Black Sabbath (1963)
Black Sabbath (AKA I tre volti della paura) is a 1963 horror anthology film directed by Mario Bava. Although an Italian production, the film was co-financed by American International Pictures and as such was conceived to appeal to US audiences. Hence, the English dialogue edit of the film which was released in America differs significantly to the original Italian version. Despite the presence of the legendary Boris Karloff and the popularity of both anthology and gothic horror at the time,the film was only a modest success at the US box office and did not do well in Italy. However, in more recent years there has been a critical reappraisal of Black Sabbath, especially the Italian dialogue version. Many aspects of the film which are standard genre tropes today, were in fact novel at the time. Also despite the production mainly being studio bound, the film oozes style and has a striking visual aesthetic.
Black Sabbath (AKA I tre volti della paura) is a 1963 horror anthology film directed by Mario Bava. Although an Italian production, the film was co-financed by American International Pictures and as such was conceived to appeal to US audiences. Hence, the English dialogue edit of the film which was released in America differs significantly to the original Italian version. Despite the presence of the legendary Boris Karloff and the popularity of both anthology and gothic horror at the time,the film was only a modest success at the US box office and did not do well in Italy. However, in more recent years there has been a critical reappraisal of Black Sabbath, especially the Italian dialogue version. Many aspects of the film which are standard genre tropes today, were in fact novel at the time. Also despite the production mainly being studio bound, the film oozes style and has a striking visual aesthetic.
The Italian version starts with “The Telephone”, in which upmarket call-girl Rosy (Michèle Mercier) returns to her basement apartment at night and starts to receive a series of menacing phone calls, allegedly from her former pimp Frank who she testified against and had jailed. She calls an ex-lover, Mary (Lidia Alfonsi), and asks for her help but things are not as they appear to be. The second story, “The Wurdulak”, features a 19th century Serbian nobleman Vladimir D'Urfe (Mark Damon) who takes shelter for the night with a peasant family in their farmhouse. They await the return of their father Gorca (Boris Karloff) who has gone to kill a Turkish bandit who has been terrorising the area. When Gorca returns his family fear that he has become a Wurdulak; a living corpse that feeds on blood. The final story “The Drop of Water”, is set in 1910 London, features her nurse Helen Chester (Jacqueline Pierreux) who steals a sapphire ring from an elderly deceased medium she is preparing for burial. On returning home she is plagued by the sound of dripping water and a ghostly apparition.
The most immediate difference between the US and Italian versions of Black Sabbath is the colour timings. The Italian print which was processed by Technicolor Roma and supervised by Mario Bava, has a vibrant, more flamboyantly nightmarish colour palette. The cinematography by Ubaldo Terzano and Mario Bava is fluid and often uses movement to create atmosphere. The use of vivid, saturated hues and dramatic lighting, particularly the contrast between light and shadow, creates a foreboding and menacing atmosphere, making the visuals themselves participants in the horror. Karloff’s entrance as Gorca is a masterfully composed sequence. He steps into frame with his back to the camera and the limps ominously towards the farmhouse. His imposing demeanour is enhanced by makeup that contrasts with being lit from below. These details are more pronounced in this version.
The Italian edit also has the stories in a different order to the US release. The film begins with “The Telephone” and in this version the sexual subtext is far more apparent. Rosy is clearly a prostitute. Mary is possibly a former client who subsequently fell in love with Rosy. Themes that were excised from the US prints. This story plays out in many respects as a giallo, bearing many narrative hallmarks. Next is “The Wurdulak”, the most gothic of the three vignettes. The Italian version has a little more violence, when Gorca reveals the head of the dead bandit. Finally “The Drop of Water” is identical in both versions of the film, as its shock lies in jump scares, rather than violence. The US release has a different introduction by Boris Karloff and he links each new story. The Italian version has him appear at the start and end of the film only. The original score by Roberto Nicolosi is present in the Italian release but was replaced in the US version by a new soundtrack by AIP stalwart Les Baxter.
Overall the Italian release of Black Sabbath, is the superior version. It delivers three supernatural tales, featuring adult themes with style and atmosphere. The US version is tamer in tone, mainly because horror films at the time were aimed at the teenage market. The visual impact of the Italian version is greater due to the more vivid use of colour and the original score is less intrusive and melodramatic than the new American soundtrack. If Mario Bava’s version has one failing it is the dubbing of Boris Karloff into Italian. Although a necessity for the film’s release in its home market, it does have an impact upon Karloff’s performance. Modern audiences may consider some of the ideas, especially those in “The Telephone”, to be a little tired and overused However, the notion of a stalker in this instance predates most US films by a decade.
