BLACK SUNDAY
1960
Directed by Mario Bava
Italian

Ahhh, the opening sequence of Mario Bava’s gothic masterpiece, Black Sunday. We got mist, we got fire, we got gnarled trees. We got 17th century hooded, religious zealots. Best of all, we got brazen vampire Princess Asa, played by the luscious Barbara Steele (more about her later), about to be executed along with her lover Javuto, another blood-sucker. The form of capital punishment? An iron mask depicting Old Scratch himself, complete with nine-inch nails on the inside. When hammered into place … well, you get the picture. It’s a brilliant visual concept, allowing the camera unflinching access to the dirty deed, while allowing the viewer’s imagination to picture the true, spike-to-flesh horror of the condemned. In what’s perhaps an early example of “victim vision” (so common in today’s slasher films), the director gives us a memorable close-up of the inside of the mask, the shadows of the nails dancing along its concave surface. Throughout the sequence, Bava (a former painter) makes effective use of his black & white palette—light framed by shadow framed by light. It all adds up to a cinematic hook as big as a truck, and one of the great horror scenes of all time.
Unfortunately, with an intro this dramatic, there’s nowhere to go but down. Not that the rest of Black Sunday isn’t totally worthwhile. In fact, it’s beautiful to look at, all gloomy country sides, chilling castle sets, period costumes and tres-atmospheric composition. It’s just that things never reach the same fever pitch. So, if for no other reason than completion’s sake, flash forward 200 years …
Traveling in Moldavia, Prof. Kruvajan and his assistant, Dr. Gorobec unwittingly revive the long-interred Asa in a series of events that involves a shortcut through haunted woods, trespassing, a giant bat, property damage and accidental blood-letting. Soon, we’re introduced to Asa’s descendents Prince Vaida, his son Constantin and daughter Katia, a spitting image of Asa (also played by Steele, natch). We also learn of a family curse that sees Asa possess the body of a young, female family-member every 100 years. Things begin developing when Asa revives Javuto to do her bidding. Soon, both Vaida and Prof. Kruvajan fall prey to the demonic duo, the first suffering a fatal illness, the second transforming into a vampiric lackey. (The scene in which Asa beckons the spellbound Prof. Kruvajan forth for a kiss is particularly effective. Those bewitching eyes, those pouting lips, those nail-holes in her face—meoooow!). All of which leaves Dr. Gorobec, Katia and Constantin to stop the curse. A fun, climactic scene sees Asa (having stolen Katia’s youth), call on Dr. Gorobec to kill her descendent (now aged and decrepit). Suffice to say, Dr. Gorobec discovers a cross around the real Katia’s neck and learns the truth, just in time for a group of enraged villagers to arrive and burn Asa at the stake. All’s well that ends well when Katia awakens to the adoring gaze of Dr. Gorobec (did I mention that there’s a bit of romantic tension between the two?). End … roll credits.
Director Bava has long been known to place more importance on image than narrative, and Black Sunday, Bava’s first well-known work, doesn’t buck the trend. But while it’s plot offers no real surprises, the film certainly moves along at a nice clip—a great vehicle for the director’s vision. And what a chillingly beautiful vision it is!
Collectors will want to check out Image Entertainment’s DVD release, which restores lost footage (the film was hacked to shreds for its original U.S. release), and includes commentary by Bava historian Tim Lucas, along with filmographies for the director and Barbara Steele.

–Undead Ned