[Editorial] Let’s Talk About the Lack of Color in the ‘Suspiria’ Remake
-
‘Death Boom’ Documentary Trailer – Eli Roth & Leonardo DiCaprio Expose the Deathcare Industry
-
‘Fall 2: Deadpoint’ Official Trailer – Franchise Heads to Thailand for Fear-of-Heights Sequel
-
‘Hold the Fort’ Trailer Pits New Homeowners Against an Onslaught of Monsters
-
‘The Haunting of Pennhurst’ Exclusive Clip Trains Scare Actors For Historic Haunt in Tribeca Doc
But where are all those pretty Argento colors?!
Dario Argento’s Suspiria is nothing if not a truly one-of-a-kind art piece experience, with perhaps its two most notable aspects being purely aesthetic. I’m of course talking about Goblin’s haunting score and Argento’s gorgeous technicolor lighting, which come together to imbue Suspiria with a surreal and truly memorable quality all its own.
But when Suspiria returns to theaters this coming November, that aesthetic will be quite different. Rather than re-using Goblin’s score or commissioning a new one from them, Italian director Luca Guadagnino instead enlisted Radiohead’s Thom Yorke to score his remake, and he’s also opted for a muted color palette that’s in direct contrast to Argento’s bright, vivid colors. This much is clear based on yesterday’s eerie, ’70s-feeling teaser trailer, which was heavy on greys and browns and entirely bereft of eye-popping reds and blues. Even our new Susie Bannion’s red hair, a seemingly perfect way for Guadagnino to have added some colorful pop to his take on Argento’s classic, looks muted to the point of nearly being brown.
Dario Argento’s Suspiria, 1977
From an aesthetic standpoint, the lack of color in a movie titled Suspiria is a surprising choice for Guadagnino to have made, but we actually shouldn’t be surprised by what we saw in yesterday’s aforementioned teaser. I say this because not only has Guadagnino stressed from the very beginning that his Suspiria isn’t quite a “remake” of Argento’s 1977 masterpiece, but he also told us outright, over a year ago, that his Suspiria would be anything but colorful.
Guadagnino told Indiewire back in March 2017…
[My Suspiria is] a film about guilt and motherhood. It has no primary colors in its color palette, unlike the original. It will be cold, evil and really dark.
Cold. Evil. Dark. Three words that one could use to describe the first teaser for Guadagnino’s Suspiria, so you can’t say he wasn’t honest up front about what he intended to deliver with this one. Guadagnino, it’s now plainly clear as day, didn’t set out to re-do what Dario Argento already did but rather take the general storyline and *feel* of a film he deeply loves and reinterpret it through his own eyes. His own aesthetic. What Argento did with Suspiria could simply never be recreated by another filmmaker. And Guadagnino smartly didn’t try. Without that iconic Goblin score or “Argento lighting,” Guadagnino’s remake of Suspiria has the chance to stand on its own two feet, free of direct comparisons to its same-named predecessor.
Remakes of beloved classics are something of a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation for filmmakers, as fans have been known to oppose both remakes that lazily recreate films of the past and ones that boldly take them in new directions. But if you’re asking me, the only worthwhile remakes are the ones that fall into the latter category. And though we won’t know for sure until later this year, all signs are at this point in time pointing to Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria remake being one of the good ones. One of the worthwhile ones.
We’ll find out for sure on November 2.
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
You must be logged in to post a comment.