Black Sunday

Cast View all

	Barbara Steele	Princess Asa Vajda
	John Richardson	Dr. Andrej Gorobec
	Andrea Checchi	Dr. Choma Kruvajan
	Ivo Garrani	Prince Vajda
	Arturo Dominici	Igor Javutich
	Enrico Olivieri	Constantine Vajda
	Antonio Pierfederici	Priest
	Tino Bianchi	Ivan - Manservant
	Clara Bindi	Innkeeper
	Mario Passante	Nikita - Coachman
	Renato Terra	Boris - Stablehand
	Germana Dominici	Sonya - Innkeeper's Daughter
	Nando Gazzolo	Narrator

Crew View all

Director	Mario Bava
Writer	Ennio De Concini, Mario Serandrei, Gogol, George Higgins, Mario Bava, Marcello Coscia, Dino De Palma
Producer	Samuel Z. Arkoff, Massimo de RITA, James H. Nicholson, Lou Rusoff, Lionello Santi
Musician	Les Baxter, Roberto Nicolosi
Photography	Mario Bava

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Notes

My quick rating - 6,9/10. Definitely edgy for its time, that is for sure. Bava always had a way with using music to really set up his scenes so well, at least the movies of his that I have seen. During a time when special effects were non-existent, this movie relies on good camerawork and angles to setup the scenes for the most impact. Here we have a supposed witch that is executed and has a mask driven over her face to keep her evil from ever escaping. As in so many movies after it, you know somehow this does happen. Years later, two men stumble upon her tomb and while investigating, accidentally release her demonic spirit (Barbara Steele). As the estate and its members slowly are visited by the evil, things start happening and people disappear, etc. Even in its simplicity, this flick still provides the goods and in the end even a nice little twist. This is the kind of movie that you watch and appreciate. If you plan on making movies at all, you also learn from something like this to see the right ways to do things (and the wrong, I don't think stumbling upon a pipe organ in the forest is very plausible.) Even just viewing it now I was still entertained from start to finish. I will say that if the scares themselves were better you would be jumping out of your seat with the incredible score that is used throughout.

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