Sisters of the Abyss: Unraveling Suspiria and Inferno

In the flickering glow of Dario Argento’s crimson palette, two witches rise from the shadows—binding ballet slippers to New York spires in a duet of dread that defies time.

Deep within the fever dream of Italian horror, Dario Argento conjured a pair of films that transcend mere scares, weaving a tapestry of occult terror laced with operatic visuals and throbbing soundtracks. Suspiria (1977) and Inferno (1980) form the first two pillars of his Three Mothers trilogy, each a standalone descent into witchcraft’s maw yet intertwined by shared mythology. This comparison peels back their layers, contrasting the disciplined horror of a German dance academy with the chaotic sprawl of Manhattan’s underbelly, revealing how Argento elevated giallo into supernatural symphony.

  • How Suspiria‘s claustrophobic coven contrasts Inferno‘s labyrinthine anarchy, reshaping the rules of horror architecture.
  • The Goblin soundtrack’s evolution from primal pulse to jazz-infused frenzy, mirroring each film’s escalating madness.
  • Argento’s mastery of colour and composition, turning violence into visual poetry that lingers long after the screams fade.

Crimson Academies: Architectural Nightmares Unveiled

At the heart of Suspiria lies the Tanz Akademie, a monolithic ballet school in Freiburg that pulses with malevolent life. American dancer Suzy Bannon (Jessica Harper) arrives amid a storm, stepping into a world where mirrors reflect hidden eyes and walls bleed secrets. The building itself is a character, its labyrinthine corridors echoing with whispers and the thud of rain-lashed windows. Argento, drawing from Thomas De Quincey’s architectural obsessions, crafts a space where geometry breeds terror—grand staircases twist like veins, and iris shots frame faces in unnatural distortion. Key murders unfold with balletic precision: Pat Hingle’s defenestration through stained glass shatters the facade, raining gore in slow-motion cascades.

In contrast, Inferno explodes this containment into urban frenzy. The film’s New York apartment house at 49th Street serves as nexus for Mater Tenebrarum’s lair, a five-story edifice riddled with dumbwaiters, flooded basements, and endless rooms. Architect Mark (Leigh McCloskey) inherits the key from his missing sister, plunging into a quest that spans Rome and Manhattan. Here, the structure defies logic: staircases loop impossibly, cats swarm from vents, and antique shops hide alchemical horrors. Where Suspiria imprisons its victims in ornate rigidity, Inferno unleashes pandemonium, with murders spilling into streets—Sarah’s (Elke Liederbauer) throat-slashing in a rain-slicked alley evokes Opera‘s later savagery but roots in trilogy chaos.

This architectural dichotomy underscores thematic divergence. Suspiria‘s academy enforces matriarchal order, witches like Helena Marcos puppeteering pupils in ritualistic harmony. Inferno fractures this into Mater Lactea’s realm of decay, where entropy reigns—rotting books dissolve in water, bodies bloat in cellars. Both films weaponise space: the iris motif in Suspiria spies voyeuristically, while Inferno‘s wide-angle lenses distort Manhattan into a gothic maze, blending De Quincey’s Suspiria de Profundis with urban alienation.

Cast illuminates these realms vividly. Harper’s wide-eyed Suzy embodies innocence corrupted, her blue leotard stark against blood reds. McCloskey’s Mark, fumbling through clues, mirrors amateur sleuths from Argento’s giallo past, yet lacks Suzy’s poise, amplifying vulnerability. Supporting witches—Joan Bennett’s acerbic Madame Blanc, Alida Valli’s stern Miss Tanner—infuse Suspiria with operatic gravitas, while Inferno‘s ensemble, from Daria Nicolodi’s fleeting architect to Veronica Lazar’s ethereal Mater, fragments into surreal cameos.

Goblin’s Auditory Hex: Soundscapes of Sorcery

Goblin’s score binds the sisters like incantation. For Suspiria, their debut collaboration throbs with primal menace: synthesisers wail over Claudio Simonetti’s keyboards, mimicking storm winds and infant cries. The title track’s repetitive riff—da-da-da-dum—builds hypnotic dread, underscoring the academy’s magick. Percussive stabs punctuate kills, like the maggot infestation scene where bass throbs sync with writhing masses, heightening sensory overload.

