The Nerdery Movie Night #270: Suspiria and White Chocolate & Pumpkin Pie Spice Popcorn

Splashy gore can't make up for an absolutely insane script. Three cheers for this popcorn, though!

White Chocolate & Pumpkin Pie Spice Popcorn

Dave: If a film can make several “best films ever” lists with an entirely impenetrable plot and almost incoherent dialogue, then I should get into the horror movie business. While Suspiria is visually stunning, the script makes absolutely no darn sense. Certainly, for its time, the careful attention to the visual effects of the entire horror film - not just the gory scenes - is probably something that made Suspiria stand out from its peers. But the extremely loose plot really brings things down for me. When some characters begin monologuing inner dialogue - saying things like “I’ve got to get out of here!” rather than simply showing us - the film began to lose me. It kept losing me as the plot got wackier and wackier, not bothering to bring us along on any of the madcap witchy twists and turns. (️️️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

I’m anti-pumpkin spice. The Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes taste like something rotting covered over with cinnamon, and I’ve never been a huge fan of pumpkin pie. Nevertheless, I was nearly won over by this pumpkin spice popcorn. I’m always a sucker for anything white chocolate, and the undercurrent of bitterness from the cloves and allspice tempered the very sweet, very rich white chocolate nicely. We ate half a quiche before dinner and I still found myself going back for bite after bite of the popcorn until I’d almost finished off the bowl! (⭐️⭐️⭐️️️️️1/2)

Joe: Well, that was certainly an acid trip of a movie. From the jump, there's an eerie timbre to the film: the color is highly saturated - almost gaudy, the art direction is compelling, the set pieces are unnerving, the cinematography is dizzyingly effective. Combined, these elements keep the viewer off-kilter. I've read that Argento's soundscapes help create the terror, but I found the sound design in Suspiria to be downright awful: screechy and unpleasant and distracting. Plus, the mixing is awful: when music is playing, you can barely hear the dialogue. Additionally, the acting is wooden and/or histrionic and the script is laughably bad. But I was still riveted for most of the film. (⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2)

The news reports are accurate: chocolate prices are through the rough. An 11 ounce bag of white chocolate chips for over $5... worth it since it yielded this popcorn. I was initially uncertain, but the spice mix works really well with the white chocolate, and the sea salt flakes add a delicious contrast to the sweetness. Bonus points for not being difficult to make, either! (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Popcorn: Popcorn Board

Suspiria on IMDb