1963 horror anthology
Rating: 16/20
Plot: Three tales of horror narrated by Boris Karloff. First, a woman learns the consequences of stealing from ugly deceased people. Then, a woman starts receiving threatening phone calls from a man who she is not supposed to receive phone calls from. Finally, vampires.
I decided that it was about time I had a Bava marathon and started with this, the movie that gave the band Black Sabbath their name. After some cool shots of Karloff's multi-colored face, one behind some dripping water, the first story--at least in this American version which shuffled the order and took out the lesbianism in one of the stories--blew my fucking mind. The very first shot, artistic and completely unnatural shows off Bava's eye and visual flair and gives away that he was actually trained as a painter. "The Drop of Water" was not only the best of the three stories here, it was something I watched and was convinced that Black Sabbath was going to be the greatest horror movie I'd ever seen. It's the most surreal of the shorts, filled with atmosphere and color and uses only a tiny bit of dialogue to move the story along. I love creepy houses in horror movies, and this colorful mansion, with its kitties and dolls, didn't disappoint there. And the dead woman in this has to be the creepiest corpse I have ever seen. She's not the least bit realistic, and I suppose Bava was having a bit of a laugh with it. Dripping spilled water, a fallen hand, a buzzing fly--even before there's any greedy woman vs. the supernatural conflict, these little details all add up to something sinister. Once, the supernatural hi-jinks really get going, I dare you to find a story more atmospheric and spooky than this one. Brilliant sound effects accompany Bava's imagery, and it all adds up to something horrifying fun. Oh, and dig that fly cam!
"The Telephone" is not nearly as atmospheric or stylish, and I didn't like the story so much. Since this is the story most butchered for American audiences who apparently can't handle a little lesbianism in their horror films, I wonder how much that hurt it. I did like the jazzy score, and the use of multiple camera angles to show Rosy which really gave the impression that she was being watched. And the line, "No, Frank. It's not you. You're dead. Don't you understand? You're dead!" Michele Mercier and Lidia Alfonsi as Rosy and Mary are easy on the eye. You don't have to watch much Mario Bava to realize that he knew how to film gorgeous women. They're stunning.
Finally, Karloff himself stars in "The Wurdalak," a period vampire story. I wasn't too excited about the prospects of watching anything to do with vampires as I'm not a fan, but the technical aspects and Bava's imagery were more interesting than the story ever could have been anyway. There's a Benny Hill-ized horse and some fake blood, and Boris Karloff runs off to fight a vampire and apparently comes back transformed into Kurt Vonnegut. And he gets one of the best lines I've heard in a long time--"What's the matter, woman? Can't I fondle my own grandson?" Seriously, he actually says that! As an old-school vampire story, this worked better than I figured it would, and I loved the final shot and a scene involving a severed head.
Great start to Bava Fest 2014. If you're interested in having your own Bava Fest, the movies are easy to find online, and there are two reasonably-priced collections available. I doubt you'll regret it.
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