Star of Original ‘Suspiria’ “Not Interested” in New Remake

Udo Kier starred in Dario Argento’s original Suspiria in 1977 and, while he wishes the remake nothing but the best, he has no personal interest in being involved with the new film or watching it.

“No, I was not interested in it. If I’m in the original, why should I be in the copy?” Kier shared with ComicBook.com when asked his thoughts about Luca Guadagnino’s new film. “So it’s the same when Lars Von Trier, in The Kingdom, where I played a baby and the father of the baby, which is the devil. When Stephen King wrote The Kingdom for an American TV show, and I called Lars Von Trier, and I said, ‘I’m doing The Kingdom.’ He said, ‘You are in the original. You don’t want to be in the copy.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, you’re right. I just was joking.’ So, no, I had nothing to do with Suspiria, and I’m not going to watch it.”

Kier played Frank Mandel in the original film, a character who helps alert Suzy (Jessica Harper) to the fact that she’s been attending a ballet school that has ties to witchcraft. In the upcoming film, Tilda Swinton stars as Madame Blanc, with many audiences theorizing that she also plays the character Dr. Jozef Klemperer by using old age makeup.

If there were any reason for Kier to check out the new film, it would be because of Swinton’s involvement.

“I have nothing against the new movie. I did the original. It will have the same plot. And I love Tilda Swinton. She’s a great actress,” Kier confessed. “We made a movie together many years called ‘Egomania’ starring Tilda and myself when she was working with Derek Jarman, great director, who unfortunately left the earth. I mean, the spirit left the earth. If I see it, I’ll see it only for Tilda, because she is always creating her own strong images.”

In the new film, a darkness swirls at the center of a world-renowned dance company, one that will engulf the troupe’s artistic director (Swinton), an ambitious young dancer (Johnson), and a grieving psychotherapist (Lutz Ebersdorf). Some will succumb to the nightmare. Others will finally wake up.

The film also stars Chloe Grace-Moretz, Mia Goth, Sylvie Testud, Renée Soutendijk, Angela Winkler, and Małgosia Bela.

The remake was directed by Luca Guadagnino.

While Kier might not be interested in the new film, his co-star in the original, Jessica Harper, does appear in the remake.

The new Suspiria opens in New York and Los Angeles on October 26th before opening nationwide on November 2nd.

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