Well, if there was any apprehension remnant in cinephiles regarding Luca Guadagnino’s remake of Suspiria, it was literally ripped to shreds at CinemaCon.
Amazon Studios’ reimagining of Dario Argento’s Giallo masterpiece screened an exclusive clip in Las Vegas earlier today. Presented by Guadagnino during the company’s CinemaCon luncheon, the excerpt apparently had attendees either turning away or risk losing their lunch, despite being warned of the impending content beforehand by the head of marketing and distribution, who quipped, “dancing is dangerous.”
According to Variety, the footage saw Dakota Johnson’s Susie Bannion practicing ballet for her teacher, Tilda Swinton. With every successful pirouette and arabesque, a dancer in another studio was meticulously “torn apart” in a flourish of “urine, spittle, and blood.”
Deemed “gruesome” and “disturbing,” reactions have now made their way onto Twitter from those who witnessed the evisceration, and they’re every bit as horrifying as Argento’s 1977 film.
Luca Guadagnino presented a scene from his #Suspiria remake; there’s a 70s sepia tone … and seriously some of the most disturbing body horror. They went for it and the #CinemaCon audience is gasping. Just brutal but with a gentle melody. Holy crap… call me by your bent body.
— Fandango (@Fandango) April 26, 2018
First clip from Suspiria invokes a dancer being thrown around like a rag doll telekinetically in a mirrored rehearsal space, bones breaking, becoming a contorted mess. Very gruesome and hard to watch. This film will make most people feel uneasy. #CinemaCon
— /Film (@slashfilm) April 26, 2018
Ummm I am traumatized after seeing a scene from "Suspiria" in which Dakota Johnson controls the body of another woman as she dances. The woman's body literally cracks in half. She is like, torn apart. Spitting, urinating, bleeding. It's… A lot. #CinemaCon
— Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) April 26, 2018
Directed by Luca Guadagnino, whose Call Me By Your Name was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards in March, Suspiria stars Dakota Johnson as ballet student Susie Bannion, who transfers to a prestigious dance academy with a sinister and supernatural history.
With an Oscar nominee at the helm and an ensemble that includes Chloë Grace Moretz, Mia Goth and Academy Award-winner Tilda Swinton, not to mention that Radiohead’s Thom Yorke is composing the film’s score, Amazon Studios’ remake already has admirers foaming at the mouth with anticipation – and these Twitter reactions will only make the wait for the pic to release that much tougher.
Suspiria is currently slated for a premiere sometime in Autumn, making a Toronto International Film Festival debut all the more likely. As always, watch this space for further updates.
