Published Apr 25, 2026, 11:00 AM EDT

Lowery on the power of dance, ghosts, and quantum physics

Image: A24

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David Lowery didn't set out to make the 2026 version of Suspiria , but that's kind of what happened.

The 1977 giallo horror classic about a coven of witches posing as dancers has a surprising amount in common with Lowery's latest thriller, Mother Mary , which explores the supernatural connection between pop star Mother Mary (Anne Hathaway) and her former costume designer Sam (Michaela Coel). Both feature unholy forces, intensely physical dance routines, and a strikingly colorful and haunting visual climax. But that similarity was never the goal.

"I love both versions of S uspiria . I wasn't thinking overtly about them, but I definitely am now," Lowery tells Polygon. "There is something incredibly supernatural about dance. What dancers are able to do with their bodies transcends what seems to be the physical laws of reality that apply to all of us.…