Despite its runtime of two hours and 32 minutes, “SUSPIRIA” managed to hold my attention throughout its entire duration.

The film’s director, Luca Guadagnino, known for his recent film, “Call Me By Your Name,” which garnered critical acclaim last year.

In “Suspiria,” Guadagnino successfully directed a film that not only pays homage to the original 1977 film directed but moves it in a fresh, new direction.

Susie Bannion (Dakota Johnson), an American dancer from a small Mennonite community in Ohio, arrives at the Markos Dance Academy to find herself in the midst of Cold War tensions in a divided Berlin and entangled in the controversy surrounding the disappearance of a fellow dancer. Early on in the film, you discover that something more sinister is at play in this seemingly auspicious German dance academy.

Though this film is a remake, it is similar to the original in name and plot only. Essentially, this movie took the original film’s plot and expanded on it enormously. After watching the original film myself, I have to say that I enjoyed the remake a lot more.

Without divulging too much of the plot, I felt like the original was too short and ended very abruptly. The length of Guadagnino’s remake allows it to not only expand on themes, but to examine the ominous history of the Markos Dance Academy.

The film is also beautifully scored by Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and features some impressive cinematography by DP Sayombhu Mukdeeprom. That being said, the film lacks character development and the Holocaust subplot feels shoehorned in.

If a long runtime, gore and disturbing images do not bother you, “Suspiria” is certainly worth the watch.

Despite its flaws, it is sure to be a film that invokes fear, disgust, amusement and astonishment from audiences.