Black Sunday

Black Sunday (The Mask of Satan)

1960

Director- Mario Bava

Cast- Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Andrea Checchi, Ivo Garrani, Arturo Dominici, Enrico Olivieri, Antonio Pierfederici, Germana Dominici

From Italy

          

Not to be confused with Black Sabbath, another Mario Bava horror film made 2 years later, Black Sunday is one of Bava’s earlier directorial efforts and it’s a home run. The horror starts right out of the gate with a scene of witches being executed by a 17^th  century inquisition. They are branded with the mark of Satan and then an iron mask lined with nails (The Mask of Satan) is hammered onto their face in a very gruesome scene (especially for this era). Before her death, the witch Asa (Barbara Steele) gives the on lookers a what for by vowing her eventual revenge.

            Fast forward 200 years to a pair of doctors traveling cross country. They take a detour and through a series of accidents, unknowingly release the witch Asa from the enchantments that had trapped her soul. The doctors run across a lonely young woman, Princess Katia (also played by Barbara Steele), a descendant of the witch’s brother and, you guessed it, the spitting image of the witch Asa. The witch, now free from her tomb, enacts a plan to take revenge on the last of her family and replace the Princess.

            Asa is a different sort of witch than we usually see in that she is also a vampire.  There is a really good effect where the witch ages or grows young by syphoning life energy. It’s subtle and effective.

            This film is grim and gothic, not just in its plot but its overall tone.  Princess Katia, even without the involvement of her vampire-witch ancestor, is the archetypal emo girl. She is death obsessed and hopeless.  As she says, “What is my life? Sadness and grief. Something that destroys itself day by day and no one can rebuild it.” Barbara Steele, with her large eyes, dressed all in black, casts a striking image. She also does a good job of alternating between the two characters. As Asa the witch, she is able to seem wanton even with a face pierced with holes!

     There is plenty of creepy imagery; maybe the most disturbing is that of scorpions crawling from the empty sockets of an eyeless face. The sets are beautiful and detailed. This is an all-around great movie; musical score, special effects, tone, pace, just about everything.  Its a worthy addition to your horror library.