Bava In Space

 

 (imdb)

PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES-1965-A group of astronauts land on a mysterious planet looking for a missing spaceship. At first they act strangely. They find the spaceship they were looking for but the crew is dead. The captain, Mark Markary (Barry Sullivan) deduces some kind of force is trying to control them. They find giant dinosaur like skeletons, the remains of a dead civilization. But the inhabitants are still around possessing dead bodies and killing who's ever still alive. 

There's a twist ending in this well directed but slow-paced horror sci-fi from Mario Bava which was co-produced by AIP. Star Sullivan promoted this film on an episode of “Celebrity Password”. Susan Hart (AIP co-owner James Nicholson's wife) was originally supposed to play the female lead. Director Bava's future director son, Lamberto was the assistant director.

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Baron Bava

 

 (imdb)

BARON BLOOD-1972-Peter comes from America to Austria to discover his roots and learn about this ancestor Baron Von Kleist (dubbed Baron Blood by the locals). At dinner with Uncle Karl and his family, Peter meets Eva (Elke Sommer) and they discuss a witch named Elizabeth Holly who put a curse on the Baron. For some reason, Peter wants to recite an incantation that could bring the Baron back to life. Eva takes him to the room where the Baron died and he invokes it. The Baron comes back as a deformed killer. When the castle is put up for auction a guy in a wheelchair named Becker (Joseph Cotton) buys it. Later they suspect he is the Baron who's restoring the castle complete with impaled victims and a torture chamber with recorded screams. The Baron reveals himself and in his torture chamber. He tortures Peter first. However, an ancient medallion causes the Baron's recent victims to rise and torture him to death. 

Stylish direction from the great Mario Bava, who made this between A BAY OF BLOOD and LISA AND THE DEVIL. It was a big hit in the US.

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Bava

 

 (the moviedb.org)

BLACK SABBATH-1963-Three tales of terror are hosted by Boris Karloff in this Italian American co-production presented by AIP. 

The Drop of Water-A woman (Jacqueline Pierreux) is terrorized in her apartment after stealing a ring off a dead woman. Dripping water, weird lights and the dead woman seemingly back for revenge all help in the thief's demise. Credited as based on a story by Anton Chekov but he never wrote such a story.

The Telephone-A woman named Rosie (Michele Mercier) receives threatening phone calls from a man she thought was dead. Credited as a story by Tolstoy but not Leo, the author of “War and Peace” but a minor author Aleksei.

The Wurdaluk-A man (Mark Damon) stays with a family and awaits the return of their grandfather (Boris Karloff) who may now be a vampire. Based on a story by Guy de Maupassant. Usually said to be the only time King Karloff played a vampire.

Mario Bava directed this using lots of style and clever camera work. The original Italian version has a different story order, different music and alternate narration by Karloff. Plus an unusual ending for the vampire story. Bava made THE WHIP AND THE BODY the same year.

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What?

 

 

 (imdb)

THE WHIP AND THE BODY-1963-Kurt Menliff (Christopher Lee), a sadistic disowned son returns to his family because his brother Christian (Tony Kendall) is about to be married. Kurt's return doesn't sit well with his dad, The Count (Gustavo De Nardo). In fact, Christian is going to marry Kurt's ex-fiance Nevenka (Daliah Lavi) but Kurt blew it when he had an affair with a servant girl who later committed suicide. Kurt has come back to claim his birthright which he seems to think includes Nevenka. When two meet on the beach, he whips her and they have sex. Later Kurt is stabbed to death but it seems his ghost has come back for revenge. 

Great atmospheric photography by Mario Bava. An incomprehensible version titled "What!" used to play on local TV in the '70's. It's since been restored but the version I saw was dubbed (Lee's voice included).

 (imdb)

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Bava's Last Bow

 SHOCK-1977-After leaving a mental hospital, Dora Baldini (Daria Nicolodi), still recovering from the suicide of her first husband returns to their old house with her new husband Bruno (John Steiner) and young son Marco (David Colin Jr.). At night while the couple have sex, Marco wakes up in his room and yells “pigs” several times. He asks mom “What is death?”. His hand turns ghoulish when he touches his sleeping mom. Bruno is a commercial pilot and is away a lot. As the story progresses Dora fears she is beginning to lose her sanity once again. Marco acts very weird and says thing like “I have to kill you,mama” and seems to be possessed by her late husband....or is it just in her mind? It's revealed later that Dora killed her late hubby in a drug fueled fury and Bruno hid the body in a wall. Dora kills Bruno with a pick and then after being attacked by furniture, slits her own throat. Marco has a tea party with his invisible dad.

 (imdb)

This Italian production (it played in the US under the title BEYOND THE DOOR PART 2) was the last film directed by the great Mario Bava with some help from his son Lamberto, who co-wrote the screenplay. Nice little possession/ghost horror movie that looks great (the elder Bava was also the uncredited cinematographer) and manages to tie up everything nicely (well kind of anyway...). Son Lamberto went on to make his own horror films. Lead actress Daria Nicolodi wrote the screenplay for the Dario Argento horror movie SUSPIRIA the same year (they were a couple for many years but never married). Italian horror vet Ivan Rassimov plays Dora's doctor.