The artistry and structure in Black Sabbath, particularly its blend of suspense and supernatural horror, directly influenced the Italian giallo genre and the wider global horror aesthetic. Beyond the supernatural, the film masterfully explores themes of guilt and the encroaching forces of evil, making the terror deeply relatable and psychologically disturbing. Mario Bava continued to have a significant impact upon cinema throughout the sixties and seventies. He pre-empted the US slasher genre with the gory giallo A Bay of Blood (1971) and clearly had an influence upon Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) with his atmospheric science fiction film, Planet of the Vampires (1965). Black Sabbath is a fine example of the stylish European approach to gothic horror and is therefore “must see” viewing for horror aficionados. Seek out the Italian version if possible.
A Bay of Blood (1971)
Disabled countess Federica Donati (Isa Miranda) is strangled to death by her husband, Filippo Donati (Giovanni Nuvoletti). Filippo is subsequently stabbed to death by an unseen assailant, and his body is then dragged to the bay beside their mansion. The police investigate and find a suicide note written by the countess, but do not discover Filippo's murder. Real estate agent Frank Ventura (Chris Avram) and his lover Laura (Anna Maria Rosati) are plotting to take possession of the bay. When the Countess refused to sell her estate to them, the couple conspired with Filippo to murder his wife. The pair are unaware that Filippo is dead and cannot proceed with their scheme without his signature. Meanwhile, four local teenagers Duke (Guido Boccaccini), Bobby (Roberto Bonanni), Denise (Paola Montenero) and Brunhilde (Brigitte Skay) break into the seemingly deserted mansion, looking for fun. However, they are soon killed one by one. Are all these events connected?
Disabled countess Federica Donati (Isa Miranda) is strangled to death by her husband, Filippo Donati (Giovanni Nuvoletti). Filippo is subsequently stabbed to death by an unseen assailant, and his body is then dragged to the bay beside their mansion. The police investigate and find a suicide note written by the countess, but do not discover Filippo's murder. Real estate agent Frank Ventura (Chris Avram) and his lover Laura (Anna Maria Rosati) are plotting to take possession of the bay. When the Countess refused to sell her estate to them, the couple conspired with Filippo to murder his wife. The pair are unaware that Filippo is dead and cannot proceed with their scheme without his signature. Meanwhile, four local teenagers Duke (Guido Boccaccini), Bobby (Roberto Bonanni), Denise (Paola Montenero) and Brunhilde (Brigitte Skay) break into the seemingly deserted mansion, looking for fun. However, they are soon killed one by one. Are all these events connected?
A Bay of Blood (AKA Twitch of the Death Nerve) is a giallo, as the complexity of the prior plot synopsis may indicate to those familiar with the genre (I only summarised the first 30 minutes of the film). However, the film contains many of the tropes that would later become staples of the slasher genre, a decade later. There has been some debate among fans whether A Bay of Blood is indeed a proto-slasher but it has too many hallmarks of a giallo. The most obvious being that the murders are all due to human agency with real life motivations. Slasher films feature antagonists who kill through psychosis or sometimes, without motivation at all and often have supernatural abilities. Setting aside such debates, director Mario Bava certainly changed the trajectory of the giallo genre, taking a more violent and exploitative approach. The lavish visual style is still present, but the focus of the set pieces has changed from suspense to gore.
As well as being a giallo, A Bay of Blood is a rich slice of early seventies, Italian pop culture. Hence our quartet of hip and groovy teens arrive in a Dune Buggy, sporting flares and mini dresses and doing the shake to a particularly funky soundtrack by Stelvio Cipriani. As ever with Italian cinema, the production design and sets are creative and stylish. Mario Bava once again handles cinematography himself and composes some creative and dynamic scenes. The pastel shades and autumn colours of previous films such as Black Sabbath and Blood and Black Lace are replaced with starker lighting designed to reinforce the impact of the grisly set pieces. Special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi (who a decade later worked on Alien and E.T.) designed and executed the graphic death scenes. Two of which, the machete to the face and the couple having sex impaled by a spear, were subsequently “repeated” in Friday the 13th Part 2.
To the casual viewer, A Bay of Blood is a somewhat archaic whodunnit with a high and gory body count. They may also feel that the period trappings date the proceedings. However, to those who are more familiar with gialli or simply have a greater tolerance for material outside of the current mainstream, then A Bay of Blood is an interesting piece of genre history. The story is delightfully convoluted as well as implausible and the violence is flamboyant and stylised. Like most Italian films from this era, dialogue has been added in post-production, which gives such films a very unique soundscape. It is clear that this film was a major influence on American cinema a decade later and although not a slasher movie, it certainly established the foundations of that genre of film. A Bay of Blood is designed to be an assault upon the senses, rather than a logical, linear horror film. Viewed on such terms it can be very rewarding.