Inferno evolves this into feverish jazz fusion. Absent the full band due to budget, Keith Emerson’s contributions add prog-rock flourishes, yet Goblin’s core—Simonetti, Massi, Pignatelli—delivers “Yellow Theme,” a sinister clarinet serpentine through brass swells. Where Suspiria cocoons sound in isolation, Inferno scatters it across cityscapes: echoing drips in flooded rooms, cat shrieks layering murders. The finale’s operatic crescendo fuses both, as fire consumes the coven amid choral howls.

Sound design amplifies distinction. Suspiria‘s hyper-real Foley—crunching glass, squelching blades—roots horror in tactility, rain a constant percussion. Inferno abstracts further: disembodied voices murmur Latin incantations, wind howls through vents like banshee wails. Argento’s use of silence punctuates both—Suzy’s poolside gasp, Mark’s elevator plummet—creating vacuum tension before sonic eruption.

These tracks not only score but sculpt narrative. Suspiria‘s rhythm mirrors ballet’s discipline, motifs recurring like spells. Inferno‘s discordancy evokes dissolution, jazz improvisations underscoring Mater’s realm of flux. Their legacy endures, influencing John Carpenter’s pulses and modern synth-horror revivals.

Palette of Peril: Argento’s Chromatic Conjuring

Argento’s visuals, shot by Luciano Tovoli for Suspiria and Romano Albani for Inferno, paint horror in primary excess. Suspiria‘s palette dominates with deep crimsons—blood floods screens in the iris murder—and electric blues, Suzy’s eyes piercing shadows. Composition favours symmetry: dancers framed in geometric perfection, shattered by asymmetric kills. Lighting bathes sets in gels, academy halls glowing unearthly, evoking Mario Bava’s baroque legacy.

Inferno desaturates into aquamarine greens and golds, Manhattan’s grit clashing with opulent interiors—antique clocks tick amid baroque filigree. Subjective tracking shots plunge viewers into peril: through keyholes, down dumbwaiters. Special effects shine: matte paintings expand New York facades, miniatures blaze in finale inferno. Argento’s Steadicam weaves through crowds, blurring giallo’s precision into hallucinatory drift.

Such mastery elevates kills to art. Suspiria‘s wire-fu hangs victims mid-air, glass shards glinting like stars. Inferno‘s razor attacks slice throats in POV frenzy, blood arcing balletic. Both revel in excess—maggots cascade, cats devour—but Suspiria choreographs ritualistically, Inferno anarchically.

Mise-en-scène binds occult lore. Suspiria‘s stained glass depicts ancient rites, Inferno‘s bookshelves hide grimoires. De Quincey’s Mothers—Lachrymarum, Tenebrarum, Antichrist—manifest visually: tears in rain, darkness in shadows, chaos in fire.

Mythic Matriarchs: The Mothers’ Enduring Curse

The trilogy’s lore, inspired by De Quincey, posits three witches ruling sorrow, darkness, tenebrae. Suspiria crowns Mater Suspiriorum, her crone form revealed in cavernous ritual amid blue flames. Power stems from secrecy, coven sustaining her through sacrifice. Suzy’s triumph shatters illusion, impaling the witch in pyroclastic fury.

Inferno unleashes Mater Tenebrarum in Manhattan’s heart, her palace a nexus of global evil. Mark’s odyssey uncovers siblings’ fates, culminating in mass conflagration. Here, mythology expands: alchemist Varelli’s treatise details Mothers’ origins, linking to Levantine sorcery. Chaos prevails—no heroic vanquishing, just cyclical doom.

Thematically, Suspiria explores invasion—an outsider piercing veiled evil—while Inferno dissects inheritance, urban isolation fostering occult bloom. Gender dynamics simmer: female covens dominate males, ballet enforcing submission, apartments devouring intruders. Both critique modernity’s fragility against ancient malice.

Influence ripples outward. Suspiria birthed Luca Guadagnino’s 2018 remake, amplifying matriarchy. Inferno, lesser-seen, inspired Under the Skin‘s alienation. Together, they cement Argento’s supernatural pivot from giallo thrillers like Deep Red.

