It seems that A Bigger Splash has led to a productive association between director Luca Guadagnino and actresses Tilda Swinton and Dakota Johnson, because Guadagnino has brought both them on to his next project: a remake of the Italian horror classic Suspiria.
Originally directed by Dario Argento, Suspiria follows the story of Suzy, a young ballet dancer who goes to study at a prestigious ballet academy which hides a powerful coven of witches. Revered today as a cult classic, Guadagnino is aiming to provide a new take on the tale; hopefully doing a better job than Kimberly Peirce did with Carrie.
If we went along with type, then it would be an educated guess to assume Dakota Johnson is playing heroine Suzy, and Tilda Swinton is Miss Tanner, the terrifying head of the academy, or even Helena Markos, the undead witch who originally founded the academy. Guadagnino claims to have been influenced by Argento since he was an adolescent, and states that he “changed him forever“. He also gave us a glimpse into what his take on the story would be:
“[My version] is going to be set in Berlin in 1977. It’s going to be about the mother and the concept of motherhood and about the uncompromising force of motherhood. It’s going to be about finding your inner voice – the title is very evocative on these grounds“.
With the love of Guadagnino and the partnership of Johnson and Swinton, would it be too much to hope that Suspiria is one of those few classic remakes that comes out the other side smiling? To see how the trio work together, you can still see A Bigger Splash in cinemas now. Check out the trailer below.
#Peace.Love.Suspiria
