MovieChat Forums > La terza madre (2007) Discussion > Rank the trilogy

Rank the trilogy

posted 15 years ago by TeresofBlood
16 replies | jump to latest

I watched all three films for the first time last night. Before I get into my rankings I want to state some thoughts about each film.

I had unreal expectations for Suspiria. I have been hearing about it my whole life - that it was the scariest movie ever made, etc. I knew it wouldn't be, because I know that nothing is ever as scary as you hope. Although, there were many moments where I was genuinely frightened. When the film ended I felt a slight disappointment. Here this was - the most frightening film ever made ending before my eyes and I had never once been wowed by it. I'm sure now that my ridiculously high expectations have washed away, I will enjoy it more the second time. I am someone who reads a lot before I see a movie. I've been reading reviews and people's thoughts on Suspiria for a long time. Shame on me, I guess. Either way, I will revisit it in a few days.

When it came to Inferno, I had very low expectations because I have heard a lot of bad things. This film is the total opposite of Suspiria in terms of its legacy. That, coupled with knowing what I was in store for, having just finished Suspiria, I liked it quite a bit. The underwater sequence was horrifying to me. From that moment on (even though the quality admittedly tapers) I was hooked. Inferno is much more of an unraveling mystery, where as Suspiria is a terrifying trip. What was very interesting about Inferno also is the amount of time we spend with different characters. I wasn't sure, until halfway through the film who the survivor would be. I like that. It is a unique experience.

It is interesting to note that though there were more moments in Inferno that captivated me, it also had more goofy moments that took me out of the story. Nothing in Suspiria took me out of the story. It has a consistent flow from beginning to end.

Now, Mother of Tears. To an outsider, someone having never seen the other two films, this could seem like a disaster. On the other hand, having seen the first two films just before watching this, I had a definite idea about what this film would be. It had an odyssey feel to it, like Suspiria. It also had an unraveling mystery as well, though not as much as Inferno. I enjoyed the film quite a bit, with the expection of the CGI when she has visions of her mother. That is the only thing that took me out of the story. If you ask me, her mother's voice alone was sufficient. I have read all sorts of complaints about this film - that it could have been so much more. I feel while watching it that this film is exactly what Dario Argento wanted it to be. It has the same style ending and the same anti-climactic showdown with the witch. It has the same mood and would look exactly the same as the others, had it been shot in 1982.

I'd love to say more about each film, but I'm at work, pretending to be busy.

Rankings:
1. Suspiria
2. Inferno
3. Mother of Tears

[–] NoseofNicko 15 years ago

1. Suspiria
2. Inferno/Mother Of Tears

I can't decide which is better... I like Inferno because of the style, but some things don't really make sense and I think that it's a bit boring in parts. I like Mother Of Tears because of the gore, but the acting sucks and I think that it's stupid in parts.

[–] BrianCTyler 15 years ago

SUSPIRIA - ****
INFERNO - ***1/2
MOTHER OF TEARS - **1/2

[–] alanbobet 15 years ago

Same here.
1. SUSPIRIA-@@@@
2. INFERNO- @@@
3. MOTHER OF TEARS- @@

[–] GeneticSugarKane 15 years ago

1) Inferno
2) Suspiria
3) Tears

~Spirit desire, spirit desire, we will fall.~

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] filth-monger 15 years ago

Suspiria will forever and always be my favorite. I have seen a lot of posts cutting it to pieces and I think it is just teenagers with short attention spans used to watching the lame, CGI, infested MTV ipod s**t generation of horror remakes that are served to them on a tarnished, silver screen platter on a monthly basis. Weekly for straight to video and nearly daily when they watch mommy and daddy's satellite T.V.

As for Inferno, I decided to give it another day in court and once again I could not get through it without mocking it. The plot to me, seems to be all over the place. What is with that guy and drowning the cats? Then out of nowhere the butcher comes and kills him? The only thing I can think of, he is doing a good deed in my eyes, because if I saw some crazy bastard trying to drown kittehs, I would do the same thing too. Yet, this has nothing to do with the movie. There is still some beautiful images, but Inferno seems like it is trying too hard to be like Suspiria. Suspiria had a beautiful, haunting atmosphere. Especially the music. Inferno's music was quite laughable sometimes and not appropriate for the right moment. Also the red and blue lighting that Suspiria is famous for was getting on my nerves. Inferno was meant to be a separate film about the youngest, and most cruel Mother of them all. Not a TWIN of Mater Suspiriorum.

