Haus Zum Walfisch, Freiburg. As seen in “Suspiria”. March 2013.

Walking on maggots animation. Ew. (animated gif)

You know, that’d be a good album title…

Suspiria (1977), directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Argento and Daria Nicolodi, starring Jessica Harper, Alida Valli, Udo Kier and Joan Bennett. Suspiria is the first of the trilogy Argento refers to as “The Three Mothers”, followed by Inferno and The Mother of Tears.

Mater Suspiria: Mother of Sighs

Review: Dario Argento’s Inferno (1980)

Inferno is the second in Dario Argento’s “Three Mothers” trilogy.

Like the first (Suspiria), it makes unusual use of bright colors and theatrical lighting, making for a horror film that is vibrant, and not dark and murky. Perhaps this is the Italian influence, I don’t know, but I find it unusual and refreshing.

Mater Suspiria’s younger sister, Tenebrarum (darkness), holds court in an apartment building in New York City. Taken as itself, Inferno is, essentially, a haunted house story. The hero needs to find out the rules of the haunting, and uncover the secrets before he can escape. There’s a bit of the Rosemary’s Baby paranoia in it, too, as he has no way of knowing which of his allies will turn out to be a conspirator. Or the next victim.

As part of the trilogy, the movie has more meat. We learn more of the mythology of the Three Mothers, we learn that the buildings themselves are part of who the mothers are, and we learn that they seek, essentially, world domination. We learn some of their proclivities and weaknesses, and see hints at their differences in power and method.

It is fun to play, “who’s in with the badguy?” with this one. Just as you’re sure, the potential baddy turns out to be the next victim.

Argento, while far from afraid of blood and gore, creates a film that is more about tension and menace, more about being faced with a deadly mystery, about no longer believing that you know how the world works.

It will take Argento 27 years to finish the trilogy. It won’t take us quite so long.

This is Scix in the Back Row, fa-LAMING!

Inferno (1980) written and directed by Dario Argento, starring Irene Miracle, Leigh McCloskey, Eleonora Giorgi, Daria Nicolodi, and Alida Valli.

Inferno is the second of the trilogy Argento refers to as “The Three Mothers”, preceded by Suspiria (1977) and followed by The Mother of Tears (2007). Inferno features the second “mother,” Mater Tenebrarum, Mother of Darkness.

Creepy woman and child.

Suspiria (1977), directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Argento and Daria Nicolodi, starring Jessica Harper, Alida Valli, Udo Kier and Joan Bennett. Suspiria is the first of the trilogy Argento refers to as “The Three Mothers”, followed by Inferno and The Mother of Tears.

Mater Suspiria: Mother of Sighs

Review: Suspiria (1977), directed by Dario Argento

Suspiria is the first of a trilogy about “The Three Mothers,” a trio of witch sisters who each have taken over a great house in different parts of the world. The Mother of Sighs, the oldest sister, has a dance academy in Germany.

Now, these are old-school fairy-tale witches, not to be confused with crystal-rubbing Wiccans of today. Their aim is to corrupt, to do evil, and to confuse and manipulate. And murder, of course. Otherwise, what would Argento do with all of that Da-Glo red blood?

Jessica Harper, whom you may remember from Shock Treatment, plays American dancer Suzy, who has traveled all the way to Freiburg, Germany to be part of this prestigious academy. Very soon, she sees that something strange is going on, and the more she learns, the more bizarre and frightening the story gets.

Soon, the witch and her coven decide she is too damned nosy for her own good. It gets bad. As in Rosemary’s Baby, she finds no one believes her, and the witches are trying to control her, and everybody seems in on it — or dead.

Argento’s use of color is fascinating to me. The whole set is so decorative and vibrant, and the horror scenes are brightly-lit with red and green colored lights. The air of the place is mystery and menace, and even when the horrible deaths occur, it is disturbing in large part because of the incongruity with the setting, not to mention the casual way the Academy covers them up.

Argento’s “Three Mothers” trilogy — like Polanski’s “Apartment Trilogy” and Luhrman’s “Red Curtain Trilogy,” is not precisely a linear collection of sequels. This movie features the first mother, Mater Suspiriorum, the Mother of Sighs. The second, in Inferno, is Mater Tenebrarum, Mother of Darkness. The third, Mater Lachrymarum, is, of course, Mother of Tears. The making of the trilogy spans 30 years (“The Apartment Trilogy” took 11 years, Luhrman’s trilogy spanned 9 years).

The meta-tale of the three titular witches* is fascinating. They interweave, and by the end quit a vivid history is uncovered.

*Titular Witches coming to the Vagasil Amphitheater tonight!

