I don’t think there was any doubt Luca Guadagnino’s remake of Dario Argento’s Suspiria would be something specific to the director, but this news just confirms it. Argento’s 1977 giallo classic runs for a cool 98 minutes, and uses every second of it in hair-raising fashion. Guadagnino’s version? You’ll want to pack a lunch because it runs for a whopping 152 minutes. Guh.
My first thought was “That’s a lot of Dakota Johnson for one person to take”, but then I remembered her A Bigger Splash co-star Tilda Swinton was in it, too.
The trailer already showed some ways in which Guadagnino’s version would differ. The color palette is much darker than Argento’s neon-colored take, for instance. Still, this could prove daunting, and the film’s official Twitter kind of agrees, publishing a poll that asks moviegoers how much of the film they’ll be able to watch. I can already see some of the squirmier film critics stepping out to take a powder halfway through…
You might have seen that #Suspiria is 152 minutes. How much of it will you be able to watch?— Suspiria (@suspiriamovie) July 30, 2018
It’s impossible to judge if Guadagnino is going overboard until we see the whole thing, but I know it can be tough to sustain high level of suspense for that length of time. There’s every reason in the world to trust Guadagnino, though.
Along with Johnson and Swinton, Suspiria stars Chloe Grace Moretz and Mia Goth, telling the story of an American ballet dancer who joins a prestigious new troupe that hides some sinister secrets.
Suspiria opens November 2nd.
