The Three Mothers Trilogy

            The Three Mothers is a trilogy of loosely related films, directed by Dario Argento, about three ancient witches; Mater Suspiriorum (Mother of Sighs), Mater Tenebrarum (Mother of Darkness), and Mater Lachrymarum (Mother of Tears). Each film features a different witch and a different location. The first two films are thematically similar while the third installment has little to do with the first two other than the theme of the Three Mothers.

Director- Dario Argento

From Italy

Suspiria

1977

Cast- Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bose, Alida Valli, Joan Bennett, Barbara Magnolfi, Udo Kier

           

An American dancer (Jessica Harper) has just arrived in Germany to join a prestigious dance academy.  Almost immediately she begins to notice strange things. Over the course of the story she becomes aware of a coven of witches operating at the school. You may recognize Jessica Harper from another infernal film, the Brian De Palma musical Phantom of the Paradise. You may also recognize a very young Udo Kier (though not as young as he was in Mark of the Devil).

            You’re not likely to see many movies like Suspiria. It’s not that it has some surprise twist ending. On the contrary, the story follows a predictable linear progression. It’s not the subject matter, as the story is similar to others. No, what makes Suspiria unique is that it doesn’t feel like most horror movies.

            It starts with the look. Suspiria is beautiful to look at (how often do you say that about a horror movie?). The sets are large, bright, and colorful. Absent, for the most part, are the dark shadows, creepy forests, dirty basements and other tired old locations. The body count isn’t that high either, especially for such a famous film. The deaths however are spectacular. They are outlandish. Two of them are so contrived that they challenge your ability to suspend disbelief. But believability isn’t the point of this film. Good horror films elicit emotions and Suspiria is unsettling and anxiety producing.

            It sounds cliché to say that it has a dream like quality but it’s true. Or perhaps the quality of a long buried memory that has recently surfaced; some details are clear but others are fuzzy. We see this phenomenon examined in the movie as the heroine tries to recall details of a brief encounter or remember where she has heard certain things before.

            This is a movie that will require multiple viewings just to take it all in. No matter what expectations you have going in, I think the movie will prove to be something different.

Inferno

1980

Cast- Irene Miracle, Leigh McCloskey, Eleonora Giorgi, Daria Nicolodi, Sacha Pitoëff, Alida Valli

   Inferno begins to explore the mythology of The Three Mothers. We find out more about their origins and identities but, like Suspiria, the witch herself (in this case The Mother of Darkness) doesn’t appear until late in the film.

   Inferno is beautifully shot but the aesthetics are not nearly as shocking or as beautiful as Suspiria. Like Suspiria the body count is low and the deaths are contrived for visual effect. The film follows Mark (played by Leigh McCloskey who you may recognize from his three decade long television career which included a long stint on Dallas). Various women in Mark’s life, including his sister, fall prey to the coven of witches, causing Mark to investigate. The movie doesn’t have a single narrative like Suspiria which mostly followed one character. Rather, Inferno follows several characters, one at a time, as they run afoul of the coven. Mark is merely the common thread, until his story takes center stage.

            The beginning and end of the film are very good, incorporating striking visuals and a wonderful musical score. The middle of the movie slows down though and you may be wondering where the film is going. Inferno followed Suspiria reasonably quickly which would account for the similarity of style. It wasn’t widely released however and wasn’t as successful which may account for the long wait until the trilogy was completed.

Mother of Tears  (La Terza madre)

2007

Cast- Asia Argento, Daria Nicolodi, Walter Fasano, Adam Gierasch, Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni, Moran Atias

           

Given that this film was made over a quarter of a century after its predecessors, it’s no surprise that it has little in common with the other two. Directors, like everyone else, evolve and change with time. But the first two films, especially Suspiria, were very different from most horror films you are likely to see. Mother of Tears looks and feels like a traditional horror film. Gone are the beautiful colors, dream like atmosphere and intricate death scenes.

That’s not to say that the film is bad. Ironically, since it so unlike the first films, it is probably more accessible to your average horror fan. It has lots of really nice gore, plenty of boobs, and Asia Argento (which is always a good thing).

Asia plays the daughter of a long dead good witch who has become aware of the return of the Mother of Tears. The mother’s coming is proceeded by a “new fall of Rome”; murders, orgies, etc. The Mother’s witch coven kills (rather brutally) anyone trying to stop them.

Fans of Suspiria will fall into one of two categories. Some will want to see it just so they can finish the trilogy. Others will not like it because it veers so far from the original. I’d say, just accept that the magic of Suspiria can’t be replicated, watch it for gore, boobs, and Asia and you’ll be satisfied.

Suspiria

2018

Director- Luca Guadagnino

Cast- Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton, Mia Goth, Ingrid Caven, Fabrizia Sacchi, Elena Fokina, Angela Winkler, Małgosia Bela, Jessica Harper, Chloë Grace Moretz

            When it comes to remakes, most of the time I ask “Why?” Most remakes or reboots could probably be stand-alone movies with about 5 minutes of re-writing. There are a few obvious exceptions. John Carpenter’s The Thing and David Cronenberg’s The Fly are both respectful to the originals while being innovate and both are superior to their respective inspirations. I’m not ready to put Suspiria in that same group, but it does do better than most remakes that do nothing more than capitalize off of a name.

            The plot of a young girl arriving at a dance studio that is the front for a coven of witches remains the same. However unlike the original, the plot gets very quickly to the witches. The witch matrons are using the school as a way to scout for girls they can use in their rituals. Their long term plan is to find a girl who can serve as vessel for the spirit of a decrepit, elderly witch.

            The story is set in Cold War era Berlin with the chaos and violence of political terrorism as the backdrop. The bright colors of the original are replaced with the drab colors and architecture of the old Eastern Block.

            Tilda Swinton plays three different characters, including an elderly man. While it makes for an interesting exercise in make-up effects, one has to wonder why they didn’t just find an elderly man. I read somewhere that Lon Chaney Jr. was supposed to play both roles in Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, however it proved to be a logistical nightmare so they gave the Frank part to Bela Lugosi. You would think that the time in the make-up chair and shoots for scenes where Tilda was playing multiple parts would have created an unnecessary expense, but like I said, it does make for an interesting exercise.

           

There is more emphasis on dancing and the dancers than in the original. Of all the various arts, dance is the one I know least about, so I can’t tell you if the dancing is good or bad. I can say though, after seeing this, that if witches were going to use an art form it would be that. The dancing is not graceful. It’s violent, erotic, frightening, sometimes all three at once. Dakota Johnson has the perfect body for it, lithe, nimble and beautiful. It’s not difficult to imagine Circe, or Medea, or Hecate, thousands of years ago, doing the same thing in their arcane rituals.

            The conclusion of the film is a ritual that turns into a Grand Guignol of blood and dismemberment. It definitely doesn’t take the approach of “it’s scarier not to see it”. It’s very graphic but also visually interesting. The whole movie, in fact, packs in a lot of interesting visuals.

            If you haven’t seen the original, stop reading this right now and go get it. However, if you have seen the original, and were maybe less than satisfied with the conclusion of the trilogy, this film can serve as the closure you never had.