Thursday, December 4, 2008

Inspirational(ly Creepy) Music, part 2

It is 2005. Once again, I am watching a movie (though a different one) that is scaring the bejeezus out of me. The story: a young American girl goes to study ballet at a prestigious German ballet academy. But strange things are happening. The same night she arrives in Germany, a young girl who had recently been expelled from the ballet academy is found murdered in a shockingly vicious fashion. The teachers at the academy seem to slip away to some secret place within the school at night. There is a mysterious Directress of the academy that is never seen. As the body count piles up, the girl happens upon the truth: the ballet academy is actually a front for a coven of witches, who use their magic to spread their hate and malice and amass vast personal wealth. Eventually the girl wanders through a secret fairy tale door into a place more deadly and horrible than Narnia or the Wonderland on the other side of the looking glass. She must be brave and face down an ancient with power beyond her comprehension. And did I mention that the score is creepy, compelling, and gorgeous? Here's a taste:



I love that subliminally soft demonic voice that tonelessly begins to 'sing' la la la along with the music at various points. And I love the fantasy and fairy tale aspects of Suspiria's story- a young innocent girl is journeying into a dangerous world of black magic, where she must challenge an ancient evil. In some ways this is similar to the journey Amalthea must make. But does this music have any place in the stage production of "The Last Unicorn?" If so, where should the music go? Or is the film source of this material too easy for people to recognize? I had never heard of this movie before I saw it, but I'm not exactly a cineast. Any thoughts, commenters?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

that movie wasn't scary.
-margie

Ed R said...

We can't all fear nothing like you.

:-)