DVD...

Skin...

1960
Directed by: Mario Bava
Written by: Mario Bava, Ennio De Concini, Nikolai Gogol, Mario Serandrei
Produced by: Samuel Z. Arkoff
Studio: Galatea Film (Italy)

Starring:
Barbara Steele .... Katia Vajda/Princess Asa Vajda
John Richardson .... Dr. Andre Gorobec
Andrea Checchi .... Dr. Thomas Kruvajan
Ivo Garrani .... Prince Vajda
Arturo Dominici .... Javutich/Javuto
Enrico Olivieri .... Constantin Vaida
Antonio Pierfederici .... Priest

Black Sunday (aka La Maschera del demonio) has everything: A mean and cruel witch; vampires; zombies; gothic setting; beautiful star....

This film represented an international breakthrough for famed Italian director and cinematographer Mario Bava. Before this movie came out he was well known in Italy and in professional circles, but not in the rest of Europe or America. It also marked the international breakthrough for British actress Barbara Steele.

Black Sunday begins with Princess Asa Vajda (Barbara Steele) and her brother Prince Vajda (Ivo Garrani), being accused of witchcraft and then having a mask with spikes in it nailed to their face. The witchcraft accusations were true and of course centuries later she comes back with a vengeance. A distant descendant, Katia Vajda (also played by Barbara Steele), becomes possessed by the witch Asa who is working on taking over her body permanently. Her brother is also brought back to life from the grave and he wanders around murdering those who would stand in the way of Asa's triumphant return.

The brief scene where the mask is pounded onto Asa's face has no gore and little blood, but is gruesome nonetheless. The scene was cut from most theatrical versions of the film and has recently been reintegrated for the wonderful dvd release from Image Entertainment.

Two doctors travelling to a medical conference have their coach break down near the town that Katia lives in. While their coachman tries to fix the problem the doctors wander around an old masuleum that is nearby and wouldn't you know it, this is the very masuleum that Asa was buried in two centuries earlier. The mask is still on the body and a prayer book that is helping to bind her to the state of helplessness she is in is sitting on her chest. The older of the two doctors tosses the prayer book aside and cuts himself while trying to remove the mask. A drop of blood flows on Asa'a lips and so the cycle of evil begins anew.

The coach cannot be immediately fixed so the doctors are waylaid at the local town. They are staying at an Inn and here is where the younger of the two doctors, Dr. Andre Gorobec (John Richardson), meets Katia. Of course he falls in love with her but she has her own problems going on since Asa and her brother, Prince Vajda (Ivo Garrani), are now running around the castle that Katia and her family live in. Her father is having nightmares and seems to be sick most of the time. The help at the castle is ready to revolt since they are now in danger from the curse that has plagued the family, and the curse is now spilling over to non-family residents of the castle.

As Katia becomes more and more possesed by Asa, the dashing and corageaos Dr. Gorobec tries to save her. But will he be too late?!?! There are lots of torch lit romps through graveyards and in the bowles of the castle before the exciting climax happens. You'll just have to see the movie yourself to find out how it ends though.

Mario Bava knew he wanted Barbara Steele for the lead role in his directorial debut and he flew her from England to Italy for the part. This film ended up making her a star in Italy and the rest of the world and she made several more movies in Italy including Fellini's 8 1/2. Lots has been written about the film and it has acquired quite a cult status among horror and film aficionados.

The Image Entertainment release includes a full commentary by horror film historian Tim Lucas, theatrical trailers, liner notes and a photo gallery. The print is a gorgeous 1.66:1 transfer and the sound is in Dolby Digital 2.0 mono.

Many consider this one of the finest horror films of all time and some consider it one of the finest films of any genre of all time. For myself, I am very glad I own the dvd. After my second viewing of the movie recently, I like it even more and I am certain I will watch this movie many times in the coming years. It retails for $25 and is worth every penny. And if you can find it cheaper, all the better.

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