However, Mother Of Tears stands on its own and shows us that it is a completely different movie from Suspiria and Inferno. I love how it gives references of both films throughout yet never strays from the film. Mother Of Tears is a complete separate story and not trying to be like Suspira or Inferno. I think Dario Argento was trying to achieve what he did with Suspiria, and makeup for what he somewhat lost with Inferno. He shows us that each Mother is completely different. Mother Of Sighs, Mother Of Shadows and Mother Of Tears. Despite the young, tough movie critics I have a great deal of respect for this film. It was different, stuck to the storyline and had an amazing climax.

Suspiria: 10.
Inferno: 5
Mother Of Tears: 10

[–] GeneticSugarKane 15 years ago

But the lighting IS different between Suspiria and Inferno.

Suspiria really is a unique film for the fact that the entire image of several scenes is bathed in one solitary color.

Inferno on the other hand is colored with splashes of light... very much like Mario Bava's films. (That could have to do with the fact that Bava worked on Inferno with Argento)

I don't see how you could find the lighting of Inferno annoying and still appreciate the lighting of Suspiria, when the former is far less excessive than the latter.

P.S. the hot dog vendor killing the antiques dealer and many of the other "random" happenings of the film can be blamed on the power of Mater T. Much like the chaos that ensues thanks to Mater L's inluence in the third film.

Inferno is def my fave film in the trilogy, with only one scene that manages to take me out of the film. I'm sure fans can guess which one. It involves cats in an attic ;)

~Spirit desire, spirit desire, we will fall.~

[–] filth-monger 15 years ago

Ah, yes the ridiculous cat scene. For me Inferno was all over the place and disastrous but everyone is different. I love Trauma and a lot of people hate that film, so there is no right or wrong answer here. Only opinions, but if you want to know what I think? Dario Argento was so secretly disappointed with Inferno, he named it that because he wanted the film to spontaneously combust. xP

What you see does not exist. What you cannot see is truth.

[–] GeneticSugarKane 15 years ago

haha, perhaps.

I also LOVE Trauma!!!

~Spirit desire, spirit desire, we will fall.~

[–] filth-monger 15 years ago

Awesome!!! Trauma is some great stuff.

What you see does not exist. What you cannot see is truth.

[–] matheusmarchetti 15 years ago

1. Suspiria 10/10 One of the few films I consider to be perfect.
2. Inferno 10/10 Fantastic! Suspiria is better, but this one is a great follow-up, scary and freaky as hell, with a terribly underrated score by Keith Emerson and the same dreamlike/surrealistic feel of the original
3. Mother of Tears 1/10 Godawful

[–] Little_Miss_Tenebre 15 years ago

Suspiria - 10/10 - Masterpiece.I can't believe that many of my friends hated it.I watched over 10 times and I never got bored of it.it has its own visionary style,the colors,the music,the settings and the way the movie was directed.after the many rewatches I relized a few things about it like at the beginning,when Suzy was walking out of the airport and she's looking at the door and when it opens the creepy music starts,when it closes the music stopes.I came to the conclusion that behind these doors is the dangere zone.either I'm right or just overexcited.

Inferno - 10/10 - a masterpiece as well.the last scene -I think the last 7-8 minutes- is one of the best scenes ever filmed IMO.

Mother of Tears - 9/10 - Better than I thought.though it bothered me a little that they changed the style from dark,red/blue lights,creepy music to gory and sexaul (I wanted it to be like the first tow) also it had a couple of laughble death scenes and the monkey did a great job and I thought it was too fast moving and the ending - where the characters were laughing- killed it,I was going to give it a 9.5 or 10.it realy bothered me.

ranking :

1-Suspiria
2-Inferno
3-Mother of Tears

We only have one mother
The Mother of Tears

[–] killerrabbitmp 12 years ago

1. Suspiria
2. Mother of Tears
3. Inferno

I think I slightly preferred Mother of Tears to Inferno, which I always thought was pretty flawed. It felt there was much more thought put into the plot than in Inferno. I don't see the flaws in Mother of Tears as particularly unique to Mother of Tears where Argento movies go. Still, I've enjoyed all three movies.