"Suspiria" is a surrealist Italian horror film released in 1977, directed by the master of giallo horror himself, Dario Argento. The film follows the demure American ballerina Suzy (Jessica Harper), who joins a prestigious ballerina academy in Germany. However, not everything is as it seems, as many of her classmates are soon found brutally murdered. Worse, she eventually discovers that the entire academy is run by evil witches.
Now, despite Argento's considerable contributions to the vast giallo horror genre, there has been much debate if "Suspiria" actually counts among the giallo canon. Giallo films, for the unfamiliar, are a specific type of Italian horror films that are murder mysteries, which contain dynamic, over-the-top visuals, and inventive, gory kills. And while "Suspiria" contains almost all of those elements, giallo also usually doesn't have overt supernatural elements. Regardless of the pedantic genre specifications, though, "Suspiria" is still nonetheless worth watching. For one, it has amazing cinematography, with overly-saturated and colorful visuals giving it a very unique look, especially within the horror genre. The soundtrack by the rock band Goblin is classic as well.
It also has a lot in common with "Smile," including elements of a woman not being believed for the weird things she witnesses, her trying to evade supernatural threats and curses, and disturbing/dreamlike (and nightmarish) imagery.
There was also a 2018 "Suspiria" remake, directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton, and it is worth checking out. However, if you have to choose one, the visual style alone puts the original 1977 version over the top.
