and had the same reaction.

It's possible that you have to watch it on acid to get the full effect.

It's simply not your taste. That's not a bad thing, of course. It also suggests you should probably avoid all the so-called 'Giallo' Italian horror films, since Suspiria is pretty much the apex of that genre.

you've seen them all, at least the ones I saw - Deep Red, Suspiria and The Bird with Crystal Plumage. The all have a "now you see it, now you don't" scene that is just memorable enough that when they go back to it later you go "ah". Those are the only ones I saw. Are they all that way?

I want to underscore that I really did watch it with an open mind, rather than going in with a "this will probably suck" attitude. But when it was done I wondered why I'd never seen it on MST3K.

But then I checked the Wiki page and was stunned to learn that it's so highly regarded. I felt like I'd missed a punchline or something.


Suffice it to say that the film's charms are lost on me, though I recognize that I'm a tiny minority in this regard.

is there have been four decades of filmmakers that have drawn from Argento, and those inspired by him, and those inspired by them, etc., so that anything that was new, daring, and inventive back in 1977 has been filtered into the movie-watchers expectations of horror, and thus seems stale and hackneyed.

Also I just noticed (remembered?) that Suspiria came out in 1977, whereas I would have guessed '83 or '84, by which time such visuals were laughably commonplace.

http://www.imdb.com/list/ls058009211/

in which he simply gave a list (as an Appendix) of what his favorites were. Thus, it became legendary when it deserved to be forgotten, really. His taste in arts is as bad as his contemporary books.

I DO like other Dario Argento films, such as Deep Red.

It's half autobiography and half advice on becoming a writer, finding your style, etc.

And I've read some of his other books, and The Shining is one of my all-time favorites, but weirdly, I find his recommendations (books and films) to be unreliable. Who knows.

Cheers.

I think I was about 12 years old and living in North Philly when Suspiria first came out. I was kinda blown away by it. The first 20 minutes or so was like sensory overload for me with all that nonstop music, bold colors and patterns--and then the violence. But even back then I still preferred the beginning and the end of the movie. Thought it definitely dragged in the middle. Overall I'm not really a fan of Argento at all but Suspiria left an impression.