerges when a proper new 4K master is created for a film that has been available on DVD or Blu-ray for years and both releases were sourced from the same ancient master. Also, the native 4K presentation boasts outstanding fluidity, so the entire film looks even more impressive on a larger screen. This being said, on both presentations the film retains a strong digital appearance, which I did not find convincing at all, but this is just an observation because for a while I kept comparing it to Dario Argento's cult film. All in all, the native 4K presentation is unquestionably the better option to view the film at home.

Suspiria 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three standard audio tracks on this release: English Dolby Atmos, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and English LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. (Also, there are English subtitles for the few exchanges in German).

I viewed the entire film with the Dolby Atmos track and found it to be outstanding. Of course, the quality of the audio did not surprise me at all because Suspiria most likely has an all-digital soundtrack that was carefully tuned up to impress as best as possible. The Dolby Atmos track should be replicating perfectly all native quality of this soundtrack. I did not encounter any technical anomalies to report.

Suspiria 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Miranda Corcoran.

• Trailer - presented here is an original theatrical trailer for Suspiria. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Teaser - presented here is an original teaser trailer for Suspiria. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

BLU-RAY DISC ONE

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Miranda Corcoran.

• The Making of Suspiria - a short promotional featurette in which Luca Guadagnino and several cast members address the production of Suspiria. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Suspiria: The Secret Language of Dance - a short promotional featurette with choreographer Damien Jalet and several cast members addressng the dancing seen in Suspiria. In English, not subtitled. (5 min).

• The Look - in this featurette, production designer Inbal Weinberg discusses the visual style of Suspiria In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• The Transformations of Suspiria - in this featurette, prosthetics artists Mark Coulier discusses his contribution to Suspiria and some of the more disturbing costumes that were used in it. In English, not subtitled. (5 min).

• Trailer - presented here is an original theatrical trailer for Suspiria. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Teaser - presented here is an original teaser trailer for Suspiria. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

BLU-RAY DISC TWO

• Cuts - in this exclusive new program, editor Walter Fasano discusses his friendship with Luca Guadagnino and their collaboration on the remake of Suspiria. There are some particularly interesting comments about the evolving nature of the remake, which was apparently in progress for quite some time, as well as the music that was commissioned for it. In Italian, with English subtitles. (41 min).

• Of Witches, Mothers and Death - in this exclusive new program, Italian film historian Davide Pulici revisits Dario Argento's cult film and discusses Luca Guadagnino's remake. Pulici also addresses some popular myths about witches and how some details from them are represented in both films. In Italian, with English subtitles. (31 min).

• Suspiria's Three Fathers: Argento, Fassbinder, Guadagnino - this exclusive new video essay was created by critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas. In English, not subtitled. (15 min).

• Thom Yorke's Spells: The Music of Suspiria - this exclusive new video essay was created by critic Phillip Jeffries. In English, not subtitled. (19 min).

• Dakota Johnson - in this program, Dakota Johnson recalls her initial impressions of the complete, color corrected cut of Suspiria and discusses her experience of working with Luca Guadagnino. In English, not subtitled. (9 min).

• Mia Goth - in this program, Mia Goth discusses the character she plays and shares her thoughts on Suspiria. In English, not subtitled. (5 min).

• Chloe Grace Moretz - in this program, Chloe Grace Moretz discusses the character she plays and recalls what it was like to interact and work with Luca Guadagnino. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• Jessica Harper - in this program, Jessica Harper reveals how excited she is to have been asked to be in another Suspiria film and discusses her contribution to it. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Luca Guadagnino and Tilda Swinton - in this program, Luca Guadagnino and Tilda Swinton disucss their friendship and collaboration on Suspiria. In English, not subtitled. (10 min).

• Thom Yorke - in this program, Tom Yorke explains why he decided to score Suspiria and discusses the what the process of writing the music for it was like. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• BAFTA Guru Masterclass with Luca Guardagnino - in this program, Luca Guardagnino discusses his background, career, and working methods. In English, not subtitled. (78 min).

• Luca Guardagnino and Cast - presented here is a filmed Oscar award conversation with Luca Guardagnino and the cast of Suspiria. In English, not subtitled. (11 min).

ADDITIONAL CONTENT

• Cards - seven high-quality collectible cards.

Suspiria 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

American directors do not have a monopoly on bad remakes, they have just made more of these films, and they are easier to see. Luca Guadagnino's remake of Dario Argento's cult film provides seemingly endless evidence that supports the validity of this statement. In fact, it is so unconvincing, it probably should not be described as a remake. Its only redeeming quality is Thom Yorke's soundtrack, which successfully pays tribute to Goblin's deeply atmospheric soundtrack from the original film. Imprint Films' combo pack offers an outstanding 4K presentation of Guadagnino's film with a big selection of exclusive new and archival bonus features.