MARIO BAVA'S BLACK SUNDAY (1960) UNMASKED – The Italian Gothic Horror Boom Begins!

BLACK SUNDAY (1960) d. Mario Bava (Italy)

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Tonight we’re discussing Mario Bava’s Black Sunday (aka The Mask of Satan) (1960), one of the most atmosphere-drenched cinematic forays into the supernatural. Marrying the feel of the Universal classics with the darkness of a Grimm fairy tale, and adding in the gorier and sexier feel of the rising Hammer color Gothics, this tour-de-force directorial debut introduced the world to Italian DP Mario Bava (Blood and Black Lace, Black Sabbath) and scream queen in the making Barbara Steele (Castle of Blood, The Long Hair of Death), both becoming genre superstars overnight.

DAVID CRONENBERG'S SHIVERS (1975): THE BIRTH OF BODY HORROR?

SHIVERS (1975) d. David Cronenberg (Canada)

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1975’s Shivers aka They Came from Within is a wonderfully squirmy milestone in Canadian horror cinema... and horror cinema in general, in that it announced writer/director David Cronenberg to moviegoers everywhere, and the world has never been the same since.

1964 ITALIAN GOTHIC DOUBLE FEATURE!! (CASTLE OF BLOOD & THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH)

CASTLE OF BLOOD (1964) d. Antonio Margheriti (as Anthony Dawson) (Italy)
THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH (1964) d. Antonio Margheriti (as Anthony Dawson (Italy)

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Even if you’re a fan of Italian horror cinema, one name that continues to labor for recognition is Antonio Margheriti, in some respects due to the fact that he was often billed by his Anglicized moniker, Anthony M. Dawson. Like his contemporaries, Margheriti made a tremendous assortment of films, from Westerns to comedies to sci-fi, and dabbled in numerous horror subgenres, from atmospheric ghost stories to gory splatterfests, and everything in between, delivering exciting and entertaining features for nearly four decades.

MASTER OF DARK SHADOWS (2019) Blu-ray review

Master of Dark Shadows (2019) d. David Gregory (US) (87 min)

In 1966, a phenomenon was launched when Dark Shadows debuted on ABC-TV as a daily Gothic suspense series. Airing in the late afternoon, the show attracted a massive youth audience as it shifted to the supernatural with the introduction of vulnerable vampire Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid). Witches, ghosts, and scary storylines turned Dark Shadows into a TV classic that led to motion pictures, remakes, reunions, and legions of devoted fans who have kept the legend alive for five decades.

LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY'S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU (2014) Blu-ray Review

Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau (2014) d. David Gregory (USA)

Having heard enough disastrous reports about 1996’s The Island of Dr. Moreau, I successfully avoided watching it for nearly a decade. After all, there were enough GOOD horror movies that I still hadn’t seen; why would I want to waste my time sitting through the bombs? But eventually my curiosity – or more accurately, my insufferable completism – led me to Blockbuster one sweltering summer day to experience the cinematic trainwreck firsthand. Below is my 2004 capsule review:

THE BUTTERFLY ROOM (2012) review

Butterfly Room, The (2012) (1st viewing) d. Zarantanello, Jonathan (Italy/USA)
Barbara Steele’s first horror role in three decades (not counting the 1991 Dark Shadows reboot) is reason enough for rejoicing, but the fact that the 74-year-old icon carries the creepy, physically demanding role it off with such ferocity and dedication makes it doubly pleasing. Basically a revisiting of the “hag horror” mini-wave of the 60s, Steele stars as a deranged and volatile collector of butterflies and little girls who has her eye out for yet another specimen to add to her trophy room. Writer/director Zarantello has a terrific visual eye, as evidenced by several well-constructed suspense scenes, and guides his elegant starlet to one of the finest roles of her long career, full stop. Unfortunately, he has less luck with his supporting cast which he has affectionately peopled with convention regulars such as Heather Langenkamp, Camille Keaton, P.J. Soles and Erica Leerhsen (who is just goddawful, sad to say), though the always-welcome Ray Wise knocks his scenes out of the park, especially when paired with Steele. The film itself isn’t 100% successful, but there’s no denying that the old gal’s still got it in her.

BIFFF Day #4 (Monday, 4/9)

Later start to Day 4, as the early slots were taken up with Dutch and French language screenings of The Lorax (which I had little to no interest in seeing, even in my native tongue) plus we were slated to partake in Barbara Steele’s press conference at 2pm. I’d say that the conference itself went pretty smoothly, and since I’d situated myself down front and center, I got to make sweet, sweet goo-goo eyes with the Queen of Gothic Horror for the better part of an hour. The lone American voice amidst a sea of French and Dutch-accented reporters, I think we had a little connection there (wishful thinking perhaps, but hey, you weren’t there, you don’t know!) I got her to pose for a quick snapshot with me afterwards, and then got out of there before things got ugly. I say this because you could tell that the Reele Steele was growing tired of dealing with the rabble, especially when they started pulling out DVD covers for her to sign and blog banners to hold up for pictures. Truth be told, it was pretty evident that she was DONE with us and wanted out of there even before the interview ended, so I can’t blame her for being annoyed when the press corps refused to pick up on the signals she was putting out. Ah well, the price of celebrity, I suppose. And not for the first time, I found myself hoping that I would be more gracious should I ever find myself in such an enviable situation.

BIFFF Day #2 (Saturday, 4/7)

Despite going to bed at around 3am the night before, I found myself awake at 8am Saturday morning, my mind cooking up questions to pose to my first solo interview efforts of the fest, that of Michael Sauter (co-writer of Sennentuntschi) and bad boy Frenchman Xavier Gens, who made big horror waves in 2007 with his contribution to the avalanche of French horror that emerged in the latter half of the decade, Frontier(s). Both were held in the previously mentioned "Jameson bus," both went quite well. Got a picture alongside Gens, as well as one of him holding up an issue of HorrorHound that I could send along to Nathan for posting on the HHW Facebook wall.

Then it was time for more movies and more chatting with my ever-growing social circle. In addition to my press room gal pals, I made the acquaintance of Sven Soetemans and Thierry Wybauw, two of the many contributors to HORROR 101 that I had never yet met face to face, as well as Gert’s friends Barbara, Nicolas and Sabrina. By the end of the night, our group had taken over a full half row of seats in the epic BIFFF screening room – yes, the despicable habit of “saving seats” is alive and well in Belgium and I’ll be playing by the whole “When in Brussels” rulebook while I’m here, I guess. Saturday was also the BIFFF zombie walk, so lots of undead drippings surrounded us throughout the day.