Blood & Black Lace
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Movie Reviews of Blood & Black Lace
Movie Review: Mario Bava, The Master Behind 'Black Sunday' Returns...
Summary: 5 Stars
...with this ultimate scary thriller BLOOD AND BLACK LACE. I have already preordered the new edition which is also unrated and uncut but much less expensive then the original. Mario Bava smoked us with the unbelievably stark and dark BLACK SUNDAY which featured the buxom beauty Barbara Steele in her dual roles of evil and good. Now, BLOOD AND BLACK LACE takes on a new turn.
A murderer is hunting beautiful fashion models in a house of fashion that quickly turns into a house of pure terror. The killings in this movie are so exquisitely filmed in color and delightful cinematography that they become ultimately Argento-like: horrible things happening to people in a beautiful way. The only letdown is that you never see the face of the killer for most of the film, but that's what makes it so unbearably suspenseful...who is the masked fiend behind these grotesque murders? Only you, the viewer, can guess who is committing these heinous crimes.
Mario Bava was one of the best Italian horror film directors ever, and BLOOD AND BLACK LACE was another beautiful, creepy piece of filmmaking that further proved he, liked many directors of the horror genre like Carpenter and Romero, is an essential horror director and will remain so for years to come. Thank goodness we have his films to remember his powerful legacy on the Italian horror film genre.
Movie Review: Great Movie - Bad Video Transfer
Summary: 5 Stars
If you really want to know why Mario Bava was a genius, you need to view this film. No other director in 1963 could have made this movie. It is a symphony of color, beauty and violence. Bava's use of color in this film was quickly copied by younger directors, most notably Dario Argento in Suspiria and Inferno.
The violence in this movie is shocking - and not just by 1963 standards. Filmed beautifully, of course!
Unfortunately the transfer for this two-disc version is not equal to the movie. Most critics consider the transfer in the earlier, single disc, release to be superior in terms of color balance and image sharpness. I agree - I own both and have compared them. The original release is now out of print, but still available from private sellers on Amazon.
This still-in-print two-disc release does have the advantage of an extended commentary by Tim Lucas, the editor of Video Watchdog. Tim is a dedicated and extremely knowledgeable Bava critic, and his commentary in this version is, quite simply, wonderful.
My solution: buy both versions!
Movie Review: Shocking dark psychodrama
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very stylish and dark movie with a lot of striking imagery and some very vicious crimes. It's very intense and the plot is quite a twister. A good piece of very dark cinema.
Sherlock Holmes and the Flying Zombie Death Monkeys
Movie Review: Bloody lace
Summary: 4 Stars
Some women want to strangle models, but most people don't actually go that far. That's not the case in "Blood and Black Lace," where models run, scream, and die in all sorts of gruesome ways. Mario Bava's classic giallo has some monotonous moments, but mostly it sticks to stylish slayings.
Just before a fashion show, the model Isabella is found dead in a wardrobe. The police investigate the fashion house's various models and managers, but can't find any solid evidence. And during the show, one of the other models finds Isabella's diary, which is loaded with scandalous information about drugs, lovers, abortions, and debts.
But then the diary is stolen, and trenchcoated killer waits until the models are alone -- and then he burns, strangles, drowns, and claws them. The police suspect the men -- designers and managers -- at the fashion house, but even detaining the suspects won't stop the gruesome murders...
At first glance, "Blood and Black Lace" seems like just another bloody slasher movie. Well, giallo is to slasher movies as fine cheese is to Velveeta, and "Blood and Black Lace" is a perfect example of a giallo, with the arty lighting, graphic violence, colourful sets, and of course those black gloved hands.
The plot is a pretty straightforward whodunnit -- it's not blatantly obvious who the killer is, but seasoned movie fans can probably guess. And while there are gruesome slayings, the killer doesn't just jump out and kill. Bava builds up the tension and fear (which the characters also demonstrate) until it's almost a relief when someone dies.
But one of the biggest necessities for a giallo is visual style. The fashion house is lushly palatial, and the murders are elaborately choreographed chases, with weird lighting and lots of luxurious surroundings. The second murder, for instant, is like hide-and-seek in an antiques store. The only problem is a misogynistic edge, such as when the women have their shirts ripped halfway off.
None of the characters really stand out much -- they're the Models, the Creepy Boyfriends, the Skeptical Police, the Weird Landlady, and a handful of others. So it's a credit to the actresses like Mary Arden and Eva Bartok that they are able to make us feel sorry for their characters.
"Blood and Black Lace" is a beautiful, bloody guilty pleasure, and a perfect example of a giallo horror movie. Good stuff.
Movie Review: Beautifully Filmed Gothic Horror/Giallo
Summary: 4 Stars
"Blood and Black Lace" is a beautifully filmed gothic horror/giallo. A black garbed killer stalks his victims through stately manors enshrouded with mist. "Blood and Black Lace" definitely served as the blue print for the era of the Italian giallo. The victims are all gorgeous models who meet gruesome deaths. Though the film is over forty years of age, it still continues to horrify audiences. I cringed at some of the murders.
The movie itself deserves five stars; however, I am only giving it four because of the poor English dubbing. Watching the actors' mouths move reminded me of the old Kung Fu movies I watched when I was a child; after the actor's mouth stopped moving, then you heard what they had said. It was almost laughable. In one scene, the killer is holding a girl hostage; not wanting her to identify his voice, he writes in Italian: Where is the diary. The English translation did not appear on the screen. I had to guess from the victim's reply what he had written. (In the Italian language version, the English subtitles reveal what he wrote.) While watching the Italian version, the subtitles did not appear when the victim was reading the diary in her mind. Therefore, the viewer had no idea what she had read. An important plot element would've been missed.
"Blood and Black Lace" is perhaps the first giallo but not the best. I leave that title to Dario Argento`s "Deep Red." However, I strongly recommend buying this DVD to anyone who is a fan of giallo movies and Mario Bava. It contains a tremendous amount of extras including commentary by famous film historian, Tim Lucas, who wrote a biography on the Italian director.