Fantastic Fest 2018 Interview: Jessica Harper and Writer David Kajganich Talk SUSPIRIA, Both New and Old

After Suspiria (2018) celebrated its North American premiere at Fantastic Fest 2018, Daily Dead had the opportunity to briefly catch up with David Kajganich, the screenwriter for Luca Guadagnino’s bold new remake of Dario Argento’s 1977 film of the same name, as well as iconic actress Jessica Harper, who starred as Suzy Bannion in the original Suspiria and also has a featured cameo in this new iteration.

During our chat, Kajganich discussed wanting this new Suspiria to set itself apart from the film and story that inspired it, as well as the pressure he felt on delivering something worthy of Guadagnino’s deep admiration of the 1977 version. Harper spoke about her involvement with Suspiria (2018), and how she not only had hoped that she’d get to be a part of this new film, but also had to quickly learn German for the new role.

Look for Suspiria (2018)to arrive in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on October 26th, with a continued theatrical rollout to other cities beginning on November 2nd, courtesy of Amazon Studios.

Congratulations on the film, David. What’s interesting to me is that this has the name Suspiria, it has a character named Susie, and it has witches, but it is very much its own thing—a beautiful vision that's completely different from Dario's original film. And I'm curious, for you, was that the biggest challenge coming into this, doing something that felt like it honored the traditions of the original Suspiria, and yet it could completely be its own thing at the same time?

David Kajganich: Oh, sure. I don't know that this would've worked without Luca having so much passion for the original film. He was transformed by it when he was a teenager when he saw it for the first time. So, I really looked to him to set what the outside boundaries of what we could do would be. And as we did with A Bigger Splash, I knew that we would take the basic bones of it, but really try to build something out of it that was recognizable in its respect for the original, but really quite different in terms of its subtext, and in terms of the journey of its characters. Because what really would the point be of being overly slavish to the original? That film is a perfect version of itself, so if we were going to think about going back to that story and those characters, it's necessary to come at it from a completely different point of view.

Was there a huge weight on you because this is a film that was so pivotal in terms of Italian horror and what it has come to mean to fans for over 40 years now? And when you're working on this kind of project, versus something that's an original screenplay, is there a weight that comes with it that you carry within yourself?

David Kajganich: Theoretically, I do. But I think it's less of a weight when you know it's going to be someone like Luca helming it. For instance, I've done Stephen King adaptations in the past where I haven't known who was going to direct them, and to me, that's a scarier prospect because I can be quite rigorous and respectful in my script, but it doesn't mean that that will carry to the actual film, if the film is even made. But in this case, I had great reassurance that Luca would not allow this to be anything less than superb and humane, which is really the point at the end of the day.

For you, Jessica, was there a certain trepidation on your part when you first heard they were making this movie, and what was the point when you realized that maybe this was going to be okay, and this was going to be something completely different, and maybe eased any doubts you might have had about someone remaking Suspiria?

Jessica Harper: I had some trepidation when I heard about earlier iterations of what it might be, and this person was doing it, or certain actresses were going to star in it. This has been going on for a long time. But then my moment when I thought, "Oh, this is going to be fine," was when I heard that Luca was directing it. I just went, "Oh, okay. Now we've arrived. Now this is going to be fantastic." I was certainly not disappointed, and the two of them working together [Luca and David], I knew it was just going to be great.

Luca didn’t contact me until they were really advanced in the process, though. I thought it would be fun to show up in that movie, but I had no idea that would actually happen until he called me and said, "Would you like to do a cameo in the movie?" And I obviously said, "Oh, yeah!"

David Kajganich: But, behind the scenes, we knew from the first conversations we had that we were going to do something interesting, and hopefully it would be interesting enough that Jessica would agree to come back and do a part. We just didn't know what it was at first because we hadn't dealt with what the film would be, and so we knew we didn't want her to be Witch #18 in the background or something like that.

Jessica Harper: But I would've been. I would've been Witch #18 [laughs].

David Kajganich: But when it was clear that this scene that she was involved in was going to be one of the most pivotal scenes in the film emotionally, we knew that that was what we wanted to offer Jessica, and so I cautioned Luca. I said, "This dialogue will have to be in German. Does Jessica speak German?" He said, "Let me find out." And that's when he called you.

Jessica Harper: Luca said to me, "I'd love for you to do this part." I said, "Of course, yes." And then he asked me, "Do you think you could do it in German?" I responded, "Oh, yeah."

David Kajganich: Then, he texted me, "Jessica knows German. We're on!" I was like, "Oh, that's fantastic!"

Jessica Harper: And then, I called up the Berlitz school and said, "I have an emergency. I need to learn German right away. I'm coming over [laughs]."

When you are making a movie, you never know what's going to happen with it, and you never know the journey it's going to go on. So, looking back now at what you were able to achieve with Dario on the first Suspiria, how surreal is it to be in this world again? Did you guys know back then that what you were making would end up having this an impact on cinema and on the horror genre as well? It's pretty incredible.

Jessica Harper: No, absolutely not. If anybody knew that stuff, there'd be a lot more movies that were remade 40 years later. We had no idea, of course, where this was ever going to go. I just thought I was making this cool movie in Italy, and I hoped for the best. And now, here it is 40 years later, and I feel really lucky and really thrilled to be on this ride.

But, yeah, it's so fun. And what makes it all so thrilling is that this new movie is so fantastic. I mean, if it were bad, I would be kind of dubious as I was sitting here talking about it. But it's so great. So, not only did I get to do one great movie, I got to do two, and they're called the same thing, and I think that’s just incredible and such a rare thing to experience. It's all so good.

Before we go, Jessica, can you talk about your upcoming podcast and your experiences being able to reflect on that early period in your life in this creative medium?

Jessica Harper: Oh, yes. Thank you for asking. It's called Winnetka, which is where I grew up, or came of age. I was born in Chicago, lived for a little time in Lake Forest, and then in Winnetka. And it's a childhood memoir about that time of our life, and it features the voices of my family. So the characters in the memoir speak for themselves, and help me tell the story, including my 96-year-old mother, who was fantastic. She's incredible. She's like Katharine Hepburn or something. But people can subscribe in November, and there'll be some teaser material for a while, before the actual episodes launch in February.

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