moonspinner55
Cameron Mitchell heads a haute couture fashion salon where the models are being murdered by a psychotic killer in a black hat, black coat and stocking mask; seems the first victim left behind a diary, which the maniac desperately wants. A police detective is immediately on the case and has a host of suspects, including Mitchell and several dressers and designers. French-Italian co-production directed and co-written by Mario Bava (who also assisted in the cinematography) has a sterling reputation among Giallo buffs and slasher fans, but the robotic English dubbing coupled with the blinking neon lights and melodramatic music by Carlo Rustichelli gives the picture a thick coating of kitsch. Bava, at this point, knows a great deal more about staging a sequence for the camera than he does about building suspense or intrigue in the scenario; thus, the film is visually imaginative and yet strangely fatiguing. ** from ****
Scott LeBrun
Isabella (Francesca Ungaro), one of the lovely young models at a fashion house, meets a gruesome demise in this films' opening minutes. When her former co-workers rifle through her belongings, a diary is discovered. And many characters are mighty anxious to find out what Isabella might have written in there. Meanwhile, people continue to be murdered, and there's no shortage of suspects."Blood and Black Lace" was an early example of that beloved Italian genre of murder mysteries known as "Gialli", and as such, it's pretty good of its kind. Some viewers could find it a little hard to stomach, because it's rather brutal. Our murderer employs various methods, but always displays a certain sadism. The story & screenplay (by Marcello Fondato, in collaboration with director Mario Bava and Giuseppe Barilla) are not great, but they are reasonably involving and do try to keep you on your toes. The real drawing card, as with any film by Bava, is his visual style. His creation of images, and the colorful lighting and props, rank right up there with the best of his work. Things begin on an effectively ominous note, with a close-up on a sign that comes loose due to a heavy storm. As Bava well knows, dark and stormy nights are a classic trope of the entire horror genre.The acting is generally acceptable, with American actor Cameron Mitchell in the lead. Standing out among this cast are the sultry Eva Bartok as the Contessa, and Dante DiPaolo as drug-addicted Frank Sacalo. Other familiar faces include Luciano Pigozzi (the Italian Peter Lorre), Lea Lander ("Rabid Dogs"), and Harriet Medin ("The Whip and the Body"). As fans of the Giallo come to expect, much of the female cast is strikingly sexy and used to full advantage.Some Bava fans regard this as his true masterpiece.Seven out of 10.
TheRedDeath30
I am well aware that this is the sort of review that is going to get me NOT HELPFUL reviews because I am going to dare to denigrate a film that many cinephiles and horror fanatics will consider to be an untouchable classic of the genre. I feel, though, that a review should be honest and personal. I'm not the kind of person who's going to write a pretentious review telling you to watch this just because we're supposed to revere it. That said, please note my rating of "8", which is still higher than the average on this site, so obviously I do appreciate the movie.Let's get down to the review, then, shall we. It's almost a prerequisite to discuss the movie's importance before we discuss the movie itself. After all, every critical review or horror anthology that I've ever read/ seen mention this movie rarely ever discusses whether or not it's actually an enjoyable movie, they go right for the historic importance. After the monumental success of both BLACK Sunday and BLACK SABBATH, Mario Bava was given complete creative control to craft whatever movie he wanted from his studio. The result is a movie that has gone on to have a major impact on the horror genre and became the blueprint for much of what would follow in Italian horror for the next few decades.There are so many ingredients here that the modern horror fan almost takes for granted, but when looked at in a historical lens, it becomes obvious that this is the origination of those elements. Most importantly, this is the beginning of the Giallo movement. Bava took the basic element of a suspense thriller revolving around a police procedural. He, then, added a number of shocking, violent deaths, enough flesh to titillate his audience and, most vital, a black- gloved mysterious killer. This basic blueprint was emulated so many times by a legion of admirers that include Argento, Fulci and Franco, becoming so imitated that it became its' own genre. Almost more important than the subject matter, though, is the look of the film. Bava's creation is an explosion of color, but with singular focus. This is not a technicolor movie like WIZARD OF OZ. Instead, scenes often radiate with one color. Each scene tends to draw the viewer's eyes towards a particular color. At times, it's a costume or piece of scenery, sometimes it's a brilliantly colored prop. Most often it's in the use of lighting and filters. The result is a scene that just "feels" red or blue, etc. This, more than any element, is what inspired Bava's imitators enough that it became the signature element in what most horror fans would consider the look of Italian horror.Looking beyond the nation of Italy, though, this movie had a much more broad impact by becoming perhaps the earliest example of a slasher film. Yes, there were movies like PSYCHO and PEEPING TOM before it that had popularized the idea of a psychotic killer, murdering his victims. This movie, though, was one of the first to use the idea of a mass murderer that works its' way through a series of young, beautiful victims, killing them in unique, differing ways. We horror fans just think of this as such an embedded part of horror that we assume it's always been there, but like everything the slasher started somewhere and most would point to this film.Now, let's actually talk about the plot and story, though. I sometimes think of movie's like this in terms of a Picasso painting. It's one thing to listen to your art history professor explain to you the historical relevance, but do you actually like the painting? I watch this movie and appreciate its' significance. I love the lighting and the look, but do I actually enjoy the movie? That's where it tends to lose a few points with me. The murder scenes are fantastic and become worth the price of admission. There are a few scenes, particularly, such as the hot stove or the bathtub that just ooze with style so much they stick out in memory. What's in between, though, can leave a lot to be desired. At times, this movie feels like an episode of Columbo. Unfortunately, this also has become such an integral part of the Giallo that it's often what keeps me from enjoying many of them. Bad acting by people playing cardboard cutout police characters going through the motions of an investigation that serves no real purpose other than to move the plot along tend to bog down the movie often. Another thing that holds it back is the dubbing. I've seen this movie twice now and, unfortunately, both times was a dubbed version. I'd prefer subtitles but have yet to find a version that had them, so we're stuck with horrible dubbing, with voice acting that is comical, at times. The guy having a seizure in the police station stand out, noticeably, as just one moment where the dubbing is so bad it makes the movie laughable, rather than keeping us in an intense mood.If you a fan of the Giallo movement or Italian horror, I highly recommend seeing this to explore the roots of the genre. Just know that it's not the most exciting movie for the entire 90 minutes and that's not just the result of age because there are plenty of movies just as old, if not older, that still hold up better in my opinion. There are great ideas here, great scenes and great shots, but it all tends to get a little bit lost in boring plotting.
