Black Sabbath (1963)

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HALLOWEEN REVIEWS 2021

Director: Mario Bava

Writers: Marcello Fondato, with the collaboration of Alberto Bevilacqua and Mario Bava, freely adapted from stories by Anton Chekhov, Aleksei Tolstoy, and Guy de Maupassant

Stars: Boris Karloff, Michele Mercier, Mark Damon, Jacqueline Pierreux, Lidia Alfonsi, Susy Andersen



Mario Bava's horror anthology boasts beautiful colors and set design but loses some points in the story department. 



(I’m reviewing the US edit. Apparently, the Italian version is quite different--especially the second story--and superior by most accounts.)

 


The first two installments amount to a lot of foreplay before a murder.

 


A line like this hasn't aged well.

I found them a bit dull, relying for the most part on the spectacle of terrified women staggering around a room for their thrills.

 


I will admit that there is a very startling death mask in the first story; I’m glad I didn’t see it as a child.

 


The final story, “The Wurdalak,” is the best.

 


Boris Karloff is terrifying as an undead creature that comes back to haunt his family, and his introductions to each section are fun.
















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