Review of Black Sabbath (1963) by Alex R — 27 Jul 2011
Gothic imagery and ice cold atmosphere characterizes Mario Bava's horror anthology that not only influenced Italian horror for decades to come, but also gave its name to a band that would pioneer an entire new genre of dark music.
After the derivative and Hitchcock styled "The Telephone," the gothic vampire themed "Wurdulak" features a sinister Boris Karloff in the twilight of his career. The grand sets and wind-filled soundtrack make this a perfect movie for Halloween night.
The "Wurdulak" is undeniably the centerpiece of this film, but the third segment is a close second. Poe's The Telltale Heart is modified in "The Drop of Water" which featuures some of the most ghoulish corpse makeup to ever grace the screen.
The closing momrents of this segment are just plain chilling. Bava's mastery of mood and pure creepiness is at its absolute peak in this film - it's spooky as hell. Fans of horror anthologies should have this towards the top in their collection because, despite a lackluster 1st segment, Black Sabbath is a solid old school horror and showcases the very finest moments of Mario Bava.
This review of Black Sabbath (1963) was written by Alex R on 27 Jul 2011.
Black Sabbath has generally received positive reviews.
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