Black Sunday

This was just great. My first Bava experience--hopefully I'll eventually take in his entire oeuvre.

Black Sunday is a black and white gothic horror film focused on the revenge plot of an executed plot and the people trying to stop her.

The plot itself is fine. It's nothing extra special, but it facilitates the movie well enough. The characters and many of the other general building blocks of the film are also fine. So why is this movie worth watching?

Well, the director, Mario Bava, does a stellar job of setting the scene. The soundtrack to the movie is spectacular. The black and white really aides to the atmosphere, as does the cinematography. The cinematography, in particular, is outstanding. The film relies on a wonderful selection of long shots. There are many shots where the length doesn't particularly add to the story, but it certainly adds to the atmosphere and overall creepiness of the movie. The film also includes some fairly gruesome scenes, nothing quite like a splatter film, though. The scenes are well placed and add to the experience rather than become the focus themselves.

All in all, if you're after a great atmospheric horror film and don't care much about a plot or characters, you may find yourself enjoying Black Sunday.

A diabolical witch and her partner who were executed 200 years ago return from the grave to possess the body of her identical descendent.
How exactly does one begin a review on such a seminal horror classic as Black Sunday? Mario Bava’s directorial debut also serves as his masterpiece, and helped initiate his legacy as one of the greatest directors of horror films in history. Bava had of course had extensive experience prior to this influential film with a couple documentaries and shorts in addition to completing a handful of films for other directors; including Riccardo Freda’s I Vampiri, which is widely considered to be the first Italian horror film. Having a hand in kickstarting a genre is certainly no small feat, and is testament to Bava’s extraordinary talent and vision. Black Sunday opens with a witch trial where a group of hooded inquisitors are preparing to punish the evil witch Katia Vajda (Barbara Steele; Curse of the Crimson Altar, Castle of Blood) for being in league with the devil. Standard practice is of course to tie her to a tree and light her on fire. Witch Disposal 101, right? Fuck no. Apparently Katia was so badass in league with the Prince of Darkness that the only fitting punishment after branding her with a nice big “S” on her back is to take the Mask of Satan (an iron mask in the devil’s visage lined with nasty spikes on the inside) and literally HAMMERING it into her face as an eternal reminder of her diabolical misdeeds. Right then and there you know you’re in for a pretty wild ride as Black Sunday pulls absolutely no punches. Cut to 200 years later and Katia and Igor are resurrected and begin to prowl about as a vampires eager to possess the youth and beauty of the young Asa who lives in the castle nearby. Considering it came out in 1960 the graphic violence in the film fuelled much controversy, getting it banned in England until 1968. In the far more liberal US the gore was censored before it was unleashed onto audiences theatrically....

73/100

This Italian, Mario Bava, classic features a witch in the 17th century, fitted with the mask of Satan and sealed in a tomb inside a coffin with a window so she would have to stare at a cross for eternity. Well, 200 years, a broken window, a broken cross and a few drops of blood later, she's waking up ...and she's not happy. Exquisite B&W photography by Bava, exceptional sets, classic overly dramatic and theatrical acting and dialogue and the incomparable Barbara Steele, this is a great example of Gothic horror for its time. -- DrNostromo.com