YMMV / Suspiria (2018)

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Is Mother Suspiriorum actually more benevolent than Markos and the other witches? While she rather violently seizes control of the coven, she refrains from killing the witches that hadn't pledged loyalty to Markos and only kills Sara, Patricia, and Olga because they specifically request it. Even more noteworthy is her treatment of Klemperer; she has him spared, apologizes for the witches' treatment of him, and informs him of his wife's fate while reassuring him that she died thinking of him.
    • On the subject of that, Did Mother Suspiriorum erase Klemperer's memories as a Cruel Mercy so he would no longer carry guilt over what happened with Anka and Patricia or did she do it so he wouldn't reveal the coven to the world?
  • Is Klemperer really a good guy in this film, or is he only taking action out of guilt, after his disbelief of Patricia's claims that witches run the Markos Dance Academy put her in danger, and further back, his denial of Anke's Nazi-phobia also denied her the chance to outlive the horror of WWII?
• And You Thought It Would Fail: On the surface this movie had all the signs that would be a colossal failure. It’s a remake of one of horror's most beloved classics staring Anastasia Steele featuring music by Thom Yorke. All that was enough to convince skeptical horror fans that it would suck. Much to their surprise and relief, it won over many fans by not only telling its own story with the original template, but also proved to be a stylistically beautiful and horrifying movie in its own right.
• Complete Monster: Helena Markos, the supposed "Mater Suspiriorum", is a pretender to the title and the corrupt ruler of the Markos Academy coven. When she is discovered by a dancer named Patricia Hingle, Markos curses her to an agonizing, crippled state of undeath. While targeting heroine Susanna "Susie" Bannion to steal her body, Markos engages in cruel sadism, such as the dancer Olga who is placed in a tortured state of sheer agony. Murdering Susie's friend Sara Simms as a sacrifice, Markos also tries to kill the witch Blanc, showing nothing short of relish to making her victims suffer endlessly in the worst sort of torture.
• Epileptic Trees: After the initial trailers dropped, many speculated that the psychologist portrayed by Lutz Ebersdorf was actually cast member Tilda Swinton in old man drag. This was denied by Luca Guadagnino, but early reviews noticed that that it is, in fact, Swinton, before Swinton confirmed that Lutz is actually herself in drag.
• Genius Bonus: Susie tells Mme Blanc that she once hitched a ride from rural Ohio to the Martha Graham Center in New York City to see the Markos troupe perform "Volk." Not only did Graham revolutionize dance in the same way that the Markos Tanzgruppe did in-universe, but Blanc prefers simple and flexible robes and dresses◊ just like Graham did◊.
• He Really Can Act: Dakota Johnson's most famous role prior to this film was as the heroine in the schmaltzy Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. Her performance in this film earned her a lot of acting goodwill and began her streak of acting in serious prestige films.
• I Knew It!:
  • A number of people guessed that Tilda Swinton would be playing Helena Markos.
  • Before it was officially revealed as such, plenty of viewers had guessed that "Lutz Ebersdorf" was being played by Swinton in old man drag. Not many people guessed that she would be playing both characters, however.
• Just Here for Godzilla: Some fans of Radiohead were interested in this film due to frontman Thom Yorke making his motion picture debut as composer.
• Questionable Casting: A lot of horror fans became confused after hearing Dakota Johnson was going to play Susie, especially given her previous acting credit. Luckily, she managed to win them over after the film came out.
• Tear Jerker:
  • The purging of the Coven of Marko's followers has an eerily somber tone to it, combined in with "Unmade" by Thom Yorke. It also plays well to the sadness of Susie / Mother Suspiriorum giving Olga, Sara, and Patricia a Mercy Kill for everything they endured in the film.
  • Klemperer being told by Susie / Suspiriorum about the fate of his wife, how despite suffering in a concentration camp and dying in the cold with 4,000 others, she still gave them a peaceful death and was thinking of him before she passed. He can only do is tearfully cry, with Susie giving him a Cruel Mercy by erasing his memories of Anke, Patricia, and Sara so he can no longer feel the guilt of their deaths and for him to not expose the Coven.
• Signature Scene: Olga's torture in the room of mirrors, with multiple reports of audiences being unable to handle the intense Body Horror.

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