“Suspiria”, Screening the Past, December 2016.
Almost four decades after its initial release, Dario Argento’s Suspiria (1977) continues to demand attention. In her contribution to the Devil’s Advocates series, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas has crafted an insightful exploration of this Italian cult horror film in Suspiria (2015). The study is divided into three sections: locating the film within the horror canon, a close analysis of the film, and its history of reception. Heller-Nicholas combines in-depth visual analysis with fascinating technical and contextual details, rendered throughout in an expressive prose that captures the entrancing quality of the film itself.