When filmmakerLuca Guadagninowas on the awards circuit last year for his masterful love storyCall Me by Your Name, there wasa lotof interest surrounding his next film, which he had already shot: a remake ofSuspiria. This new movie would be markedly different than the melancholicCall Me by Your Name, but through his career Guadagnino has proven himself to be an excitingly tactile filmmaker, bringing worlds and characters to life in phenomenally vibrant ways. So on that level, fans couldn’t wait to see what he’d do within the horror genre.
The time is almost here asSuspiriais due to have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival later this week, and in anticipation of its debut, Guadagnino has spoken a bit more about his approach to the film. Speaking withTHR, the filmmaker did not mince his words—he wants this movie to be absolutely terrifying:
“I hope that the movie comes across as a relentless experience that’s going to go deep into your skin all the way down into your spine. I want the movie to perform as the most disturbing experience you can have. The movie is about being immersed in a world of turmoil and uncompromising darkness.”
That genuinely soundsgreat. But Guadagnino says he also has quite a lot bubbling under the surface of this one:
“In a waySuspiriais about how you behave in the relationship between mother and daughter and what happens when the balance of power is swapped. Those are things that have always been part of my upbringing. I think that in every movie you try to find metaphors or take narrative devices to communicate the things that are most close to you.”
With regards to the witchcraft at the center of the film, Guadagnino also has some very interesting thoughts on his mind:
“I think a coven of witches comes with the concept of solidarity. If we take the historical sense of the termwitchcraft, from the inquisition until the enlightenment, it was about a scandal of the bond between women in a moment in time when society couldn’t accept that. So, historically, witchcraft came with the idea of coming back to the power of women, the power of the woman as a goddess, and it has been perverted by the official history and the official religions as making a bargain with the devil. The witchcraft that I’m interested in also has a lot to do with what, psychoanalytically, is called the concept of the terrible mother, which you’re able to see also in some religions, particularly in the Kali goddess.”
Some fans have noticed in the trailers that the color palatte ofSuspiriais quite muted, not only in relation toDario Argento’s original film, but also Guadagnino’s past films. The director says that he intentionally stayed away from primary colors in order to do something different, but promises their choice of colors will pop:
“I thinkSuspiriaby me is extremely rich in colors, except that we went for a different take. Dario Argento and let’s face it, Luciano Tovoli, his wonderful D.P., they decided to go for an extremely expressionistic way of decoding horror, which started from the work of Mario Bava. The way in which they made those colors — not just simple gels in front of lights, they were using velvet and they were really sculpting the light — [that] has influenced filmmakers for so long. I think everything that could have been said through that style has been said.”
Last but not least, Guadangino addressed the controversy surrounding the character played by unknown actorLutz Ebersdorf, who many believe is actressTilda Swintonin heavy makeup. Is Lutz really Tilda?
“No, no. It’s Lutz Ebersdorf. There was all this talk about Tilda playing the role and it came out of nowhere and I don’t know why.”
You’ve gotta admire the commitment to this crazy idea.
For much more onSuspiria, check out the full interview at THR. The film also starsDakota Johnson,Chloe Grace Moretz,Mia Goth, andJessica Harper.Suspiriaopens in theaters on October 26th.
