Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Suspiria’ Sent Dakota Johnson to Therapy: ‘It F*cked Me Up So Much’
Zack Sharf
Despite the rumor that Luca Guadanino was a major contender for Cannes 2018, the director will not be bringing his much-anticipated “Suspiria” remake to the Croisette next month. The film, backed by Amazon and K Period Media, is based on Dario Argento’s 1977 horror classic and is described by Guadagnino as more of an homage to the original than a traditional remake, and the director’s vision was apparently so extreme that it sent star Dakota Johnson to therapy.
“(Filming ‘Suspiria’), no lie, fucked me up so much that I had to go to therapy,” Johnson told Elle this month. “We were in an abandoned hotel on top of a mountain. It had 30 telephone poles on the roof, so there was electricity pulsating through the building, and everyone was shocking each other. It was cold as shit, and so dry.”
Johnson, collaborating with Guadagnino for a second time after earning rave reviews for “A Bigger Splash,” takes on the lead role made famous by Jessica Harper. The actress plays an aspiring ballerina who begins classes at a prestigious dance academy and discovers something evil within the school. The supporting cast includes Guadagnino favorite Tilda Swinton, plus Chloë Grace Moretz and Mia Goth. “Radiohead” frontman Thom Yorke is handling score duties.
“Every movie I make is a step inside my teenage dreams, and ‘Suspiria’ is the most remarkably precise teenage megalomaniac dream I could have had,” Guadagnino told The Guardian last December. “I am approaching it as an homage to the incredible, powerful emotion I felt when I saw it.”
“Suspiria” marks Guadagnino’s quick return to the big screen after last year’s awards darling “Call Me By Your Name,” which won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay and turned Timothée Chalamet into a breakout star. Amazon has not announced an official release date for the film, although a fall date is most likely at this point.
