“Suspiria”

I didn’t really get this weird movie about an aspiring American dancer (Dakota Johnson) who comes to a strange old dance school in Germany to win the lead in an elaborate production and to be taught by a prestigious instructor (Tilda Swinton). The school is somehow inhabited by old witches and an old man who deals with these strange ideas believes this is the case and investigates the school while dancers are dropping like flies concurrently with the rapid rise of Johnson’s character. I don’t mind weird movies like this as long as they make sense, but I got lost about 90 minutes in and the last 30 are just bananas. This is a remake and from what I understand, that film was nuts too. I admire Johnson’s performance and she is an actress that seemingly likes to take risks and works very hard at her roles no matter how goofy they are. I couldn’t even tell you what goes on with her character at the end because at that point I was so lost, turned off and didn’t really care anymore. This is a very disturbing movie to sit through visually at times and could give some nightmares. Pass on this one.

Rating: (**)