“Suspiria is my baby” is a phrase that identifies me at The Frida Cinema. I could wax poetically* all day about Dario Argento’s 1977 supernatural horror film**. It was the subject of my Masters thesis. But rather than write another analytical piece about it, I’m in the mood for some fun. And since I’m taking a graduate poetry class, here’s a list poem to show why Suspiria surely is my baby:
Ooh, pretty colors!
Goblin’s bitchin’ prog-rock score
Major crushing on Jessica Harper***
So many fairy tale references****
A Strong Heroine
Written by a Woman*****
Laughably poor dubbing
Did I mention the pretty colors?
All of them witches
Eastman Color & 3-Strip Technicolor******
Spooky shadows
Jarring camera angles
Bad Pupper!
Random reference to The Exorcist
Over-the-top murder set pieces
Florescent fake blood
Maggoty food
All the wine
Fires everywhere
Baby-faced Udo Kier*******
Disappearing footsteps
The most fake bat ever
Wire that looks like a twisted Slinky
Random cigarette smoking
Colored irises
Ambiguous smiles
PS Suspiria is my baby.
Notes:
*No, it is not an Italian giallo film. Fight me! (Actually, don’t . . . that might hurt. A lot.)
**Gotta love the ironic pun of me writing a poem after speaking about waxing poetically about Suspiria.
***Sorry, Saoirse Ronan, you’re still my main bae. I love you.
****My Masters thesis examined the intertextual references Suspiria makes to Thomas De Quincey’s Suspiria de Profundis and classic fairy tales, including Hansel & Gretel, Snow White, and Bluebeard. (Wait, nobody cares. Getting off my soap box now.)
*****RIP Daria Nicolodi (June 19, 1950 – November 26, 2020)
****** Even more gushing over pretty colors.
*******But they don’t use his actual voice in the dubbing. Sad face.
Celebrating 30 Years of Jurassic Park
October 3, 2023
Frida Blogger Marleen Apodaca revisits Jurassic Park in commemoration of its 30th anniversary.
