An American ballet student arrives at a prestigious German dance school and it does not take long for some supernatural malevolence to upend everything. Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper bringing a perfect level of innocence to her role) is dragged down into a horrifying pit of impossible horror as the paranormal presence festering within the school brings about brutal ends to those unfortunate to be in its way and works to its sinister goals. Suzy seems heavily affected almost as soon as she begins her studies in the Art Nouveau/German Expressionism geometrical nightmare she calls a school. It ties into the location’s history with a dangerous coven and the horrifying folklore of “The Three Mothers”. Is it flawed? Of course it is but if you’re going into an Argento film (not even focusing on it being a supernatural outing of his) concerned about a depth in character motivation then I’m sorry, but you’re the fucking problem. A gorgeous experience thanks to Luciano Tovoli’s breathtaking cinematography combining with a stellar art and design department earning their paycheck and containing some truly visceral set pieces along with a level of uncanny horror that’s still impressive nearly fifty years on. Goblin’s wonderfully abrasive soundtrack is pure nightmare fuel that resembles an electronic score performed by the most violent inmates at a local insane asylum made exclusively to be played at the funeral of a Romanian sadist. Maggots rain from the ceiling, a seeing eye dog attacks its master and Udo fuckin’s Kier shows up to share some history and introduce our hero to an expert on witchcraft. The story takes a backseat to the instability of the whole situation and I love every minute of it.
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