“Suspiria” Story Analysis

Director: Dario Argento

Writers: Dario Argento, Daria Nicolodi

Cast: Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bosé, Barbara Magnolfi

Synopsis: An American ballet student arrives as a prestigious dance academy in Germany where she discovers a coven of witches.

Story Analysis Description

*Analysis based off work of Robert McKee, Joseph Campbell, John Truby and Syd Field

CHARACTERS

Suzy Bannion

Desire	Conscious:	Figure out mystery at ballet school
	Unconscious:	–
Conflict Levels	Inner:	Fear of death
	Personal:	Witches
	Extra-Personal:	Anti-feminist society that won’t believe her
Character	Characterization:	Aspiring, young ballet student
	True Character:	Strong willed hero
	Turn:	–

Mysterious Coven

Desire	Conscious:	Maintain secret power
	Unconscious:	–
Conflict Levels	Inner:	–
	Personal:	Suzy, Sara, Daniel
	Extra-Personal:	Outside world that would take away their power
Character	Characterization:	Malevolent coven
	True Character:	–
	Turn:	–

Sara

Desire	Conscious:	Figure out mystery at ballet school
	Unconscious:	–
Conflict Levels	Inner:	Fear of death
	Personal:	Witches
	Extra-Personal:	Anti-feminist society that won’t believe her
Character	Characterization:	Aspiring, young ballet student
	True Character:	–
	Turn:	–

Daniel

Desire	Conscious:	Be a pianist
	Unconscious:	–
Conflict Levels	Inner:	Blindness
	Personal:	Witches
	Extra-Personal:	–
Character	Characterization:	Bossy egotist
	True Character:	Scared man
	Turn:	–

Principle of Antagonism

Positive	Survival	Pessimistic	Injury
Negative	Death	Negation of Negation	Metaphysical death

Controlling Idea

Overcoming evil requires courage because the forces of darkness are powerful.

PLOT

Inciting Incident	Suzy arrives at ballet school
Act One Climax	Suzy collapses and moves into academy
GAP	Strange things keep happening, upsetting perceived norms
Progressive Complications	Daniel dies and maggots spring out of the ceiling
Midpoint	Suzy sees strange figure behind curtain
Act Two Climax	Suzy learns about the coven rumors
Act Three Climax	Suzy takes down the coven leader
Resolution	Suzy emerges from the smouldering wreckage of the academy

SEQUENCE LIST

SEQUENCE ONE – Status Quo & Inciting Incident	Suzy tries to get to school and Patricia is killed.
SEQUENCE TWO – Predicament & Lock In	Suzy practices at school and gets ill, keeping her stuck there.
SEQUENCE THREE – First Obstacle & Raising the Stakes	Maggots rain down from the ceiling.
SEQUENCE FOUR – First Culmination/Midpoint	Suzy comes face to face with the coven leader behind the curtain.
SEQUENCE FIVE – Subplot & Rising Action	Daniel is murdered.
SEQUENCE SIX – Main Culmination/End of Act Two	Sara is murdered and Suzy learns about the academy’s history.
SEQUENCE SEVEN – New Tension & Twist	Suzy finds the headquarters of the coven and murders Markos.
SEQUENCE EIGHT – Resolution	Suzy escapes the school as it burns to the ground.

HERO’S JOURNEY

ORDINARY WORLD	American world of ballet
CALL TO ADVENTURE	Suzy witnesses Patricia running from school out of fear
REFUSAL OF THE CALL	Suzy pretends as if strange happenings are normal
CROSSING FIRST THRESHOLD	Suzy forced to stay at school as she becomes ill
TESTS, ALLIES, ENEMIES	Sara becomes friend as strange happenings and murders continue
MEETING THE MENTOR	Suzy meets psychiatrist and Dr. Wilius for advice
APPROACH TO INMOST CAVE	Suzy navigates down hallways to coven
ORDEAL	Suzy fights off Markos and the coven
REWARD	Suzy realizes her strength
RESURECCTION	Suzy escapes the crumbling academy
ROAD BACK	Suzy leaves the academy
RETURN WITH ELIXIR	Suzy realizes her strength

