Who’s going to dance the protagonist? The question is asked, the spell’s been cast, and you fall under the influence of Mother Suspiria.

This is what it feels like watching Suspiria, that all the while during this movie you are part of the spell, captivated by the symbolism and violence of a coven that practice the dark arts and dwell in pure evil.

Keep in mind that this is not an easy movie; I went to see this in the IFI where you’d expect a more tolerant audience, but given the grotesque nature of the coven and their chilling malevolent actions people turned away from the screen and several people walked out. Most definitely not a date movie and not one to watch with the folks, unless you’re the Adam’s Family or super weird like Kevin Spacey.

I’ve mentioned symbolism, if you’re going to go see this movie keep an eye on all the various symbols on screen, because it’s very unlikely you’ll watch this movie twice due to the brutality of some of the scenes, so you might only have one chance to catch everything.  One of the themes of this movie is the question of why do people willingly conduct acts of violence. It asks if people are born evil or do they turn that way. It also asks the question do people see the evil and violence around them, and importantly if they do how do people then live with their shame and guilt.

The film has a historical context, set in Berlin in 1977 there is more conspiracy going on here than in Bridge of Spies. There are kidnappings, hijackings and whispers of all kinds of violent terror heard on snippets of the news. The movie also has plenty of references to WW2 and Nazi Germany. In his rise to power Hitler promised to restore faith in the Volk which would bring wholeness to Germany while accusing other politicians of destroying German unity.

In Suspiria Madame Blanc teaches her dance “Volk” to an aspiring young dancer Susie Bannion;

“When you dance the dance of another you make yourself in the image of its creator” she tells her in one of the most bewitching scenes in the movie.  

Joining the coven has it’ benefits, food, shelter, motherhood. The dancers speak about the love they feel in the academy but ultimately there are consequences for leaving and trying to tear the family apart.

Chloë Grace Moretz plays the distraught role of Patricia, a dancer who has escaped the academy. She sets the tone of the movie from the very beginning with a visit to psychologist Dr Josef Klemperer. There appears to be a background story here, as the doctor has a case file on Patricia, but this isn’t explored any further, which is a bit disappointing as Moretz really captures the screen with a haunting presence as she forewarns the audience for what’s to come;

“At the beginning she gave me things, perfect balance, perfect sleep. Now she wants to get inside of me”

That said the opening scene is full of omens and it introduces Dr Josef to the witches dance and ultimately his salvation, and possibly the salvation of mankind depending on how much you read into the film.

Symbolism and violence aside this movie is visually captivating, there are more costume delights than you’d find at a lady Gaga concert. There are hypnotic dream sequences that are nightmarish and subliminal while at the same time ending in orgasm. The witchcraft is captured in the dance sequences and the power the witches summon is not lost on the screen, some of the jumps and movements evoke the presence of demonic spirituality which sends shivers down the spine and leave you thinking about what you’ve just witnessed for days to come.

The final few acts in this movie are spoken about a lot in reviews; obviously it would be unfair to say too much but the finale features a strong theatrical dance performance, which is the soul of what this movie is about. After watching a horror movie that pushes the grotesque to new levels it’s quite hard to adapt to the sudden increase in tempo and it can be difficult to come to terms with what the film is offering.

However Suspiria proves to push beyond the horror genre it’s set in and creates a world with plenty to talk about, enough darkness to make you close your eyes, and enough intrigue to make you want to stay till the end. My advice would be to go see this movie while it’s showing in the cinema but whatever you do, don’t go alone.  

There is something about a sunny day in Spring that makes me want to hide away in the dark basement of a cinema, I don’t know why that is, it’s just part of who I am I guess. So perhaps I had a natural inclination to see 10 Cloverfield Lane, it kinda called out to me as the birds and bees went about their merry business, buzzing and twerping, completely oblivious to the potential apocalypse which could be unleashed upon us any day now by God, or aliens, or the Donald Trump fan band.

Sitting cosy I have to mention some of the trailers, which are an early warning sign that the Summer blockbusters are on their way. First up was Batman vs Superman, which I will probably go see, so stay tuned as it’s a movie that will answer some very important questions. Secondly there was a very interesting trailer for a revamped Jungle Book which I most definitely won’t be seeing, you’d want to be on hard core drugs to sit through that....or maybe have kids or something....but I don’t know why people ruin their lives and sit around watching remakes of Disney movies to begin with.

Thankfully 10 Cloverfield Lane manages to avoid the blockbuster mentality and has a somewhat b-movie horror vibe to it.

The movie begins when Michelle (the damsel) having the worst possible break up, as she packs a loose bag and ends up staying with Josef Fritzl and Brandon Dassey .

The result is a film which packs a serious psychological punch with Michelle questioning whether the monster lives outside the hatch or maybe it lies within.

We don’t know much about the benevolent Howard, he was probably in the navy, has a tendency to believe in conspiracy theories and has a serious disliking of monopoly. However he holds all the power in his man made bunker and we’re not quite sure what he has planned for Michelle, but we know he’s creepy and the very innocent Emmet barged in at the last minute to ensure the cloverfield dictator isn’t the last man on earth.  

Howard’s creepy actions make this a great suspense movie (for instance why rescue someone and then chain them up, when exactly did Emmet barge in?). The film also keeps us guessing about what might be really happening above ground, and despite some gory scenes outside the hatch Michelle isn’t convinced that pigs will fly as she develops some conspiracy theories of her own, meets the neighbours and does a great Solid Snake impression through the vents.  

There has been some criticism over how this movie doesn’t connect with its predecessor but I think that the intention is to explore some twilight zone apocalyptic scenarios, and if so we could be heading towards a series of really well thought out sci-fi thrillers, where each film is independent enough to ensure it’s not governed by the rules or events of the previous one.
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If you’re thinking about 10 Cloverfield Lane its best to see it early before the hype dies down, or before you read a review that reveals too much, but this is a movie that won’t fail to entertain and will give you some appreciation of a time where we could walk to the shops for milk without being sprayed by Trump zombie gas, which turns you this strange fake tan colour and makes you eat the flesh of dead babies. 

​ (Picture by Glen Brogan @GlenBroganArt)