Black Sunday (The Mask of Satan)

Here in the States we think we have the market cornered on the horror film. Those who are true devotees of the genre will tell you that some of the best examples of horror are from Europe particularly the horror classics from Italy. For those more enlightened horror flick fans who most likely are family with the ground breaking work of Mario Bava. In the sixties this man help define horror films influencing the generations that would come after him. ‘Black Sunday’ (also known as ‘The Mask of Satan’) is not only his first credited work as a director, he assisted in a few films before this, but it also set the mood for his life’s work. Because his work was so novel and cutting edge you have to remember the time it was made to fully appreciate this film. By today’s standards this may seem tame. The gore and sex are nothing like what is in any on the many popular slasher flicks more recently made. Back in 1960 this was shocking. It had the censors in an up roar and created a few international distribution problems. It is also the grandfather to the psychological thriller variation of the horror flick. Bava knew that the real terror is in our minds not just our eyes. Many consider this Bava’s one true masterpiece and in some ways it is. His subsequent films never quite lived up to the opus presented in this one. If there is a similarity between the plot of this film and so many others you have seen there is a pretty good reason, this was one of the trail blazers; the others are just dim copies.

The film opens in the country of Moldavia where the scene is a bare-chested man in a black, executioner’s hood. He is tending a fire, bringing it to a full blaze. The narrator explains that in the 17^th century Satan was abroad in the land. For those called vampires with their unquenchable thirst for blood there was no possibility of mercy. A young woman is tied to a wooden board; the hooded man brands her with the mark of Satan before the ultimate punishment, death. The woman, Princess Asa Vajda (Barbara Steele) screams in agony as her won brother reads the final judgment. A mask embedded with spikes is forced over her face impaling her. Before she dies she curses her brother and all in attendance in Satan’s name claiming they will never escape her vengeance. We are then propelled two centuries in the future to the 1830s where Dr. Choma Kruvajan (Andrea Checchi) and his handsome young assistant Dr. Andrej Gorobec (John Richardson) are traveling by coach. The vehicle loses a wheel as strange sounds are heard. It is only natural for two foreign travelers to want to investigate the sounds even though they are broken down in the middle night in a strange country. Even better they come across a dilapidated mausoleum and decide to descend the steps deep into its interior. Just as they enter the inner chamber and discover a long discarded coffin a bat attacks the men of science. While warding off the flying creature the senior doctor breaks the glass that encloses a crucifix. He cuts his hand on the broken glass dripping blood on to the remains beneath. As they leave they meet Princess Katia (also played by Barbara Steele) who takes them to her family home. It turns out that the pair arrived on a very ominous night, Black Sunday. Katia’s father, Prince Vaida (Ivo Garrani), explains to his loyal man servant, Ivan (Tino Bianchi) that this is when the family curse can be fulfilled. It turns out that one century ago Princess Marcia was killed by the curse. She was twenty years old, the same age as Princess Katia and Asa when she was put to death. Back at the tomb Asa manages to resurrect her lover Javuto (Arturo Dominici) and the newly enlivened man sneaks through a secret passage to the castle. He come across Vaida who holds them at bay with a handy cross. Katia and her brother Constantin (Enrico Olivieri) rush to they father to find him extremely ill. Fortunately the visitors are doctors. The group now must hunt down the vampires before they can

Again it is import to watch this film in a historical context. This was all new some forty seven years ago. This film is a masterpiece and a guide to just how horror should be done. Now most films depend on gory special effects and seem to try to break the record for the most gallons of stage blood used. Here the focus is on the story and the characters. That is not to say that the cinematography isn’t great, it certainly is. Bava worked for a couple of decades as a cinematographer before his directorial debut with this film. In that time he learn well how to pull in the audience and keep them mesmerized with his visually unique style. Adding to this the movie is in black and white. Forget about the vivid colors used today, the blood is black as coal; the mood set by the masterful use of shadows. This film is visually intriguing work that draws you in. Bava was incredible in framing each shot for maximum impact on the audience.

Barbara Steele helped make the horror genre what it is today. She was without a doubt one of the first ‘scream queens’ and she set the bar high with her performance. You can not delve into gothic Italian horror without coming across her notable work. Towards the end of her career she was even a regular on the popular television series, ‘Dark Shadows’. Steele could instill more terror with a glance of her expressive eyes than most actresses can with the best written script available. Also starting an illustrious career in Italian horror flicks is John Richardson. This accomplished actor gives his all here as the dashing hero.

Just in time for Halloween Starz/Anchor Bay is releasing a new edition of this film. This replaces the previous version released and subsequently discontinued by Image. Like its predecessor this release is the uncut, unedited international version of the film. The black and white video is in anamorphic 1.66:1 which is extremely well preserved. The audio is the original mono sound mix that is clear and without flaw. There are also several extras provided to extend your appreciation of this film. First there is a feature commentary by critic and author Tim Lucas. Then there are bios of Bava and Steele as well as a TV spot and trailer. Go back to where it began and enjoy this classic.

Posted 09/30/07