#shock mario bava

[weirdlookindog]

Schock (1977) French Poster

AKA Shock, Beyond the Door II, Suspense

[loveboatinsanity]

[prettynerdieworks]

[giallofever2]

[gotankgo]

[schlock-luster-video]

On March 23, 1979 Shock debuted in the United States.

[mariocki]

Schock (Shock, 1977)

"Ghosts are only a figment of our imagination. We ourselves create them to justify our behaviour."

[fadinghours]

[number1milfloislover]

Shock, 1977.

[randomdeinonychus]

I watched Imaginary on Vudu over the weekend since I love DeWanda Wise and I already knew the imaginary friend manifests as a hulking bear monster, so that was all I needed to be interested.

And sure enough, the monster suit rules.

The movie is...fine. I didn't expect much, so I think I liked it more than most, but it's pretty standard with a cool monster (and a second one I did not expect) to elevate slightly.

However, I feel sure the filmmakers must have also seen Mario Bava's Shock at some point and, like myself as a teenager with big horror movie dreams, went:

"I have got to rip off that jump scare!"

If you have seen the Bava film, you know exactly the one I mean.

[weirdlookindog]

Shock (1977)

[adamwatchesmovies]

A Bay of Blood (1971)

A Bay of Blood is probably more appealing to horror historians and/or Italian Giallo films than casual viewers. It isn’t quite a proper slasher film but you can see its influence upon the Friday the 13th and later entries in the Halloween franchise - some of the deaths we see here are recreated almost shot-for-shot in the latter. Though its pace is slower than it should be and there are too many characters to keep track of, its mystery is engaging and the body count shocks.

Wheelchair-bound Countess Federica Donati (Isa Miranda) is strangled to death by her husband Filippo Donati (Giovanni Nuvoletti). Moments later, he is himself murdered by an unseen assailant before hiding the body. In the morning, the police discover the dead countess but a note suggests she committed suicide. As the investigation continues, several people begin converging on the property either because they hope to inherit it or want to buy it from the new owners. With a mysterious killer on the loose and everyone’s greed running wild, the bodies begin piling up.

There are A LOT of characters in the film: real estate agent Franco Ventura (Chris Avram) and his lover Laura (Anna Maria Rosati), the creepy groundskeeper Simone (Claudio Volonté), an insect enthusiast named Paolo Fassati (Leopoldo Trieste) and his wife who cares nothing for him, Anna (Laura Betti), the countess’ daughter Renata (Claudine Auger) and her husband Alberto (Luigi Pistilli) as wekk as four teenagers who happen to be visiting the bay - Louise (Brigitte Skay), Sylvie (Paola Montenero), Luca (Guido Boccaccini) and Bobby (Roberto Bonanni). I’m sure someone could remember every face and all of their relationships without taking notes but I wasn’t. This is the kind of movie that needed to cast one Black guy, give someone else an eye patch, a third one some weird verbal tick, etc. Unless you already know how everyone relates, you’ll lose track. Further complicating things are your expectations going in. This is not the story of a lone madman picking off one person at a time for mysterious reasons. Nearly everyone in this story is a potential suspect because they’ve all got murderous urges and several people act upon them. We have all of these conspirators working independently, hoping to take ownership of the bay. In the middle of a scheme, someone will suddenly get decapitated because they're hindering someone else’s plan. Meanwhile, you’re still wondering who murdered Mr. Donati…

A Bay of Blood does an excellent job of keeping you guessing. From their first interaction, you don’t know if Simone and Paolo are potential suspects or just red herrings. Neither appear to have a motive for killing so it could be that if either one of them is a murderer there also happens to be a lunatic messing around with everyone else’s plans. This decision wouldn’t even come out of left field in this film. The teenagers are randomly there so why not?

