Fella_shibby
I saw this first in the early nineties. Revisited it few days back on a blu ray. This movie introduced the world to Mario Bava and Barbara Steele. This is Bava's first directorial effort after years working as a cinematographer. Mario Bava was an awesome cinematographer and his attention to atmosphere when placing the camera is something that sets him apart from many other directors. Bava captured the essence of Gothic horror including a graveyard, a crypt, a castle, and a spooky forest very well in this film. Bava made the film in a Hammeresque way ala stuffy performances and stuffier costumes, mist-filled cemeteries and dust-covered castles. The atmosphere is very heavy and the imagery very dense making the film a true classic Gothic horror. The direction is efficient, the performances are good, the plot is something like - a witch/vampire n her lover/warlock who is put to death by her own brother, only to return 200 years later to seek revenge on her descendants. This film was a ground-breaking and extremely bold step in the development of Italian horror and has had a great influence on almost everyone who first saw it, from Argento to Tim Burton.
Scott LeBrun
A loose adaptation of the Nikolai Gogol short story "Viy", director Mario Bavas' film version "Black Sunday" a.k.a. "The Mask of Satan" is quite simply old school horror filmmaking at its finest. Shot in beautiful black & white by Bava himself, it spins a yarn of an aristocratic Russian family haunted by the two hundred year old curses of a witch named Asa (Barbara Steele). Two doctors impulsively enter the tomb that houses Asas' body, and one of them just happens to put into motion the means of resurrecting her from the dead. Asa then does the same for her associate, Javutich (Arturo Dominici) and they begin to terrorize the locals.Extremely well crafted, Bavas' film is noteworthy for some incredibly potent atmosphere. It truly lives up to the word "horror", with some genuinely skin crawling moments. The sets and the visuals are breathtaking, and the screenplay is very literate. Genre fans know that they will be in for a good time with the opening three minutes, as the unrepentant Asa is punished for her crimes and made to wear a mask that will penetrate the skin of her face. Bava might have done better not to zoom in on visual surprises in the fame, but that would be a very minor complaint.The performances are all sincere and right on the money. Steele kick started a great career with her dual role as the evil Asa and her look alike descendant, a princess named Katia. John Richardson is engaging in the leading male role of Dr. Andre Gorobec, who unsurprisingly falls in love with Katia. Andrea Checchi is superb in the tragic role of Andres' colleague Dr. Thomas Kruvajan. Ivo Garrani is excellent as the frightened Prince Vajda, Katias' father who's all too aware of the history of their family. And Dominici has a truly great and memorable face, perfect for the part of the intimidating Javutich.This is ideal viewing for those people looking for classic shockers. Even seeing it in a dubbed version does not rob it of its power.Eight out of 10.
Michael_Elliott
Black Sunday (1960)*** 1/2 (out of 4) Mario Bava's classic features Barbara Steele in the role of a witch who is put to a violent death but before that she places a curse on the people killing her. Flash forward two hundred years as the witch is released from her tomb and sets off for vengeance.BLACK Sunday, also known as THE MASK OF Satan, has been released in various versions over the years but once you see it uncut you'll understand why it was cut! I say that because the film was quite shocking for 1960 and it's easy to see why so many people were terrified of it when it was released so seeing the uncut version would have probably led to some real nightmares. This Bava classic can be enjoyed today in its uncut version and it's certainly a beautiful film to look at with some of the most iconic images in horror history.Of course, the most famous image happens at the start of the picture when Steele gets a large spiked mask hammered into her face. Even after all these years there's no doubt that this sequence still packs a nice little punch. What I've always loved most about the picture is its incredibly dark atmosphere that Bava paints with some masterful cinematography and of course his use of shadow and fog. As you watch this movie you can't help but feel as if you're actually in the real locations and that you're surrounded by the various evil forces that are at play.It also doesn't hurt that you've got some very good performances throughout the film with of course Steele leading the way. Her look perfectly captures the evilness of the main character but she also does a fine job in her other role. The two characters are so different yet the actress perfectly pulls them off. The film also benefits from a strong music score, which helps push that atmosphere. BLACK Sunday has been copied many times over the years but it's yet to be matched.
Ben Larson
While this was not the first of Barbara Steele's films, it is the one that made her, thanks to the work of Mario Bava.This was Bava's first feature film. He has done some shorts and documentaries, and has finished some films others started, but this was his from start to finish.His career as a cinematographer served him well as he also did the cinematography on this film. It was that that really makes the film.The music and sound effects also add immensely to the atmosphere. A brilliant film. Steele was fantastic.
AD
