7.2.09

kill baby kill (1966)

aka Operazione Paura, Curse Of The Living Dead, Curse Of The Dead, Don't Walk In The Park.
"If you vaule your lives you will not continue with this investigation."
Transylvania, and the ghost of a small girl is plaguing a village. The mysterious deaths come to the authorities attention and they send a doctor to investigate.
Beautifully shot Mario Bava atmospheric horror. The slow pacing only serves to heighten the atmosphere of menace.

knives of the avenger (1966)

aka Bladestorm , Raffica di coltelli, Viking Massacre.
A lesser Bava Viking film. Cameron Mitchell is a mysterious stranger who comes to the aid of a woman and her son. A long-winded story then unfolds, at a very slow pace.

5.2.09

the girl who knew too much (1963)

aka The Evil Eye, La Ragazza che sapeva troppo.
Credited as the first giallo film, The Girl Who Knew Too Much, was a Hitchcock style thriller where an American tourist gets caught up in the hunt for a killer whilst in Rome. It even has time to throw in some comedy along the way. Well worth the price of admission and a glimpse at the future of Italian horror courtesy of Mario Bava.

mask of satan (1960)

aka Black Sunday. House of Fright. Mask of the Demon. Revenge of the Vampire. The Demon's Mask. The Hour When Dracula Comes.
Or La maschera del demonio as it was known in Italy, was an early indication of Mario Bava's talent, being his directorial debut. It was considered gruesome at the time and was banned in the UK for eight years. But don't let the squemish British censors put you off - it's really a beautifully evocative piece of storytelling.

4.2.09

strait-jacket (1964)

Joan Crawford perfects her psycho act in this William Castle horror. Being a Castle film when the film opened, moviegoers were given little cardboard axes. This is the only time you will see the Columbia picture logo with a decapitated Torch Lady, her severed head resting at her feet, her torch extinguished.

[rec] (2007)

A Spanish horror that does for tv journalism what The Blair Witch Project did for camping in the woods. It nicely rolls along. Though it isn't the frightfest that some would have you believe it does have a nice change of pace near the end.

danger diabolik (1968)

A fine example of a comic book adaption by Mario Bava. Staring John Philip Law as Diabolik, and Terry Thomas as a hapless government minister. 1968 will never look so good in any other film.

1.2.09

the beast must die (1974)

Amicus introduce us to detective horror. A millionaire has brought a group of people together, one of which he believes is a werewolf - but will you spot which one it is? We are given some clues as Calvin Lockhart tests them before the Werewolf break - a 30 second pause in the film to give you time to guess. A fun 70's horror with a great cast.