Review of Blood and Black Lace (1964) by Greg W — 12 Nov 2014

For its time this film was unmatched in its execution, though its conception was one in a long line of thematic whodunit films. Bava deviates from this classic structure by introducing a body count, and takes his time in showing the death scenes, in all their gory glory.

While later slasher films were happy to leave the killer's motivations to mental disease, revenge fantasies, and a criminal disposition, this film shows that the killer is trying to keep a secret.

Still, each of these model's killings is perpetrated in sick detail, each murder different from the next. They range from a fire poker torture session, to drowning, to eye gouging, which usually isn't conducive to murder mysteries.

This may be the first instance where the promise of gruesome death overshadows catching the killer. There are some really great scenes, especially the first death scene in the warehouse, which borrows heavily from Welles' "Touch of Evil" in its choice of lighting.

The ending was a little anti-climactic, but the rest of the film was as fresh and gritty as any slasher film, while still being stylish.