It’s been 41 years since Suzy Bannion took that fateful cab ride from the airport to a baroque witches cove…, I mean, dance academy in 1977’s Suspiria. 

Since then, Dario Argento’s sound-and-colour drenched masterpiece has come to symbolize Italian horror at its most stylishly excessive—although big-shot Oscar nominee Luca Guadagnino has apparently tried his best to top Argento with a much anticipated remake, opening next Thursday (November 1).

Still, nothing can ever match the frisson of the original; not with its insane lighting, all captured on expired film stock for maximum retinal burn; not with that pounding soundtrack by Italian prog-rockers Goblin; and not with cult-queen Jessica Harper hitting an even weirder key with her performance as Bannion.

It’s been downhill ever since for the filmmaker—although 1980’s sequel Inferno has its moments, as does the recently restored Tenebrae from 1982—but in any case, the Cinematheque has wisely fleshed out its Don’t Lose Your Head mini-fest with Argento's incomparably ornate gialli Deep Red and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage. 

All these titles arrive starting Friday (October 26) as pristine 4K restorations, as if your optic nerves weren’t already excited enough, and it ends on Halloween with a Suspiria-themed party, featuring a Goblin-scored ballet by Dancinema, on Wednesday (October 31).