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3 reasons why this will not work

posted 12 years ago by Zeego
21 replies | jump to latest

Here are my 3 reasons why a modern Hollywood remake of Suspiria will not work:

1. The colors. Part of what makes the original so iconic is its striking red/blue color scheme. However, almost all Hollywood horror movies these days are grey and washed-out looking. The executives will probably want this movie to follow the same trend. This will heavily stifle the movie's impact.

2. The music. Goblin's synthesizer score added to the surreal atmosphere of the original. The current trend in movie soundtracks seems to be bland orchestral scores. Violins just don't match the tone of the movie.

(UPDATE: I just found out that Steve Jablonsky will be doing the score. This pretty much confirms that it will be violins.)

3. The relevance. The Italian "giallo" subgenre was in its heyday when Suspiria was made. That movie will always represent the high point of a then-thriving subgenre. But as far as I can see, there is no equivalent trend in modern American horror. With a few notable exceptions, most American horror films of the last ten years have either been no-budget gorefests, or watered-down studio films. I cannot think of a way to update Suspiria to a modern context without completely diminishing its meaning.

Feel free to agree or disagree with my thoughts.

Dark? You don't know dark. Let me tell you more dark sh*t from Animorphs.

[–] pajamawolfie 8 years ago

Pretty much agree with you there. I saw Suspiria a few years ago and it got me into all those giallo / European 70's horror movies and here's what I remember about Suspiria:

1. The color red.
2. Incredible score by Goblin.
3. Assorted young women in peril / dying
3. The headmistresses were witches and caused it all

That was the gist of Suspiria. The parts that made it memorable–made it Suspiria–were the parts that were like a music video; not the plot. I mean, if you take a music video and change all the shots to something different and change the music in the background, why even give it the same title?

As for the plot: girls at a boarding school keep dying and some supernatural crap keeps happening and then it turns out that the headmistresses were witches and behind it all... that's not a plot that's dying to be remade, at least under the name Suspiria. Movies like that were a dime a dozen in the 70's, but they didn't have the atmosphere and the music that Suspiria did, which is why it's a classic, and those other movies aren't.

My suggestion: remake "The House that Screamed". Now THAT would be hilarious.

There is no objective reality... and that's Sucker Punch

[–] coex23 8 years ago

I totally agree. however, I'm curious... Italian production and director might make something not so over-the-top Hollywood. maybe.

The key would be to NOT do everything that made the original great: don't use saturated blues and reds, don't use a synth score, etc. You know, approach it from a fresh (modern) angle. Otherwise, you're just doing a scene for scene copy, and that's kinda lame.

If they take a fresh approach, it could work. Of course, chances are it could also fail. But, I'd be more interested in seeing a fresh approach.

Also, for what it's worth, Argento has absolutely ruined his legacy in the past 20 years or so. I doubt many of his fans even care if anyone remakes his films. Really, any remake can't be worse than his latest films.