22 STEPS

1. Self-revelation, need, and desire
	Self-Revelation:	Suzy is a strong willed hero
	Psychological Need:	Stand up against fears
	Moral Need:	–
	Desire:	Excel as a ballerina
2. Ghost and story world
	Ghost World:	Normalized American schooling
	Story World:	Dancing academy
3. Weakness and need
	Weakness:	Frightened foreigner
	Need:	Stand up for herself
4. Inciting event
	Inciting event:	Suzy arrives at school
5. Desire
	Desire:	To excel at school
6. Ally or allies
	Ally or allies:	Sara
7. Opponent and/or mystery
	Opponent and/or mystery:	What killed Patricia and haunts the school?
8. Fake-ally opponent
	Fake-ally opponent:	Headmistress, Miss Tanner… pretty much everyone
9. First revelation and decision: Changed desire and motive
	Revelation:	Suzy gets sick
	Decision:	Suzy forced to live at academy
	Changed desire and motive:	Suzy must fight through illness because she is judged as a foreigner
10. Plan
	Plan:	Suzy continues practicing at school
11. Opponent’s plan and main counterattack
	Plan:	Witches keep anonymity and maintain power
	Counterattack:	Kill whoever crosses them
12. Drive
	Drive:	Suzy wants to do well at school and avoid mystery
13. Attack by ally
	Attack by ally:	–
14. Apparent defeat
	Apparent defeat:	Witches poison Suzy to keep her compliant
15. Second revelation and decision: Obsessive drive, changed desire and motive
	Second revelation:	Sara is missing
	Decision:	Try to find out what is happening
	Changed desire and motive:	Find Sara because she is her friend
16. Audience revelation
	Audience revelation:	Mysterious force is killing people
17. Third revelation and decision
	Third revelation:	The academy may be a coven for witches
	Decision:	Suzy tries to figure out if rumors are true
18. Gate, gauntlet, visit to death
	Gate:	Suzy traces Sara’s steps to iris wall
	Gauntlet:	Suzy finds the coven
	Visit to Death:	Suzy comes face to face with Markos
19. Battle
	Battle:	Suzy fights against the re-animated corpse of Sara
20. Self-revelation
	Self-revelation:	Suzy is a strong individual capable of taking on evil
21. Moral decision
	Moral decision:	Suzy kills the witch to save herself and others
22. New equilibrium
	New equilibrium:	Suzy leaves the academy a stronger person

THEMES

The film is clearly evocative of fairy tales, particularly Grimm and Germanic stories. The movie presents Suzy as Snow White or Little Red Riding Hood against a backdrop of magic that the world has supposedly forgotten about, but still exists beneath the surface of modern day life. The witches are elemental beings, tampering with the forces of nature against the goodness of the world. Their use of animals (maggots, bats, dogs) speaks to their abuse of the natural world. Suzy must set that right by burning them down.

Though not explicit in the story, the lack of male characters and masculinity itself bears investigation. The younger girls are presented as naive, unable or unwilling to take responsibility as they are controlled by older women. The headmistress and Miss Tanner are strong characters but abuse their power. For Suzy, she gains strength through ingenuity and will, not malice as the witches do. This is then a portrait of two different types of feminine strength: the kind that abuses others through a top-down hierarchy and the kind that relies on feminine bonding (Sara and Suzy) and inner strength. The film argues that Suzy survives because she has that inner strength to survive against a belief system that demands inferiority.

SCENE BREAKDOWN

Scene #1	Getting to Ballet School
Protagonist	Suzy
Desire	Get to ballet school
Antagonist	Weather
TP	Suzy turned away
Value	Advancement
Role	Introduction to Suzy, Patricia Inciting Incident offscreen: Witches frighten her

The audience is introduced to Suzy: young, American, out of her element, naive. She is thrust into a strange land of fairy tale, similar to little red riding hood skipping along to Grandma’s house. The moody rain, dark trees and haunting music elevate her journey into a foreign world. Turned away at the gate, she sees a girl, Patricia, running from the school and into the woods.

