BloodandBlackLace

Blood and Black Lace (1964)

The police are called into investigate when a beautiful young model is brutally murdered in this Giallo from Italian master Mario Bava. What appears to be an isolated crime becomes the first in a series of brutal murders surrounding the company that the first victim modeled for. Are the crimes the work of a crazed serial killer or is there a more mundane and explainable reason for the killings? It seems to be the latter as the audience sees the killer desperately try and find the first victims diary before the police have a chance to read it. Eventually the killer is revealed, but even then there are more twists to come.

Very simply this is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time. The story is interesting and engaging, keeping the viewer guessing until the end as to the identity of the killer. And even thought I was expecting several twists, this is a Giallo, I didn’t see the ending coming at all! Looking at my notes I notice that I wrote down that the killer was revealed too soon. This was my first impression but there is so much more to the movie I’d have to say that was hasty. Trust me even after the big reveal stick around because the best is yet to come!

The performances in the movie are decent. I was a bit disappointed that Cameron Mitchell (The Toolbox Murders, Without Warning) didn’t get more screen time, but he does make the most with what he has. The rest of the cast is made up of veteran European actors who do a fine job. Thought I do need to point out that this isn’t the kind of movie that is heavy on plot or gives the cast much to “chew” on. The story is very basic (with some cool twists!) and the movie spends far more time developing a visual style than on the characters.

Speaking of the visuals this is a stunning movie. I had always heard that Bava was a big inspiration for Dario Argento. I had seen some things in Bava’s movies that sort of clued me in on that, but it wasn’t until Blood and Black Lace that I really saw it. The camera work is amazing. First of all the camera is always moving and following the actors thru the scene. Additionally there are a couple of amazing individual shots that use “clutter” from the sets that are close to the camera to frame the scene or focus the eye on an individual actor. This is a great trick that will focus your eye on what the director wants you to see, while something else is happening right in front of you. This is used early on to setup a killer jump scare that is very effective (got me big time). Also noticeable is the lighting and colors. This is an early color movie and Bava makes great use of not only the sets and wardrobes, but also filters on the lighting to create a beautiful and colorful movie. There are certain scenes of the movie that have a very surreal look and feel that work very well.

Included on the new 2 disc DVD from VCI Entertainment are a few special features that I wanted to mention. 1st up there is a nice interview with Cameron Mitchell. It is obviously an older interview (Mitchell passed away in 1994), but is one of the better interviews with Cameron Mitchell that I’ve ever seen. While only around 7 minutes long it is well worth checking out. He talks about working with Mario Bava and has some great stories. There is also an interview with actress Mary Dawne Arden conducted in 2000. She talks about what she has been doing since her acting career. To be honest this isn’t very interesting unless you are a fan of marketing and modeling. I had also kind of hoped for some stories about working with Bava, and she does have a couple, but they aren’t that interesting.

The interviews aren’t’ the only feature I wanted to talk about. There is a very cool comparison between the American cuts and the European version of the movie. It is amazing to see what the original US audience was missing. Toss in trailers for Blood and Black Lace from around the world and you have killer special features that Bava fans will get a kick out of. I know that I did.

Bottom line is that Mario Bava rules! I have thoroughly enjoyed most all of the Bava movies I’ve seen and this one is no different. I highly recommend that everyone pick up this one. You won’t regret it.

3 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer