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Here’s What Suspiria Looks Like as a Children’s Book-and-Record Set

Published

9 years ago

August 15, 2015

Did you know that Dario Argento’s classic Suspiria was originally intended to feature children as the girls attending the ballet school? This would have made for a much different, though likely still awesome movie. I set out to write specifically about this interesting piece trivia, but in my research, I came across some fantastic artwork that imagines Suspiria as an old school children’s book-and-record set. If you grew up in the 80s, you probably remember these.

So first off, let’s check that out. Then we’ll get to the real Suspiria trivia down below.

The artwork comes from The Collinsport Historical Society’s Cousin Barnabas, who calls it a “Photoshop experiment” created on a whim. It was first posted back in April.

Suspiria

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suspiria-kids5

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Unfortunately there aren’t actually 24 pages as mentioned on the cover, but it’s still an an awesome little project as far as I’m concerned.

Now for the actual story.

Our own John Squires recently wrote about his trip to haunt convention Haunt Faire, where he saw Suspiria’s Barbara Magnolfi (she played Olga) speak about working on the film.

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John recalled, “Magnolfi talked about working with Dario Argento, remarking that the film was originally going to star children – and Argento, she said, instructed her to basically act like a child would.”

This isn’t a completely unknown fact. It’s been mentioned here and there, but I’m not sure the knowledge is incredibly common among the more casual fans of the film. The IMdb trivia section for the film gets into it a little:

Director Dario Argento‘s original idea was that the ballet school would accommodate young girls not older than 12. However, the studio and producer Salvatore Argento (his father) denied his request because a film this violent involving children would almost certainly be banned. Dario raised the age limit of the girls to 20 but didn’t rewrite the script, hence the naiveté of the characters and the occasionally childlike dialogue. He also put all the doorknobs at about the same height as the actress’ heads, so they would have to raise their arms in order to open the doors, just like children.

According to 366WeirdMovies.com, Argento intended for the girls to be in the 8 to 10-year-old range.

Here’s an interview in which Magnolfi talks about it a little more:

[iframe id=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/eMDeDB80xoM”]

She says, “He wanted all of us to play the roles in a childish way because Suspiria was intended as a fairy tale at the beginning, and obviously you couldn’t do a horror fairy tale, so you know, he got people that were older, but he still wanted us to play in a childish way, so I approached my character in a childish way.”

The film’s Wikipedia page says:

Scriptwriter Daria Nicolodi stated that Suspiria‘s inspiration came from a tale her grandmother told her as a young child about a real life experience she had in an acting academy where she discovered “the teachers were teaching arts, but also black magic.” This story was later confirmed by Argento to have been made up.

It’s hard to argue with the decision to put adults in the characters’ roles, and I don’t think many would argue that the film worked out pretty well in the end, but at the same time, you have to wonder if it would have been even more terrifying had we seen 8 to 10-year-olds in danger from the notorious ballet school witches.

There’s been talk about both a cinematic remake of the film and a television series. It would be interesting to see them play with that concept in either, but that most likely won’t happen. Hell, who knows if these projects will happen at all? A Suspiria remake has been rumored at various times for years.

Children’s Book-and-Record Set Art from www.collinsporthistoricalsociety.com

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Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

10 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

11 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

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Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

'Civil War' Review: Is It Worth Watching?

Movies

’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

Published

13 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.

**Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes**

Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.

Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.

There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.