Cinematography: Suspiria

SUSPIRIA (1977)
Director: Dario Argento
Cinematographer: Luciano Tovoli

Lately I've been an avid viewer of Pretty Little Liars. The show got me hooked since I watched its fifth season. What attracted me to the show is its giallo effect. Pretty Little Liars ("PLL" to its fans) is very reminiscent of those giallo movies, also known as Italian horror movies that incorporate "psychological themes of madness, alienation, sexuality and paranoia." Giallo movies — especially those directed by Dario Argento (aka Asia's dad) — also employ "candy-colored" cinematography, eerie music, and exaggerated performances. In short, campy.

Without further PLL-ing, and since I've mentioned Argento, here are some of the best frames from Suspiria — Argento's well-known film, and probably the most popular of all the giallo movies. (The word "suspiria" is Latin for "sighs.")

Suspiria is a 1977 gialli about Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper), a ballerina who goes to a ballet school in Italy. After experiencing macabre occurrences in the school, Suzy finds out that the campus is actually a coven of witches. Therefore, Suzy has to do everything she can to get out of there; otherwise she'll be kaput.

Trapped Cinema

"As long as we know we're trapped, we still have a chance to escape."

– Sara Grant, Neva

What do you do when you are trapped inside an enclosed space? Cry? Cry some more? Cry for help? Cry until your eyes are dry? Stare into nothingness? Call mom? Perhaps you'll just laugh it all off.

Paranoia can really set in during immurement. Cinema has been able to show us the brutality of being trapped — letting us experience claustrophobia, making us question our own freedom.

Without further blah blah blah, I listed down some of my fave films that trap us inside their trapped plot.

Fave Movie Moments: Garde à vue

Romy Schneider was approaching her final years as an actress and a human being when she filmed 1981's Garde à vue. A year later, the Austrian-born actress died of cardiac arrest.

Romy is Chantal Martinaud. Appearing 52 minutes into the film, Romy was barely in the movie yet her lingering presence is probably the film's biggest draw.