Scene #2	Patricia Murdered
Protagonist	Patricia
Desire	Escape
Antagonist	Mystery force
TP	Patricia murdered
Value	Survival
Role	Patricia Act One Climax: Patricia murdered

Patricia as a character sets up the mysterious force that will plague Suzy and the other dancers. Her fear and questions notify us that something is out of balance at the academy, but we don’t know what it is or who is behind it. Her gruesome death informs us that the mysterious force is dangerous and violent.

Scene #3	Introduction to School
Protagonist	Suzy
Desire	Make a good impression
Antagonist	Miss Tanner, Madame Blanc
TP	–
Value	Impression
Role	Introduction to School

The audience is introduced to the dynamics of the school, its hierarchy. Miss Tanner and Madame Blanc are strange characters, different than how we would think them to behave. From this, we get the sense that everyone knows something that Suzy doesn’t, setting up her character as our point of investigation; As Suzy discovers the secrets of the Academy, we will as well.

Scene #4	Other Girls
Protagonist	Suzy
Desire	Meet other girls
Antagonist	Other Girls
TP	Suzy watches as the girls fight amongst themselves
Value	Impression
Role	Introduce cohort of girls and show Suzy as an outsider

Suzy is highlighted as an outsider, not fitting in with the other girls at the academy. Their petty squabbles and ego keep them from connecting, keeping Suzy out of their loop of confidence. As the story develops, Suzy being a solitary individual outside of an eventual friend will keep our empathy aligned with her.

Scene #5	Suzy Talks with Olga
Protagonist	Suzy
Desire	Fit in
Antagonist	Olga
TP	Suzy thinks dead girl was hiding a secret
Value	Mystery
Role	Awaken mystery

The camera moves in towards Suzy as she remembers that night with Patricia. Why did the girl run away? How did she die? What was she saying as she left? The answers to these questions will aid Suzy at the film’s conclusion. For now, they pose issues that Suzy must overcome to succeed.

Scene #6	Ballet Practice
Protagonist	Suzy
Desire	Do well
Antagonist	Headmistress
TP	Suzy turns down room in school
Value	Strength
Role	Show Suzy standing up for herself

Up to this point, the audience thinks little of Suzy. She is Snow White: innocent, naive, seemingly easily manipulated. By refusing a room in the academy, Suzy demonstrates a strength hidden beneath the surface.

Scene #7	Vision
Protagonist	Suzy
Desire	Escape vision
Antagonist	Witch presence
TP	Suzy makes it out of hallway
Value	Survival
Role	Deepen mystery at the academy

The rows and rows of red portend to the unease of the scene. Suzy feels something frightening, but she can’t understand what. Red, the color of blood, is a visual metaphor for the evil of the coven.

Scene #8	Suzy Collapses
Protagonist	Suzy
Desire	Fight through ache
Antagonist	Mysterious force
TP	Suzy collapses
Value	Impression
Role	Act One Climax: Suzy is commited to the academy as the mysterious force poisons her and forces her to stay.

The repetitive motion of dancing drives Suzy to collapse. Although Suzy may not realize it yet, we know that she has been poisoned by the coven to keep her under their thumb. This is her unwilling commitment to the story.

Scene #9	Sick In Bed
Protagonist	Suzy
Desire	Get well
Antagonist	Illness
TP	Suzy agrees to take medicine
Value	Advancement
Role	Deepening mystery

Suzy is given a strange medicine to overcome her illness. This will keep her at the academy after her initial refusal of a room. She is being sedated to gain her compliance.

Scene #10	Maggots
Protagonist	Suzy
Desire	Escape maggots
Antagonist	Maggots
TP	Find source of maggots
Value	Survival
Role	More tension building

There’s a buildup leading to the maggot realization. There’s something in her hair. What is it? There’s a maggot. Why? Then there’s more. She rips them out of her hair. Then she looks up. They’re falling out of the ceiling. Then screams from other girls. They’re everywhere. The buildup brings out the horror of the moment. What is happening in this house?

