Suspiria (2018)

Dario Argento's Suspiria turned 40 in 2017 and to celebrate it cinemas around here screened the movie for a day only. Given the hype surrounding it, I had to go see it. And I was disappointed. Which is why I didn't care much about Guadagnino's remake —also, I'm not the biggest fan of his films. Then the film hit theatres —not in my country— and many people who disliked the original loved this, so I had to check it out. 

The story follows Susie Bannion (Dakota Johnson), a young American ballerina who travels to Berlin to attend the Markos Tanz Company, one of the most renowned dance schools in the world, run by a coven of witches. As Susie quickly becomes the lead in the company's most important ballet, psychiatrist Josef Klemperer (Tilda Swinton) starts investigating the disappearance of Patricia Hingle (Chloë Grace Moretz), a patient of his and former student at the ballet company whom he accused of being delusional. 

When it comes to Suspiria, the plot has proven to be the most important aspect for me. While Argento's was simple, illogical and overall tedious, I found Guadagnino's compelling from start to finish as it keeps you engaged with its twists and turns. Sure, the main storyline is still quite simple and easy to follow and there are many subplots that kind of distract from the main story, but it's all forgiven as it deals with themes of motherhood, sisterhood, national guilt, and, most important, makes a commentary on today's society —Klemperer doesn't believe in witches until he sees them for himself; the witches need a male witness for the ritual to be successful, as if nothing mattered if a man weren't there to witness it.

The characters aren't particularly well developed —they change all of a sudden at the end of the film— and could have used more characterization, and yet they are interesting as they each have their agenda, and we care about them and we helplessly watch them being ignored, lied to and murdered.

Amazon Studios

Another aspect that is superior in Guadagnino's film is the acting. Dakota Johnson gives a solid performance as Susie; she captures the innocence and sweetness at the beginning and embraces the darkness at the end very well. Also, she nails the dancing. Mia Goth is great as Patricia's friend Sara, her performance being the more natural. It's Tilda Swinton that absolutely steals the show though. She does a very good job as Madame Blanc, the head artistic director and choreographer of the company, but she is excellent as Joseph Klemperer, the ageing therapist haunted by his past.

As for the visuals, Guadagnino did a wonderful job at delivering a hallucinatory and nightmarish film. The colour palette is outstanding; the cinematography is filled with wonderful close-up and long takes; the make-up is excellent —I didn't realise Tilda Swinton played the psychiatric until the movie ended. As for the choreography, it is absolutely stunning —I can't put down in words how thrilling Susie's first audition was— and the soundtrack by Thom Yorke is excellent.

Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)

I was pretty excited to see Bad Times at the El Royale, and it was not only because Chris Hemsworth is half-naked every time he's on screen, but because the promotional material had me intrigued. Unfortunately, my theatre didn't show it so I had to wait for home release. 

The story takes place in a remote hotel on the California-Nevada border, the El Royale, in 1969. One day during the off-season, the concierge and sole employee at the hotel, Miles Miller (Lewis Pullman) welcomes four unique individuals: Daniel Flynn (Jeff Bridges), a Catholic priest; Darlene Sweet (Cynthia Erivo), a struggling soul singer; Laramie Seymour Sullivan (Jon Hamm) who claims to be a vacuum cleaner salesman; and Emily Summerspring (Dakota Johnson), a rude woman. They each have their secret and over the course of the night, they will show their true selves.

I'm going to stop right there as going any further into the plot would spoil it for you, in case you haven't seen the film yet. It's not a spoiler though that the plot, although it's quite thin and its twists aren't always as surprising as they should be, is throughout very compelling and interesting as director Drew Goddard —he also wrote the screenplay— makes wonderful use of flashbacks, which are important to enrich the plot, and alternative point of views.

In Bad Time at the El Royale, Goddard took plenty of time to introduce, give depth and develop the characters and it did pay off as the film has interesting, three-dimensional characters you can care about —I ended up rooting against Chris Hemsworth's character, that's how much I cared about some of the others.

The performances are also great. Jeff Bridges gives yet another excellent performance in the role of Father Flynn as he handles the character's oddness and eccentricities very well. Jon Hamm, whome I wish had more screen time, does a great job as the salesman as he brings his charm along with nice comedic timing. Chris Hemsworth gives a charming performance as cult leader Billy Lee. Dakota Johnson is surprisingly good as Emily, especially if you consider she isn't given a lot to do. The standouts, however, are Cynthia Erivo whose singing performance delivers the character's emotions to perfection, and Lewis Pullman who pulls off an apparently dull character beautifully.

20th Century Fox

Goddard was able to build tension and mystery, while also balancing drama and dark comedy. There's a lot of violence but it somewhat feels appropriate. The cinematography is stunning with its lush colours, the production design is superb, and the soundtrack is fantastic.

Overall, it feels like Bad Times at the El Royale is a Tarantino wannabe but, ultimately, I didn't care because the execution is great, and the film is a hell of a fun ride.