Director Mario Bava does not give us a protagonist to latch onto. No character is “safe” until the very end. This further obscures the killer/killers’ identity/identities (let’s not assume only one person murdered Filippo) and makes it even more difficult to keep track of everyone. The gore (quite well executed considering the time and low budget) and sudden deaths are more than enough to keep you entertained but this is one of those instances where knowing a little bit about the plot going in would benefit viewers greatly. I can easily see some people getting frustrated by the opaque mystery and dismissing the whole thing. Back in the day, it would’ve been because of the (then) shocking amount of violence. Now, it might be because the ending comes out of nowhere. I have some affection for the final "twist", but it could’ve been foreshadowed better.

If A Bay of Blood interests you, I suggest you set aside an entire evening. Watch the movie, then read an online synopsis, then watch it again with some sort of commentary to "get it". I know that’s asking a lot. Too much for some people but if you are interested in learning the history of horror films, A Bay of Blood is an important stop along your journey and it’s worth doing right. Even if you just watch it once, you’ll still be engaged by the twisty plot, perplexed by the numerous red herrings, and shocked by its violence. (English dub, November 1, 2020)

[suspiria76]

SHOCK

Italy

1977

Directed by Mario Bava

[spook-study]

It is no exaggeration when people say Mario Bava is the father of Giallo; the man who created the style and set the form. When one thinks of a Giallo movie, one may think of Suspiria, or Deep Red, or City of the Living Dead, but the pictures imagined are captured in their truest form in Blood and Black Lace (1964). Perhaps the most Giallo-Giallo movie of all time, Mario Bava lets you know you’re in for a visual treat. This movie is so unfathomably good, it makes all other Gialli look merely like attempts at the genre.

Okay, that is an exaggeration, but it’s impossible to deny how instantaneously captivating and daring Blood and Black Lace is from it’s very first moments. Bava drowns you in with the classic colors of the genre, rich vapid red, and cold, steely blue, but there’s nothing flat about presentation. These colors are constantly being complemented by another excellent color contrast: bright, vibrant magenta and earthy, glowing green. This latter half being used as a secondary pallet, the combination being one of the strongest most woefully underused. Even with this flooded rainbow, no color is desaturated, no subtly of tone is missed. This is all made clear in the beginning sequence- the credits.

Filmed almost as a television pre-show credit, à la The Brady Bunch, Bava displays the main players in the dark, surrounded by almost violent splashes of color. They’re Posing with plants, cages and, most strikingly, bright red mannequins. One actress mirroring hers crimson counterpart, the next actress having a mannequin’s manicured hand around her neck. These were not stills edited into the movie, these are the living, breathing actors standing as still as humanly possible. What cannot be denied, however, is that they are alive. It may be silly to say, but the decision to attack the required opening credits this way was a breath of genius. Even before the movie proper has begun, you are being introduced to an idea of a person, and by the film’s start you feel as though you already know them. They’re not just characters on a screen, they are real people.

It’s intrigue, it’s mystery. It takes its time, and what may now be considered film-making clichés, it’s obvious Blood and Black Lace is no mimicry. The same way the Godfather is no stereotypical mafioso movie- it made the mold. The revelation of drug habits and affairs, secret illnesses, extortion, scandal, the rich, the camera cutting to every single person as a diary is mentioned, the seedy jazz score delivering purposefully intense stings at the shot of each character’s face. The diary is revealed, and the movement begins.

Taking place in a fashion house, it’s no wonder Black Lace focuses on colors and intensity. A fashion house is a high-stress environment no matter a mysterious tell-all diary. It suits that the lavish views, expertly displayed by tracking shots across dressing booths and down halls, contain as much severity as the secrets the main players are keeping. The slow, still shots pull you into the depths of the screen, and Bava isn’t afraid to use the background as playing space. This allows the viewer to suffer the same anticipation as the characters themselves, offering the chance to see things our frightened model can’t. The mastery of Black Lace, however, ensures you almost never do; not until the exact right moment. Clever camerawork and cluttered, luscious spaces have your eyes darting every which way in search of a killer, amping up the mystery.

But that’s nothing compared to the mid-movie plot development that feels entirely shocking. Just as you may have thought the movie was going to follow one path, it had already misled you; unmooring you from the comfort of supposition and subsequently dragging you along for the rest of the ride. The slow revelation of the killer’s identity, the murders, and the personal lives of the cast continue the movie, and the killer, on, in a string of misfortunes and tragedy.