Scene #11	Contingency Plan
Protagonist	Headmistress
Desire	Fix maggot problem
Antagonist	Maggots
TP	Decides everyone will sleep in dancing hall
Value	Propriety
Role	Headmistress Act One: Keep school under control. Her Inciting Incident occurs offscreen, which is Patricia running away.

Sleeping in the studio will provide more clues for Suzy to unravel the mystery.

Scene #12	Sleeping in Studio
Protagonist	Sara
Desire	Figure out cause of strange snoring
Antagonist	Mystery
TP	Sara concludes strange woman is behind sheet
Value	Mystery
Role	Sara Inciting Incident: Find cause of mysteries at school. Midpoint: Face to face with malevolent force.

The color red is used again to mark a transition into the evil witch world, this time the outline of the matron witch. We are also introduced to her strange snoring which will be used in terrifying effect later on in the film. This is the midpoint of the film as Suzy comes face to face with the source of the mystery though she doesn’t realize it yet.

Scene #13	Dog Argument
Protagonist	Miss Tanner
Desire	Get rid of dog
Antagonist	Blind pianist Daniel
TP	Pianist storms out
Value	Propriety
Role	Daniel Inciting Incident

This scene sets up the second confrontation with the coven. Daniel’s dog bites the headmistress’ son. Miss Tanner, defending her coven, fires the man after he is rude about it. This confrontation sets up another investigation into the witches by Suzy and the audience.

Scene #14	Charting Steps
Protagonist	Sara
Desire	Chart steps
Antagonist	Mystery
TP	Successfully charts steps
Value	Mystery
Role	Setup

Sara, intrigued by the mystery surrounding the academy, counts the steps walking down the hallway. This will prove useful to Suzy at the film’s conclusion.

Scene #15	Daniel Murdered
Protagonist	Daniel
Desire	Find attacker
Antagonist	Mysterious force
TP	Daniel mauled
Value	Survival
Role	Daniel Act One Climax

The force that hunted Patricia in the film’s opening reveals itself again as Daniel is mauled by his own seeing eye dog. This further illustrates the power of the coven and its far reach.

Scene #16	Suzy Remembers Words
Protagonist	Suzy
Desire	Figure out cause of murders
Antagonist	Headmistress
TP	Headmistress can’t help
Value	Mystery
Role	Setup for Conclusion

Suzy remembers Patricia uttering the words “secret iris” that fateful night. This is a setup for Suzy’s actions during the conclusion.

Scene #17	Sara’s Demise
Protagonist	Sara
Desire	Survive
Antagonist	Witches
TP	Murdered
Value	Survival
Role	Sara Act One Climax

As Sara realizes she is in imminent danger, the lights change around her. She is physically and mentally ensnared in the web of the witches, her murder the catalyst for Suzy’s further actions.

Scene #18	Suzy Learns about Sara
Protagonist	Suzy
Desire	Find Sara
Antagonist	Witches
TP	Suzy learns Sara disappeared
Value	Mystery
Role	Deeper stakes

The stakes for Suzy deepen as her one friend, Sara, has disappeared. This casts her off in a way, her alone against the coven.

Scene #19	Suzy Tries to Find Sara
Protagonist	Suzy
Desire	Find Sara
Antagonist	Coven
TP	Suzy can’t find Sara
Value	Mystery
Role	Deeper stakes

Suzy realizes she is on her own and must solve the mystery herself.

Scene #20	Suzy Learns about Witches
Protagonist	Suzy
Desire	Find Sara
Antagonist	Witches
TP	Suzy learns about Sara’s theories of witches
Value	Mystery
Role	Act Two Climax

Through Sara’s friend psychiatrist Frank, Suzy learns that the school was established by a woman named Helena Markos whom locals believed to be a witch. She also learns about her status as a Black Queen and that a coven can only survive with its leader. This information will prove vital for Suzy at the film’s conclusion. She now knows how the coven was started, who she is up against and how to destroy it if she can believe in the fantastical. This catapults her into the last act of the film.

