‘Suspiria’: ‘Call Me By Your Name’ Director’s Horror Remake Preview Sparks Extreme Reactions

'The most f**ked up thing I've ever seen.'
Jessica Harper in the original 'Suspiria'
Jessica Harper in the original 'Suspiria'
Moviestore Collection/REX/Shutterstock

Luca Guadagnino is best-known for the tear-jerker, coming-of-age film ‘Call Me By Your Name’, but the director is going in a completely different direction with his next project, ‘Suspiria’.

He is currently preparing to release a remake of the 1977 horror movie and a handful of industry insiders were shown a surprise clip from the film at a CinemaCon event on Thursday (26 April).

None of the attendees knew what was going to be shown, or that Luca and star Dakota Johnson would be there to introduce it.

While the clip won’t be shared online, people were allowed to tweet their thoughts, with many revealing that if this short section is anything to go by, the film will be an incredibly difficult watch.

Luca and 'Suspiria' star Dakota were all smiles at the event
Luca and 'Suspiria' star Dakota were all smiles at the event
Alberto E. Rodriguez via Getty Images

The teaser in question saw Dakota’s dancer character performing a gruelling routine, under the watchful eye of Tilda Swinton. These shots were interspersed with ones of another woman, clawing at the walls of a dance studio.

Variety reports that as Dakota pirouettes and speeds up, she takes control of the other woman’s body, which becomes contorted and is “literally ripped apart, descending into a mess of broken bones, urine, spittle, and blood”.

Collider’s editor-in-chief Steven Weintraub told his Twitter followers that the ‘Suspiria’ teaser was “one of the most fucked up things I’ve ever seen”, adding that people at his table “turned away” and stopped watching.

Amazon just world premiered a scene from Luca Guadagnino's 'Suspiria' remake and it's one of the most fucked up things I've ever seen at #CinemaCon. People at my table turned away from the screen. All I can say is it's beyond extreme and gross and I need to see more.

— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) April 26, 2018

Birth. Movies. Death. writer Scott Wampler penned an article on why the clip probably wasn’t suitable for a lunch event - seriously, what were Amazon producers thinking?! - and plenty of other writers admitted to feeling traumatised:

First clip from Suspiria invokes a dancer being thrown around like a rag doll telekinetically in a mirrored rehearsal space, bones breaking, becoming a contorted mess. Very gruesome and hard to watch. This film will make most people feel uneasy. #CinemaCon

— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) April 26, 2018

Luca Guadagnino’s #Suspiria is fucking terrifying, but I couldn’t look away. Dakota Johnson = WHOA. You’ve never seen a movie like this. #CinemaCon

— Avery Thompson (@avery__thompson) April 26, 2018

Luca Guadagnino presented a scene from his #Suspiria remake; there’s a 70s sepia tone ... and seriously some of the most disturbing body horror. They went for it and the #CinemaCon audience is gasping. Just brutal but with a gentle melody. Holy crap... call me by your bent body.

— Fandango (@Fandango) April 26, 2018

Footage from Guadagnino's SUSPIRIA at Amazon's #CinemaCon lunch: Dance and witchcraft deeply linked. Relentless, GNARLY.
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

— Russ Fischer (@russfischer) April 26, 2018

Amazon teasing incredibly violent and bloody scene from Luca Guadagnino's #Suspiria at #CinemaCon. Close to upchucking the quinoa salad I just ate. Perfect for lunchtime presentation!

— Brent Lang (@BrentALang) April 26, 2018

They are showing the #Suspiria clip now. I had to look away but it wasn’t enough. The sound effects alone will haunt me for the rest of my life. #CinemaCon

— Lauren Cox (@Iaurencox) April 26, 2018

#Suspiria looks like Black Swan on steroids. And that's a compliment. #CinemaCon

— The Oscar Predictor (@OscarPredictor) April 26, 2018

Chloe Grace Moretz and Mia Goth also star in the film, which is slated for release this Autumn, and the score is being created by Radiohead’s Thom Yorke.

Speaking about the project earlier this year, Dakota revealed that she needed therapy when filming finished, telling Elle magazine: “It fucked me up so much.”

“We were in an abandoned hotel on top of a mountain,” she said. “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. The only thing that helped was dousing myself with oil every night. Now I can’t get enough.”

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