Review of Black Sabbath (1963) by Randy T — 30 Nov 2009

Mario Bava is considered by many the Godfather of several genres and filming techniques. His extensive work is regarded as highly influential for, among others, the gothic horror, giallo, atmospheric suspense, J-Horror (yes, J-Horror) and slasher styles. Popular directors such as Scorsese, Tarantino, Dario Argento, Joe Dante, Tim Burton, Coppola and Guillermo del Toro paid Bava an artistic tribute by adopting some of his techniques and sense of style (sometimes even an exact reproduction of a particular scene) in several of their works.

I tre volti della paura - Black Sabbath - is part of his Unholy Trinity, if you will, along with La Maschera del demonio - Black Sunday - and Reazione a catena - A Bay of Blood (although some may argue that movies like Operazione paura - Kill Baby, Kill - or Sei donne per l'assassino - Blood and Black Lace - also deserve a place in the podium). It's not as visually gothic as the first nor as gory as the latter, but it wasn't intended to be. And whilst the three stories comprised in it are quite simple and not incredibly original (with the exception, perhaps, of the twist in the first segment "Il telefono"), and I'm actually considering 1960's standards, the way they are presented is more than enough to lock one's attention throughout the entire film. The disturbing display of colours and picture stylization, which is one of the most distinguishable traits in Bava's cinematography, is particularly well worked and balanced in I tre volte della paura, especially in the middle segment, "I Wurdalak". Although it's not the best story of the three, the gloomy and darkened landscapes are able to drag one's mind right into it.

This movie benefits from an extended contribution from the horror icon Boris Karloff himself, who opens the festivities with an introduction, plays a role in "I Wurdalak" and ends the movie with a message to the viewers. And while he lives up to his acting standards in the tale he stars in, and his introduction is more than welcome, his final commentary (note that he is obviously not the one to blame for this) is completely unnecessary and a painful mood killer, particularly after such a macabre tale as "La goccia d'acqua". This happened simply because Bava ended up giving in to the pressure of his American distribution company, who feared the last segment was too strong and visually nightmarish to end the movie with, making him add a comic final comment and ultimately a visual joke, personified in Karloff. This moment alone makes it very difficult for me to consider the film as a top notch achievement, or as Bava's finest hour. It's just that bad, and unnervingly out of context. Such a movie should not have any humurous moment, otherwise it risks ruining everything it built before. And with this particular scene, it nearly did.

Yet, luckily, it didn't.

So all things considered, I tre volti della paura stands, by its own right, as one of the most influential horror movies of its decade, along with titles like Hitchcock's Psycho or The Birds, Peeping Tom, Polanski's Repulsion or Rosemary's Baby, The Haunting, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, The Innocents, the Hammer horror productions, Night of the Living Dead or Bava's very own La Maschera del Demonio.

And for that reason alone, it should be considered compulsory viewing for any self-proclaimed true horror aficionado.