Suspiria (1977), directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Argento and Daria Nicolodi, starring Jessica Harper, Alida Valli, Udo Kier and Joan Bennett. Suspiria is the first of the trilogy Argento refers to as “The Three Mothers”, followed by Inferno and The Mother of Tears.
Mater Suspiria: Mother of Sighs

Slides from Suspiria (1977), directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Argento and Daria Nicolodi, starring Jessica Harper, Alida Valli, Udo Kier and Joan Bennett. Suspiria is the first of the trilogy Argento refers to as “The Three Mothers”, followed by Inferno and The Mother of Tears.
Mater Suspiria: Mother of Sighs

Just a glimpse of the Mother of Sighs. Pretty, ain’t she? Reminds me a lot of the scary person behind the dumpster in Mulholland Drive.

Suspiria (1977), directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Argento and Daria Nicolodi, starring Jessica Harper, Alida Valli, Udo Kier and Joan Bennett. Suspiria is the first of the trilogy Argento refers to as “The Three Mothers”, followed by Inferno and The Mother of Tears.
Mater Suspiria: Mother of Sighs

The decor! The decor!

Suspiria (1977), directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Argento and Daria Nicolodi, starring Jessica Harper, Alida Valli, Udo Kier and Joan Bennett. Suspiria is the first of the trilogy Argento refers to as “The Three Mothers”, followed by Inferno and The Mother of Tears.
Mater Suspiria: Mother of Sighs

She must die! Die! Die!

Uh-oh.

Suspiria (1977), directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Argento and Daria Nicolodi, starring Jessica Harper, Alida Valli, Udo Kier and Joan Bennett. Suspiria is the first of the trilogy Argento refers to as “The Three Mothers”, followed by Inferno and The Mother of Tears.
Mater Suspiria: Mother of Sighs

Blue velvet.

Suspiria (1977), directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Argento and Daria Nicolodi, starring Jessica Harper, Alida Valli, Udo Kier and Joan Bennett. Suspiria is the first of the trilogy Argento refers to as “The Three Mothers”, followed by Inferno and The Mother of Tears.
Mater Suspiria: Mother of Sighs

Are those a pair of glowing eyes out there?

Suspiria (1977), directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Argento and Daria Nicolodi, starring Jessica Harper, Alida Valli, Udo Kier and Joan Bennett. Suspiria is the first of the trilogy Argento refers to as “The Three Mothers”, followed by Inferno and The Mother of Tears.
Mater Suspiria: Mother of Sighs

That’s not wine in your glass, Suzy.

Suspiria (1977), directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Argento and Daria Nicolodi, starring Jessica Harper, Alida Valli, Udo Kier and Joan Bennett. Suspiria is the first of the trilogy Argento refers to as “The Three Mothers”, followed by Inferno and The Mother of Tears.
Mater Suspiria: Mother of Sighs

Red hall and window.

Suspiria (1977), directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Argento and Daria Nicolodi, starring Jessica Harper, Alida Valli, Udo Kier and Joan Bennett. Suspiria is the first of the trilogy Argento refers to as “The Three Mothers”, followed by Inferno and The Mother of Tears.
Mater Suspiria: Mother of Sighs

“QUANDAM UBIQUE, QUANDAM SEMPER, QUANDAM AB DOMNIBUS CREDITUR EST.

“Magic is everywhere, all over the world, it’s a recognized fact. Always.”

He’s either an idiot or he’s trying to deceive her directly. The Latin passage is similar to the Vincentian Canon: quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est (“that which is believed everywhere, at all times, by all”). Near as I could make out with my rusty Latin and some help from Google translate, what he actually said was something like, “Something everywhere, something always, something from the Lord, is believed.” This is very close to the Vincentian Canon, though the few changed words do alter the meaning subtly.

His “translation” is crap, even if he misquoted his Latin. Neither verse says anything about Magic — though “something” could be magic, I suppose, but in the original it was obviously referring to faith, to Christianity.

I am not convinced this character isn’t in on the conspiracy of witches. Who knows? There is no direct evidence either way. I just hope Dario Argento isn’t simply using crap movie Latin. I hate it when they do that.

Suspiria (1977), directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Argento and Daria Nicolodi, starring Jessica Harper, Alida Valli, Udo Kier and Joan Bennett. Suspiria is the first of the trilogy Argento refers to as “The Three Mothers”, followed by Inferno and The Mother of Tears.
Mater Suspiria: Mother of Sighs

“Bad luck isn’t brought by broken mirrors, but by broken minds.”

Suspiria (1977), directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Argento and Daria Nicolodi, starring Jessica Harper, Alida Valli, Udo Kier and Joan Bennett. Suspiria is the first of the trilogy Argento refers to as “The Three Mothers”, followed by Inferno and The Mother of Tears.
Mater Suspiria: Mother of Sighs