Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

A landlord and a meeting, a foolish inquiry into some unsolved demises after this point in time, and even more deaths to follow as foolishness keeps searching. This is one of the wonderful things about Bava's film - you really get to have your cake and eat a lot of it, and sometimes the frosting is lavishly eclectic.
The bizarre becomes even more bizarre, making the oddity interesting.

Sometimes I want to take a look back at the Eurofilms and ask certain questions, but when you look at the people in these movies and even the movies themselves, you have to remember the era of film you are in AND you have to remember exactly where your film is coming from. Italian cinema was a gore-fueled beast that worked off of low cost, kicking out themes that other countries would often ban. Italian films, especially those made in the Slasher-film's Golden age, were also created with dialog that could be formatted to anyone's lips quickly (the old Sergio Leone trick perfected in his Westerns) despite the language they were dubbed onto, were filled with people that were simply picked out on a shoestring budget that didn't allow for veterans of the trade, and were graded on a curve that leaned more toward the graphic nature of the story and not toward plot-points or acting prowess..
So, how do you deal with the problem of acting? You cover each actor with gore and you do it with style so that everyone remembers it and not the dialog.

Sometimes, when watching some of the more gruesome deaths, I wonder if they were dreamed up because of specific actors? The instruments used, for example, and the situations they were used in; in the states these things were taken from our Slasher movies and, when imported in their first outings, a lot of the shots were deemed gruesome enough hat they would have to be hacked up and retitled just to get some time on a store's shelves.
It was in movies like this that I learned about drills and flutes and other implements that could kill, for example, and why they were used. In one film I read something Argento was quoted as saying about this type of film, stating that "most people have never been shot, so using a gun only give into a fear of what people have seen in the movies. In you drop a person into a vat of razors, however, people know how a razor feels and can identify with that." Since Bava worked with Argento alot, I think he knew this all-too-well.

For people who like Italian horror, gore-films, or 80s slashers, then this might be fun to try out.

I don't really envy Lamberto Bava. Sure, he's a director in the movie business, which means he comes into contact with very hot chicks on a daily basis. That would definitely rank as a plus in my book. His career also means he doesn't have to put up with the daily grind like the rest of us mere mortals. Another plus, I think. A final positive? He makes horror flicks. That's fun with a capital 'F'. He gets to stage all sorts of bloody mayhem, capture it on film, and entertain weirdos the world over. I still don't envy him, though. Why? Look at his last name. Having the name "Bava" in the horror business would be the equivalent of laboring under the title "Spielberg" or "Lucas" in the United States. Lamberto Bava is the son of Mario Bava, a legendary Italian filmmaker who could lens a movie in any genre with astonishing ease. Mario made romantic comedies, westerns, science fiction, gialli, and a host of horror films. I've never seen a Mario Bava film that I disliked. All of his pictures contain that certain something that makes them a good viewing experience. Lamberto, on the other hand, has a tough time living up to his father's reputation.

"A Blade in the Dark" is a giallo, one of those infamous Italian murder mysteries larded with red herrings, an enigmatic killer, and hot babes. It was only a matter of time before Lamberto tried to cover ground previously explored by his father. This movie is the result, and it's not a winner. The story focuses on Bruno (Andrea Occhipinti), a composer currently scoring a horror film for his director friend Sandra (Anny Papa). The opening of "A Blade in the Dark" shows a bit of the film Bruno's laboring on. A scene unfolds in which three kids, one of them played by Giovanni Frezza (one of the most annoying child actors in the history of the world, by the way), dare one another to descend into a darkened basement. Down the stairs goes the kid, and seconds later a bloody ball comes bouncing out of the darkness! Huh? Oh well. It's all a set up to get us into the story of Bruno and the strangeness he's about to encounter in the seaside villa Sandra set him up in so the composer could create a masterpiece. From the sound of the music he's banging out on his keyboard, I think it's safe to say John Williams doesn't have much to worry about.

The hijinks kick into high gear when Bruno discovers a woman, Katia (Valeria Cavalli), hiding in one of the house's closets. Hmmm. That's weird. Anyway, the two engage in mindless dialogue before Katia sneaks off and leaves the house. She's brutally murdered outside by some kook sporting a utility knife and clad in female attire. Bruno, noticing Katia's sudden disappearance, goes looking form her only to discover a diary she dropped outside. A clue! Upon reading the diary, Bruno learns some intriguing bits about the villa's former occupant, a woman named Linda. It's intriguing enough that Bruno begins to delve a bit deeper into the history of the house. He finds a locked door downstairs that he can't get into, and learns that the room has something to do with Linda. While all this is going down, other women suddenly show up only to fall into the psycho's orbit. Bruno's girlfriend Julia (Lara Naszinsky) and Katia's friend Angela (Fabiola Toledo) both meet their grim end in or around the seaside villa. What's going on? It turns out that the answers lie in the very film Bruno is working on. Prepare yourself for a shocking denouement in which the movie reveals all.

I'm sort of kidding about a "shocking denouement". "A Blade in the Dark" isn't really shocking at all in terms of plot or character development. What we're dealing with here is an average, muddled giallo that doesn't live up to anything made by Mario Bava (or Dario Argento, for that matter). I had a tough time keeping track of what happened as the film progressed, and the conclusion is a real groaner in terms of logic. Another negative plaguing the film is the lousy dubbing. Really, this movie contains some of the worst dubbing in the history of cinema. It's so laughable and distracting that it takes away from the movie's impact. What rescues the movie from the garbage bin is the gory kills. We see women sliced and diced with that utility knife in ways that will make the hardcore gore fans cringe. The killer wraps one gal's head in plastic and then proceeds to slam it repeatedly against a tiled countertop until she dies. The stabbings go on and on in nauseating detail. The murders in "A Blade in the Dark" are so violent that even Europeans had problems with the film. Too, it's hard to ignore the inherent misogyny in these crimes. Those wacky Italians!

Anchor Bay, which I'm told doesn't exist anymore thanks to a buyout, brings us a great DVD version of the movie. The picture and audio quality should keep most buyers happy, as will the extras on the disc. We get a trailer for the film, liner notes from Mario Bava historian Tim Lucas, and a twenty-minute interview with Lamberto Bava and scriptwriter Dardano Sacchetti. This last feature, called "Behind the Blade," is neat to watch, as the two men reminisce about making films on a low budget and offer their opinions about the film business in general. So there you go. If you like gialli, you'll definitely want to give "A Blade in the Dark" a shot. It's not nearly as good as the movies made by Lamberto's father or those from Dario Argento, but the excessive gore and laughable dub job should keep you marginally entertained for an hour and a half. Three stars.