Scene #21	Bus Attack
Protagonist	Suzy
Desire	Beat back bat
Antagonist	Bat
TP	Suzy kills bat
Value	Survival
Role	Approach to Suzy’s test

The bat is a threshold guardian, preparing Suzy for her journey into the world of the witches. Killing it again reveals her inner strength, a courage that will be tested.

Scene #22	The Coven
Protagonist	Suzy
Desire	Beat back Coven
Antagonist	Witches
TP	Suzy stabs Markos
Value	Survival
Role	A3 Climax

Suzy uses everything she has learned over the course of the story to survive; Sara’s research (counting footsteps), Patricia’s mumbles (turning the blue iris to open the secret door) and Dr. Milius’ knowledge (killing the head of the coven). Suzy wanders down a hallway, disappearing into the maze of the witches. She peers behind a curtain to glance at their world, seeing their evil coming after her. The light again is used to show the power of the witches and Suzy realizes that everyone is in on it, against her. As Suzy hides from the coven, she hears the labored breathing, taking our memories back to Sara’s theories about the woman behind the sheet. We then realize as Suzy does that it is Helena Markos. Suzy must summon her strength and fight against the evil witch who remains hidden from her until she stabs her in the neck, revealing her haggard, ugly appearance. Sara’s body being used a surrogate killing machine against Suzy highlights how Suzy and the other girls are viewed as just a means to an end, their youth and beauty manipulations of the coven. The crumbling coven after the death of Markos highlights the power they held once again, that power dissipating out of them.

Scene #23	Escape
Protagonist	Suzy
Desire	Escape
Antagonist	Crumbling witch world
TP	Suzy leaves school
Value	Survival
Role	Conclusion

The world of the coven falls apart. The entire academy is revealed as a facade for their evil ways. Suzy leaves not quite unlike Patricia at the start of the film, but with a smile on her face. She has conquered the evil that destroyed Patricia and Sara and feels realized.

OVERALL

Setting the story up as a fable allows Argento to deal with elemental forces to create complexity around an otherwise simple narrative. In effect, the film can be seen as an exploration into the human psyche in similarity to myths.

Suzy delves into the realm of the unconscious at the academy, developing from naive youth to strong individual. The entire film feels like a dream in many ways. Many shots and sequences are set up as mazes, highlighting this exploration into deeper realms of consciousness. The empty landscapes of most of the film allow the characters and sets to stand out as canvases, seemingly painted on the screen. As the story unfolds, Suzy is seen constantly peering through windows and curtains, symbolically delving deeper and deeper into the psyche. What she finds is a true horror, a perversion of nature, the result of the ego turning against its better nature. Faced with the repercussions of the power of the ego gone amuck, Suzy is able to beat back the current of its force and complete herself.

This is of course just one possible interpretation of Suspiria. Given the wide open nature of the narrative, there are many others. Perhaps the world, so antifeminist as it is, has morphed a group of women into a hyperfeminist cult, their need for power twisting into evil. Or the power of age, how the coven finds the need to lure young women to them, the need to stay young metastasized in their dogma.

Suzy is not given a lot of characterization. We know little about her past, her motivations. In one sense, this allows us to put our own interpretation of her character on the screen. In another, it prevents us from being more fully invested in the story. And given that the film is a mere 22 scenes long, not knowing more about any of the characters keeps us at arm’s length away from investing in the narrative.

The true star of the film, of course, is the cinematography. DP Luciano Tovoli utilizes a broad array of colors to create a beautiful film, using Technicolor to its full effect as it borrows from Italian Giallo and German Expressionism. Combined with the score by the Italian band Goblin, this creates a distinct, surreal atmosphere that’s beyond reality. We clearly enter into the witches’ world and these elements, designed by Argento, transport us.

It is the greatest ability of the film, something totally original and defining. There’s a reason why we think of Argento, we think of these moments instantly. In a way, the plot is secondary to the creative transportation Argento creates. His film canvas is a representation of our mind and dreams and nightmares.