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KILL BABY... KILL-1966-Dr. Paul Eswai (Giacomo Rossi-Stuart; in WAR OF THE PLANETS the same year) goes to a small village to perform an autopsy after being called in by Karl, the burgomaster (Max Lawrence). The place seems to be under a curse after a young girl died. Her ghost comes back periodically and anyone who sees her dies by bleeding to death. Eswai and a local woman (Erika Blanc) investigate. 

Wonderfully crazy Gothic horror from the master Mario Bava, WHO MADE DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS the same year. Great sets, lighting and suspense. Lead actress Erika Blanc was later in the horror films THE NIGHT EVELYN CAME OUT OF HER GRAVE and THE DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE. 

Nice movie... terrible title…

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Bava and Steele

BLACK SUNDAY-1960-This was Italian horror master Mario Bava's directorial debut. In 1630, Asa Vajda (Barbara Steele) along with her lover Javuto (Arturo Dominici) is about to be burned as a witch, condemned by her own brother. Before this happens she lays a curse on the brother and all his descendants. Then a spiked metal mask is nailed on to her face! Two hundred years later, two doctors are travelling to a medical conference. Dr. Kurvanjan (Andrea Checchi)) and his younger assistant Andre (John Richardson, later in ONE MILLION YEARS B.C.) stop to investigate the tomb where the burned witch was buried after their wagon breaks a wheel. Kurvanjan kills an attacking bat but some of his blood drips into the tomb. Later they meet Katia (also Steele) who lives with her father Prince Vajda (Ivo Garrani) and her brother Constantine in a near by castle. Of course they are related to the ancestors of the witch and even have a haunting painting of her hanging over a fireplace. Revived by the doctor's blood Asa contacts Javuto to kill the old prince who saves himself by brandishing a cross but seems to lose his mind. A servant is dispatch to fetch Dr. Kurvanjan but instead the creepy Javuto picks him up and takes him to Asa's tomb where he becomes her slave and promptly goes to the castle and kills the prince. Andre investigates when Kurvanjan and Javuto plan to kidnap Katia and use her blood to revive Vajda! Andre teams with a local priest to try and stop Vajda's evil plan. And when the poor prince returns to life and tries to drink his daughter's blood Javuto throws him in the fireplace! Vajda pulls a switcheroo that almost causes Andre to kill Katia but torch bearing villagers led by priest prevail and once again burn the witch.

Before this Bava's only work as a director was un-credited but he was a cinematographer on many productions before and after BLACK SUNDAY (which he also photographed). Bava packs the film with lots of eerie scenes and macabre sets.

This film made England born Barbara Steele a horror icon. The next year she went  to American and co-starred in Roger Corman's THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM with Vincent Price and was on an episode of TV's ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS. She returned to Italy to make THE HORRIBLE DR. HITCHCOCK and other horror films (and Fellini's 81/2...). It's based on a story by Russian author Gogol.

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Bava

HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON-1970-John Harrington (Canadian actor Stephen Forsyth), a bridal designer kills brides to be with a hatchet because of a repressed childhood trauma and uses their bodies for fertilizer. He thinks "My name is John Harrington. I'm 30 years old. I'm paranoiac. Paranoiac. An enchanting name word. So civilized. Full of possibilities". 

He wants a divorce from his rich wife Mildred (Laura Betti) but she refuses. In a hidden room at his dress shop he hugs, kisses and dances with some mannequins. He and Mildred go to a seance' because Mildred is trying to contact her dead former husband but instead she seems to channel John's mother. A police inspector suspects John and they have several conversations about a missing employee. When one of his models gives her notice (she's going to be married) he has her put on a wedding dress, dances with her then kills her while a female voice calls his name and he thinks lines like "someone is tip toeing in my brain".  Her replacement Helen (Dagmar Lassander; Fulchi's HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY) turns out to be the missing model's sister who's investigating her disappearance (John admits he killed her and buried her in his green house but she thinks he's joking). Later he puts on a bridal veil and chops up Mildred.  Occasionally John sees a young boy watching him. Later people see Mildred even though John can't. After some talk John puts Mildred's ashes in a bag and goes to a disco.

This is slick sickness from the master Mario Bava (who co-wrote the script) uses great lighting and dream like sequences marred somewhat by the cliched dubbed dialogue: "You like horror films, do ya?". "I don't find them very entertaining. I keep thinking that reality is more terrifying than fiction".  But it's still one of Bava's best, an entertaining entry into the Italian "giallo" genre with a great final ending.

Sometimes listed as HATCHET FOR A HONEYMOON. This was star Forsyth's last movie role after a brief career in Italian films.

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