Of all the holidays celebrated worldwide, no single day is more loved by the UTG staff than Halloween. With the arrival of October, the time has finally come to begin rolling out a plethora of features and special announcements we have prepared in celebration of our favorite day, including the one you’re about to read.

31 Days Of Halloween is a recurring daily feature that will run throughout the month of October. The hope and goal of this column is to supply every UTG reader with a daily horror (or Halloween themed) movie recommendation that is guaranteed to amplify your All Hallows’ Eve festivities. We’ll be watching every film the day it’s featured, and we hope you’ll follow along at home. If you have a suggestion, contact us and we may include your favorite scarefest in an upcoming column!

Day 11: Suspiria (1977)

Suspiria was my first introduction to European horror cinema. Admittedly, I didn’t get really into horror films until midway through high school, but I can remember very clearly watching this film for the first time my Senior year. I read somewhere, probably on some list on the internet, that Suspiria was an absolute must-watch for any true horror fan, so because I wanted to be an informed fan, I immediately picked it up. Released in 1977 by the legendary Dario Argento, Suspiria tells the story of Suzy, an up and coming American ballet dancer, who finds out that her new dance school isn’t exactly just a dance school. Pretty standard plot, so going into my viewing of the film, I wasn’t expecting anything out of the ordinary. I could not have been any less prepared.

Suspiria is a horror fan’s feast. Consisting of an onslaught of fantastic cinematography, copious amounts of blood and death, and a great story, Suspiria should be known as one of the most influential pieces on modern horror cinema. While I’m not one of the writers who would classify Black Swan as a horror film, without Suspiria, Black Swan would probably not exist, at least not in the same capacity. But the thing that I love about Suspiria is how accessible it can be for non-horror aficionados. I knew even from the opening scene that Suspiria was going to be a favorite, because while I can appreciate any kill scene, when they are beautifully photographed and put together in terms of classical filmmaking standards, those are the films that I don’t just enjoy, but truly fall in love with. But don’t get me wrong: this isn’t some overly artistic self-indulgent bore-fest with a few scares thrown in. This film is graphic, almost to the point where in some scenes it feels as though they dipped the filmstrips in blood. Suspiria isn’t for the faint of heart: Argento uses the characters’ blood as paint, and masterfully creates what I like to think is one of the most important pieces ever created in the horror genre.

Good lord that trailer is cheesy.

Editorial written by: Tyler Osborne — Follow him on Twitter
Last year’s Day 11 film: The Shining

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Tyler Osborne

Live in DC, grew up in PA. I specialize in writing, filming and taking pictures about punk, pop-punk, and hardcore music, and I also have a huge background in film as well. When not on the site, i'm running my own internet radio show, ToZ's Edge Radio (www.facebook.com/tozedgeradio). I also love stage diving and goldfish.

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