For Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria, a remake of Dario Argento’s classic film that is its own beast entirely, Dakota Johnson takes on the role of Susie Bannion, played by Jessica Harper in the original film. Paying homage to Argento’s film, Guadagnino cast Harper in his remake, playing a new character named Anke, the wife of Dr. Klemperer (Tilda Swinton).
Harper has an emotional role in the film, which she detailed to EW this week.
“So, I play the love interest of this character Dr. Klemperer,” Harper told the site. “So, this character Dr. Klemperer, lost his wife many many years before, and spends much of his time longing for her, and hoping somehow their paths will cross again. He doesn’t know what became of her, all those years before. So, I magically reappear, and then some other magic happens, which I don’t want to spoil. But [Swinton] and I get to play this sort of romantic story at the center of this movie, which is really fun. It’s this lovely emotional thread that cuts through the center of the movie.”
She continued, “The shoot for me was pretty brief. I was only involved for a few days, because my part was a small part. The shoot for others was long and difficult because they were in an abandoned hotel on a hilltop in Italy. And I was there too and I know it was difficult. It was cold and dark and scary. It was like a haunted house, which was kind of appropriate, but not ideal shooting circumstances. But I had a wonderful time. Because I was the star of the original movie, when I walked on the set you would have thought I was David Bowie. [Laughs] I sort of had a celebrity moment, which was so sweet.”
Check out an image of Harper in Suspiria 2018 below, shared by Harper herself on Twitter.
Suspiria expands to 250 theaters this weekend. Check listings and grab your tickets.
