“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.
Event Recap: The Civil Dead Q&A w/ Clay Tatum and Whitmer Thomas
March 15, 2023
Frida marketing intern Kenzie Koch reflects on last week’s Q&A with Clay Tatum and Whitmer Thomas for their new film The Civil Dead.
