New ‘Suspiria’ Director Claims Film Isn’t A Remake

One of the more anticipated films on many horror fans’ radars is the Luca Guadagnino-directed Suspiria, based on the 1977 film of the same name from Dario Argento. Every detail we’ve heard about the project has viewed it as a remake of the original, but the director recently told the French magazine Allocine that he doesn’t consider his film a remake.

“It’s inspired by the same story, but it goes in different directions, it explores other reasons,” he told the magazine. “It’s semantics, of course, but I think people really have to understand that this is not a remake, because the word ‘remake’ gives the impression that we want to erase the original, and the opposite is what we tried to do.”

As the director admits, he feels as though the semantics of the situation are important to note, clearly not wanting to give the impression that his version of the story could compare to the original masterpiece.

The new film is set in 1977 Berlin and follows a young American woman who joins a prestigious dance company. She arrives just as one of the members mysteriously disappears. As she gets more involved in the dance company, she begins to suspect that the dance troupe is harboring a disturbing secret.

The director shared more information about the project and what it means to him when speaking with Criterion.

“I have three months until I finish it. It’s a very special film, and I’m proud of it,” he shared. “I wonder all the time how people will react to it, being that it is based on a masterpiece. I often find myself in the position of saying, ‘Oh, it’s ridiculous!’ when I hear stories that they want to remake a movie like 8½, so I don’t know if I’m going to be served the same dish.”

“But I can say that my Suspiria is a very personal film; it’s like oxygen to me,” the filmmaker confessed. “When I saw the original movie 32 years ago, the emotion I felt was so strong, so mind-blowing, and so important to my upbringing. I wanted to investigate the experience I had watching that film.”

The film stars Tilda Swinton (Doctor Strange), Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey), Mia Goth (A Cure For Wellness) and Chloë Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass).

Radiohead’s Thom Yorke will be providing the film with its score.

Stay tuned for details on when Suspiria will hit theaters.

[H/T Bloody Disgusting]