Getting a remake!

Are Italian filmmakers even anything like they were back in that era?

I know that European directors today are still fantastic in general. Swedish ones in particular are very good. I love how European directors create these films with an entirely different feel and starkness that most Hollywood films of today would not even allow. You may want to rethink dismissing Tomas Alfredson (one of those directors suggested in my list above).

I believe it could be pulled off, even if it fails at being as abstractly dreamy as the original. There is good enough material here to warrant a good film if some meticulous director takes the project seriously enough. A good set design, good pacing, good acting, good atmospheric sequences and some smooth unraveling and creep factors would be top requirements for such a remake. And that's one big checklist that is highly unlikely to be fulfilled by today's Hollywood. So let's be on the safe side and expect crap, shall we?






I'm not a control freak, I just like things my way

I think Ti West could make an extremely interesting Suspiria remake. House of the Devil and The Innkeepers have the tone of The Three Mothers Trilogy, with lashings of Polanski, all seen through a modern lens. You're next has a similar weird, off-kilter atmosphere, but with, of course, a more modern approach, so i think Adam Wingard could pull it off too.

Visually Jason Eisener has the Suspiria look down perfectly. If I didn't know better, I could believe that Luciano Tovoli was the cinematographer on Hobo With a Shotgun. Eisener does seem to focus more on black comedy than Argento did, but who knows, maybe he can turn his hand to dark, pulp horror/fantasy.

But, taking a sharp left turn, all the way through this film I couldn't help notice how much visual influence Tokyo Gore Police and Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl took from this film. Tokyo Gore Police especially. I feel like a Japanese take on suspiria could be super interesting, but i don't know if Yohshihiro Nishimura should be the one to take it on, since his last full film, Helldriver, was kind of self referential and bad. It had it's moments, sure, but it wasn't close to the intelligent masterpiece that Tokyo Gore Police was.

Although, since I mentioned the idea of a Japanese version: Sion Sono. Sion Sono has proven himself one of the most visually impressive, most versatile, and most intellectually stimulating directors working today. He can flawlessly turn his hand to anything, and I have no doubt that he could take Strange Circus' atmosphere, mix it with an amalgamation of Tokyo Tribe and Cold Fish's visuals, and make something completely incredible.

Shinya Tsukamoto would be my first choice for a Japanese version though. Every film he's ever made has been stunningly beautiful, and films like Soseiji have taken visual cues from Argento movies as a whole, while taking it in a completely unique direction.

I know the sudden turn to Japanese directors seems weird, but I think that the only way a Suspiria remake could work would be if it was a total reinterpretation of the idea. Maybe even a spiritual successor set in another boarding school, in the same universe, with a different coven of witches. Like a fourth film in the Three Mothers Trilogy (which i am aware makes the name kind of redundant), instead of a straight remake.
Kind of like what the most recent Evil Dead movie did.

Other than that I say they have two choices:
1. Give some young blood a chance to reimagine a film they love. I would love to see Jennifer Kent or Adrian Garcia Bogliano get a chance with this film. They're both incredible directors who make modern films with a real, honest, heartfelt 70s sensibility.
2. Get some incredible, established director who could never mess it up. I believe Park Chan-Wook (especially after Thirst), Neil Jordan, or Jonathan Glazer could make films that would go down in history.

There is a third choice, but you wont like it...
3. A wildcard director! It could be a masterpiece or it could be a disasterpiece! Neveldine and Taylor! Werner Herzog! David Lynch! Abel Ferrara! Get crazy with it!

Honestly, I don't care whether the Suspiria remake is bad or good. I just want whoever makes it to pour all of their heart and soul into it. I want an interesting film. I want a director who cares about what they're doing, not some paycheck director.
I don't want some average, bland, safe film that fails because it's just not very good.
If it's a failure, I hope it's a spectacular failure!