A Blade in the Dark

A Blade in the Dark (1983)

The director of a horror movie sends her composer off to a posh villa to get the music together for her latest film. But almost as soon as he arrives strange things begin to happen, starting with an attractive neighbor skulking around his house. It seems that the neighbor had discovered some big secret that she wasn’t supposed to and after parting ways with the composer is killed. More killings occur and the composer struggles to figure out what is happening and eventually realizes that it may have something to do with the movie he is working on. But what connection does the film and it’s director have to the crimes, and where is the final reel of the movie that may reveal the identity of the killer?

I really enjoyed this movie. The story is fun and interesting. When ever a movie keeps me guessing as to the identity of the killer is I’m always entertained and this movie kept me guessing until the very end. Is the big reveal a bit of a stretch? Sure it is, but that is part of the fun. And again I can’t say enough about the ending and how much I enjoyed it. Not only is the reveal of the killer pretty damn cool, but also something unexpected happens right before it that I found surprising. The characters are well developed and believable, including the killer. I can’t really say more without spoiling the story, which I won’t do. The cast is excellent, but filled with relative unknowns. Well I suppose genre fans might recognize the name Michele Soavi for his directing efforts, but here he is just an actor.

Technically this is a very sound movie. I enjoy the point of view shots of the killer where you only see the killer’s gloved hand and the blade as the victims are being stalked. I did find many of the actual kills sort of tame and wished they were more brutal, but that is only a minor complaint. That said I was impressed with the kill involving the first victim and a mesh fence, which really got under my skin for some reason. Also the music, which does get used a bit too much, goes a long way towards setting the mood. The song that is heard throughout most of the early scenes at the villa is really quite creepy.

I made the mistake of checking around before I watched the movie. There are a lot of people out there who really don’t like this movie at all. In fact many complain about some of the things that I actually liked. Personally I think that far too many people want to compare director Lamberto Bava to his father Mario. If you are a fan of Giallos then I can’t believe that you wouldn’t get some enjoyment out of A Blade in the Dark. I know I certainly did and am recommending everyone check it out.

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer