Tenth International Conference on The Image

Abstract

The horror film genre has been evoking fear since the end of the 19th century. According to Glenn Walters (2004) study in the Journal of Media Psychology, three main factors make horror movies attractive: tension, materiality, and unrealism. In the film Suspiria (2018), which is a remake of the classic horror film directed by Dario Argento (1977), these elements are revealed through the prism of the art-house movies in a special way. The new Suspiria tells about grim, rainy and unsettled Berlin circa 1977, the same year Dario’s original Suspiria was released. The current research is divided into three sections: Mechanisms of formation of fear through the body - where the body as a grotesque is implemented; Costumes and Set-Design - where the influence of Made in Italy megabrand on contemporary cinema is explained; and Dance and Ritual. The study gives an explanation of the relatedness of the witch theme of the film with the radical dance artists of the 20th century; it analyzes the work of “Volk” (Louvre, 2013). Finally, the plausible results demonstrate why dance could be considered as a multi-faceted art form, combining aesthetic categories and physical and emotional sufferings, and why it becomes an instrument of communication, intimidation, and manifestation of power inside and outside this picture. Moreover, the research portrays the connection between ritual practices and modern dance and shows how the epicenter of the artistic expressions during the conquest of life stages is formed in this connection as the mechanism of overcoming fear.

Presenters

Liudmila Arlanova

Daria Müller Velasquez
PhD candidate, Doctoral School of Art and Design, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Russian Federation

Polikarp Kolesov