The Whip And The Body (1963) aka La Frusta E Il Corpo

3.5 / 5 Mar '11
Tagline: The most deliriously romantic horror picture ever made!
Directed by: Mario Bava
Written by: Ernesto Gastaldi, Ugo Guerra
Actors include: Christopher Lee, Daliah Lavi, Tony Kendall
Genre: Horror, Drama, Romance
Length: 85 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Well it is at least lovingly filmed and very elegant in nature. It's a shame the version I saw was dubbed (why couldn't Christopher Lee dub his own voice I wonder) as it was a little distracting. Lee plays sadist Kurt Menleiff who loves torturing and whipping and sexing. Kurt has come home after being away for a while to find his Father is less than happy to see him and his little brother Christian is married to Nevenka (his former lover and cousin). Christian just happens to be in love with another and Kurt still wants Nevenka. When Kurt turns up dead from being stabbed in the throat things get more interesting as fingers get pointed and Nevenka starts seeing the ghost of Kurt. His muddy footprints adorn her floor and he reaches out and scares her regularly but nobody believes her it seems. It's a rather interesting film as parts were cut out from nearly every release but finally it's been put together again for an uncut Euro version (which luckily is the version I saw). It's rather slow moving but it does become rather interesting as the plot thickens and the characters are rather memorable and the S&M is unusual too.

Availability:  On DVD

Lisa And The Devil (1974) aka Lisa E Il Diavolo

3 / 5 Sept '10
Tagline: Every corner of the soul is lost to the icy clutch of the supernatural!
Directed by: Mario Bava, Alfredo Leone
Written by: Alberto Cittini, Mario Bava
Actors include: Telly Savalis, Elke Sommer
Genre: Mystery, Horror
Length: 95 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Gee you know, I kind of thought this would be far more interesting than it was. Still credit is due for shooting a visually beautiful film, it's very surreal in nature (but also sort of confusing). I also thought the first half was very uninteresting and dull despite the fact that yes the scenery was lovely. It did pick up for the second half, and Telly Savalas was pretty hilarious and callous, really the reason for tuning in. The plot is about a girl named Lisa who is a lost tourist that ends up in this old mansion with a strange cast of characters. There is something definitely wrong with the people in the house, one guy keeps transforming from a dummy to a human, and shortly after a few people turn up dead. Apparently two edits of this film exist, the one I watched was called "Lisa And The Devil", there is also another called "House Of Exorcism" which apparently changes this into an Exorcism style rip-off with more gratuity. I really wish I'd watched that version instead, then at least something would have been going on rather than what actually was (though I'm sure the version I saw was more elegant). It's not horrible and it did wrap up decently, I just was disappointed and rather bored through most of it unfortunately.

Availability:  on DVD

Operazione Paura (1966) aka Kill Baby Kill aka Curse Of The Living Dead aka Don't Walk In The Park

4.5 / 5 Mar '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Mario Bava
Written by: Romano Migliorini, Roberto Natale
Actors include: Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Erika Blanc, Fabienne Dali
Genre: Horror
Length: 85 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I really quite liked this one, elegantly shot, beautiful usage of colors plus the story is fun too. We go to a very unusual town where strange deaths keep happening that are neither accidents nor suicides though they appear as such. We watch a girl jump onto a spiked iron fence to start out with (so we know we are in for a treat) and from there Dr. Eswai is called to perform the autopsy where they find a coin in the heart of the girl. From there we meet various strange people in the town with strange beliefs and some investigation is going on. In the meantime more brutal deaths are taking place, the culprit must be stopped...but who is it? It's filmed in the style of a giallo though it really isn't one I suppose, still it's very elegant and it's obvious that Mario Bava was behind this film. It still has the gratuitity that horror fans will seek, the interesting story and mystery that some will want to solve and it's gorgeous to watch, how could you say no? I do think this is available in several cheapo versions that are probably missing chunks of the story so make sure you get a legit copy because this is one you won't want to miss.

Availability:  On DVD

The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963) aka La Ragazza Che Sapeva Troppo aka The Evil Eye

4 / 5 Feb '10
Tagline: What Does It Want? What Will Satisfy Its Cravings?
Directed by: Mario Bava
Written by: Mario Bava, Enzio Corbucci
Actors include: John Saxon, Letícia Román, Valentina Cortese
Genre: Giallo, Thriller, Horror
Length: 86 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
So this is arguably the first giallo film, and although it's not my favorite it's still pretty darned amusing. It's actually Mario Bava's final black and white film which gives it a sort of class however I hate to say this but I'd rather it were in color. Thing is with gialli films there is often so much garish color and that is a huge tool in many of them. This doesn't rely on that obviously but it does have a good story, some interesting characters and plenty of little twists and even quite a sense of humor. When American girl Nora sees too much (go figure) she ends up being knocked out in near Trafalgar square. After she's taken to hospital she meets a charming Doctor Marcello (John Saxon who is so much younger here than I'm used to) who wants to help her. See the thing she saw was the latest victim of the Alphabet Murderer (killing by last name in order A, B and C are already dead) and she wants to try to solve the crime. Of course things get dangerous and there are surprises around every corner, but it's a pretty engaging little flick really. We do get the gloves, a giant set of stairs, various red herrings and well the stage is pretty well set for everything that followed (though I didn't spot a bottle of J&B...maybe I missed it?). Definitely one to watch though I hate to say I prefer the sleazier titles!

Availability:  On DVD