Legacy’s Lingering Echoes

Production tales enrich comparison. Suspiria, budgeted modestly at 500,000 lire, shot in Rome studios mimicking Germany, faced no censorship—its violence raw, unrated. Goblin recorded live on set, amplifying immersion. Inferno, rushed post-Suspiria success, suffered cuts; McCloskey ad-libbed amid script flux, Nicolodi’s pregnancy altering roles.

Reception diverged: Suspiria cult classic, praised for atmosphere over plot; Inferno divisive, deemed messier yet bolder. Box-office wane signalled Argento’s peak, trilogy incomplete until 2007’s faltering The Mother of Tears.

Yet both endure, influencing Hereditary‘s cults, Midsommar‘s rituals. Argento’s style—stylised kills, dream logic—redefined horror’s aesthetics, proving witchcraft thrives in spectacle.

Director in the Spotlight

Dario Argento, born 7 September 1940 in Rome to filmmaker Salvatore Argento and actress Vanina Solaro, immersed in cinema from youth. Eldest of three, he devoured Hollywood classics and Italian neorealism, penning scripts by 1960s—The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) launched his Animal Trilogy, blending thriller with visual flair. Influences span Hitchcock’s suspense, Bava’s gothic, Powell’s Peeping Tom voyeurism.

Breakthrough with giallo: Cat O’ Nine Tails (1971) puzzle-box murders, Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1972) psychedelic finale. Supernatural shift via Deep Red (1975), Goblin collaboration. Suspiria apotheosis, followed Inferno, Tenebrae (1982) slasher pivot, Opera (1987) crowning giallo. Collaborations with daughter Asia Argento in The Stendhal Syndrome (1996), Trauma (1993).

Argento’s career spans 20+ features, documentaries like World of Horror. Eurohorror icon, he directed Phenomena (1985) insect odyssey, Two Evil Eyes (1990) Poe anthology. Later works—Non ho sonno (2001), The Card Player (2004)—echo past glories amid criticism. Personal life turbulent: marriages to Marisa Casale, Asia’s mother; advocacy for horror preservation. Recent: Three Mothers restoration, influencing Suspiria remake. Filmography highlights: The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970, debut giallo breakthrough); Deep Red (1975, jazz score murders); Suspiria (1977, witches ballet); Inferno (1980, urban coven); Tenebrae (1982, meta-slasher); Opera (1987, crow impalements); The Stendhal Syndrome (1996, art madness); Mother of Tears (2007, trilogy close).

Actor in the Spotlight

Jessica Harper, born 10 October 1949 in Chicago to a musician father and nursery school teacher mother, nurtured artistic bent early. Studied at Sarah Lawrence, debuting Broadway in Hair (1968), then Doctor Zhivago musical. Film entry: Phantom of the Paradise (1974) as tragic singer Phoenix, earning cult status under Brian De Palma.

Argento casting revolutionised her trajectory: Suspiria (1977) Suzy Bannon cemented scream queen status, her ethereal vulnerability amid gore iconic. Followed Shock (1977) Lamberto Bava chiller, The Evictors (1979) Southern Gothic. Mainstream arcs: Woody Allen’s Stardust Memories (1980), Pennies from Heaven (1981) dancer. Voice work: The Little Prince (1974), Disney’s Minnie’s Bow-Toons.

Versatile career blends horror, drama: My Favorite Year (1982) comedy, Big Man on Campus (1989). TV: Family (1978-80), It’s Garry Shandling’s Show. Recent: Weird Science miniseries, The Great (2020-23) as Joanna. No major awards, but enduring legacy in genre. Filmography: Phantom of the Paradise (1974, rock opera victim); Suspiria (1977, ballet witch hunter); Shock (1977, haunted housewife); Suspire (1984, thriller); My Boyfriend’s Back (1993, zombie romcom); Minstrel of the Dawn (shorts); extensive TV including American Horror Story guest spots.

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Jones, A. (2017) Suspiria. Devil’s Advocates, Auteur Publishing.

Newman, K. (1987) Nightmare Movies. Bloomsbury.

Schubart, R. (2007) Mastering Fear: Women, Emotions, and Contemporary Horror. Palgrave Macmillan.

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Tovoli, L. (2021) Suspiria: The Colour of Fear. Raro Video liner notes. Available at: https://rarovideo.com (Accessed 20 October 2023).