Last year, Jennifer Lawrence told the world that she popped a rib from screaming on the set of Darren Aronofsky's psychological thriller Mother! When audiences finally saw the film — which, at the time, was heavily shrouded in mystery — they learned exactly what disturbing scene required so much raw emotion. The scene — which involved a newborn baby and a mob of crazed fans — may have been dubbed the most intense cinematic moment of 2017, but it sounds like the 2018 remake of Suspiria may give Mother! a run for its money.
Based on Dario Argento's 1977 film, the new Suspiria — which is directed by Call Me By Your Name's Luca Guadagnino — stars Dakota Johnson as a ballerina who has just joined a new dance academy in Germany. Unfortunately for Johnson's Susie, Center Stage this is not. Susie quickly learns that this school has some very dark secrets, which audiences at Cinema Con also became privy to when they saw an early scene from the upcoming horror flick.
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The original Suspiria was hardly a walk in the park, so it's no surprise that with modern day technology (and a world that clearly has an appetite for horror following the success of films like Get Out) the new Suspiria will be even more intense. The clip shown to the audience at Cinema Con was, apparently, quite brutal. According to Deadline, the film cuts between Johnson's Susie, dancing in a ballet studio, and another ballerina. As Susie performs, her moves somehow cause the other ballerina, in a mirrored room, to contort her body in gruesome ways, until she dies. It's pure body horror: the dead dancer's bones protrude as "yellow liquid" runs from her mouth.
This should finally explain what Johnson told Elle of her time working on the upcoming movie.
"[Suspiria], no lie, fucked me up so much that I had to go to therapy," the Fifty Shades of Grey actress revealed to the outlet during an interview earlier in April.
Audience members "lucky" enough to see one of her scenes might need to talk about it, too.
"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," Collider's Steven Weintraub wrote following Thursday's event.
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
SlashFilm's Peter Sciretta called the scene "brutal."
"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"
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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
Amy Kaufman of the Los Angeles Times also revealed that the scene was not for the faint of heart.
"Ummm I am traumatized after seeing a scene from Suspiria in which Dakota Johnson controls the body of another woman as she dances. The woman's body literally cracks in half. She is like, torn apart. Spitting, urinating, bleeding. It's... A lot. #CinemaCon."
Ummm I am traumatized after seeing a scene from "Suspiria" in which Dakota Johnson controls the body of another woman as she dances. The woman's body literally cracks in half. She is like, torn apart. Spitting, urinating, bleeding. It's... A lot. #CinemaCon
— Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) April 26, 2018
So, yeah, this all sounds horrible, but is it as horrible as a mob eating a baby? Guess we'll have to wait until fall of 2018 to find out.