Though it has essentially the exact same set up as Dario Argento's original masterpiece, this remake wisely opts for a different approach when it comes to all the details. We still have an American dancer coming to Germany in the late 70's to study ballet in a dance school that's a front for a coven of bloodthirsty witches, but everything else from the style, the performances, the gory set pieces, the tone, and the message are completely different.
The political backstory is entirely unnecessary and leads to nothing and a subplot involving a psychiatrist whose wife was killed in World War II adds a lot of heart, but can feel meandering at times and like an unwelcome houseguest every time it cuts to him when we'd much rather be learning about the shady underbelly of the dance academy and the relationships between the students and teachers.
Besides this, Suspiria is a brave and compelling re-imagining of a horror classic that takes big risks and delivers for more patient viewers expecting more than a simple retread of the original.
The political backstory is entirely unnecessary and leads to nothing and a subplot involving a psychiatrist whose wife was killed in World War II adds a lot of heart, but can feel meandering at times and like an unwelcome houseguest every time it cuts to him when we'd much rather be learning about the shady underbelly of the dance academy and the relationships between the students and teachers.
Besides this, Suspiria is a brave and compelling re-imagining of a horror classic that takes big risks and delivers for more patient viewers expecting more than a simple retread of the original.