Like Siskel, Bruce McCabe of "The Boston Globe" likened the film to "The Exorcist" and "The Sentinel" (1977), ultimately deeming it "a fitful, uneven piece of work too often more uncontrolled than the hysteria it's trying to create." Dave Kehr of the "Chicago Reader" gave a favorable review, claiming that "Argento works so hard for his effects—throwing around shock cuts, colored lights and peculiar camera angles—that it would be impolite not to be a little frightened". Although J. Hoberman of "The Village Voice" gave a positive review as well, he called it "a movie that makes sense only to the eye". Bob Keaton of the "Fort Lauderdale News" praised the film's "well-crafted plot," likening elements of it to the works of Edgar Allan Poe, adding: "For the seekers of superficially devilish thrills, "Suspiria" is just the thing." A review in the "Colorado Springs Gazette" deemed it "a film to experience and for lovers of cinematic suspense...  "Suspiria" may prove to be the most harrowing shocker ever filmed."