No one does it like Bava. If you’re looking to introduce yourself to the best of the genre, Blood and Black Lace is the place to start. If you’re a fan of Giallo who hasn’t yet seen it, what have you been waiting for! Made in 1964, what feels like ages before the pique of Giallo in the 70s and early 80s, Blood and Black Lace still surprises with the level of violence and was quite shocking at times. Due to the period there is, of course, very little gore. But that doesn’t mean you don’t feel like you witnessed a brutal killing, front to back, in graphic fashion. Every kill is ramped up to the perfect degree. The execution of each makes it feel like you have seen everything.

Not only does this movie look beautiful and delectable, Mario Bava knows how to film death. It is as though he was made for it. The sequences with the masked killer are violent and sometimes brutally realistic while still being drenched in color. There are, of course, sexual overtones, but the constraints of era serve only to benefit. It allowed the director to push the boundaries of film in the 60s, leaving a perfect amount of the risqué. While later Gialli can feel like they are verging on pornographic, Black Lace titillates and situates itself not in grimy city streets, but in the smoke-filled boudoir. Stunning women being partially exposed, revealing the eponymous black lace underclothes of the English title. There’s a sensuality, a richness, and an intimacy to the whole affair.

What’s left to say? It may well be a perfect movie. If not that, it certainly is a perfect Giallo. You’ll find no citizen detectives here, the police force investigates to great effect, even arresting every single suspect- just as you always scream at the movie for the police to do. The colors are gravitational, masterful and never overworn. The acting is well done, suffering only from the English overdub and actors learning their lines only phonetically. But the overdub too, is recorded with passion and verve. The murders are varied, unique, and violent. The camerawork is sublime. It’s delectable, it feels like a treat. It feels like a decadence.

Maybe this movie isn’t for everyone, but it’s impossible to imagine who wouldn’t like this movie. It’s to die for. Indulgent, succulent, and begging to be devoured, Blood and Black Lace (1964)  may sit at the very pinnacle of Giallo film making, and is the perfect example of why Mario Bava is considered the best: he makes murder into art.

5/5

Postscript:

Gialli have a habit of losing their titles in translation, and the Italian names are often better, but is 6 donne per l'assassino, which translates to '6 Women for the Murderer,’ the better title? For once, I think the answer might be no. Blood and Black Lace is far more evocative. Score one for the translators.

[slightly-gay-pogohammer]

Hello! This is probably kinda random, but I had a realization last night that I've never seen an Italian horror movie, and I was wondering if you had any recommendations? I dont have any specific genre in mind, but I wanna know if there some Essential Italian Horror Movies an American probably wouldnt know about :3

hehe prepare for some oldies

anything by Dario Argento is a classic. , but especially "Profondo Rosso" ("Deep Red") is a slasher that's maybe better know for the theme song

i think always from Dario Argento the "Le tre madri" (the three mothers) trilogy is pretty good, but while it has three movies the better known one and the most "classic" of them is "Suspiria", that also heavily inspired the first "Clock Tower" game. there's the original 1977 version, but it was also remade in 2018. FUN FACT! They actually recorded parts of the remake in my town!!!

"La trilogia della morte" (the trilogy of death) by Lucio Fulci, partially inspired by the Triolgy of Terror, is all about surrealistic splatter with heavy lovecraftian themes. Out of all of them, "...e tu vivrai nel terrore! L'aldilà" (...and you will live in terror! The other world) is the most famous of the three

it's not a horror but i clearly remember being terrified of "Io non ho paura" ("i'm not scared") by Gabriele Salvatores. It's not really a horror, but it is about kidnapped children and left me pretty shocked

"Reazione a catena" or "Ecologia del delitto" ( whichhh i think it's been titled "Bay of Blood" in english?) by Mario Bava is another funny little slasher!!!

[schlock-luster-video]

On December 4, 2015 Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages and Shock were screened as a double-feature on TCM Underground.

Here's some new art inspired by both features!