‘The undead demons of Hell terrorize the world in an orgy of stark horror’
Black Sunday is a 1960 Italian gothic horror film directed by Mario Bava (Shock; Baron Blood; Lisa and the Devil; A Bay of Blood) from a screenplay by Ennio de Concini, Mario Serandrei and (uncredited) Marcello Coscia. Original title: La maschera del demonio; also known as The Mask of Satan and, in the UK, as Revenge of the Vampire
The movie stars Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Arturo Dominici and Ivo Garrani.
The film was Bava’s official directorial debut, although he had completed several previous films without credit. Based very loosely on Nikolai Gogol’s short story “Viy”, the narrative concerns a vampire witch put to death by her brother, only to return 200 years later to feed on her descendants.
By the social standards of the 1960s, Black Sunday was considered unusually gruesome and was banned in the UK until 1968 because of its violence. In the U.S., some of the bloodletting was censored by the distributor American International Pictures (AIP) before its theatrical release.
Despite the censorship, Black Sunday was a worldwide critical and box office success and launched the careers of director Mario Bava and movie star Barbara Steele.
Plot [contains spoilers]:
In Moldavia, in the year 1630, beautiful witch Asa Vajda (Barbara Steele) and her paramour Javuto (Arturo Dominici) are sentenced to death for sorcery by Asa’s brother. Before being burned at the stake, Asa vows revenge and puts a curse on her brother’s descendants. A metal mask with sharp spikes on the inside is placed over the witch’s face and hammered repeatedly into her flesh.
Two centuries later, DoctorThomas Kruvajan (Andrea Checchi) and his assistant Doctor Andre Gorobec (John Richardson), are travelling through Moldavia en route to a medical conference when one of the wheels of their carriage is broken, requiring immediate repair. While waiting for their coachman to fix it, the two wander into a nearby ancient crypt and discover Asa’s tomb.
Observing her death mask through a glass panel, Kruvajan breaks the panel (and the cross above it) by accident while striking a bat. He then removes Asa’s death mask revealing a partially preserved corpse that is visible underneath, her face staring out malevolently. He cuts his hand on the broken glass. Some of his blood drips onto Asa’s dead face.
Returning outside, Kruvajan and Gorobec meet Katia Vajda. She tells them she lives with her father and brother Constantine in a nearby castle that the villagers believe is haunted. Struck by her haunting beauty and sadness, Gorobec becomes smitten with Katia. The two men leave her and drive to an inn. Meanwhile, Kruvajan’s blood brings Asa back to life. She contacts Javutich telepathically. He rises from his grave and goes to Prince Vajda’s castle, where Vajda holds up a crucifix to ward off the reanimated corpse. However, Vajda is so terrified by the visit he becomes paralysed with fear.
Constantine sends a servant to fetch Doctor Kruvajan, but the servant is killed before he can reach the inn. Javutich brings Kruvajan to the castle under the pretext that his services are needed. Javutich leads Kruvajan to Asa’s crypt. The witch hypnotizes Kruvajan and says she needs the rest of his blood. Asa then kisses him, turning him into her servant. By Asa’s command, Kruvajan follows up on the request to tend to Vajda. He orders the crucifix removed from the room, ostensibly so it will not upset Vajda; this allows Javutich to return later and murder him.
Asa’s plan is to revive herself by draining Katia of her life since Katia is physically Asa reincarnated. Puzzled to hear that Kruvajan abandoned his patient shortly before he died, Gorobec questions Sonya, a young girl who saw Javutich take Kruvajan to the castle. She identifies Kruvajan’s escort with a painting of Javutich. A priest and Gorobec go to Javutich’s grave and find Kruvajan’s body inside the coffin. Realising he is now one of the undead, they kill him by driving a nail through his eye.
Javutich throws Constantine into a death pit and takes Katia to Asa. Asa drains Katia of her youth. When the witch goes to take her blood, the crucifix around Katia’s neck thwarts her. Gorobec enters the crypt to save Katia, but Javutich attacks him and pushes him to the edge of the death pit. Constantine uses the last of his strength to pull Javutich into the pit and push Gorobec to safety. Gorobec finds Asa and Katia.
Asa pretends to be Katia and tells Gorobec that Katia is the witch. Accordingly, he goes to kill Katia but notices the crucifix she is wearing has no effect on her. He turns to Asa and opens her robe, revealing a fleshless skeletal frame. The priest then arrives with many torch-carrying villagers, and they burn Asa to death. Katia awakens from her stupor, her life and beauty restored, and is reunited with Gorobec.
Reviews:
“Asa’s masterfully-illuminated crypt is a moody accomplishment in itself, and her vivid resurrection into this world — and the grand exploding coffin sequence that follows — is enough to bring chills to the spine of anyone with a flair for cinematic innovation. The same goes for Bava’s unparalleled real-time ageing effects, which were accomplished by the simple usage of filters and lighting. Finally, Bava takes an unprecedented first in film by adding more blood and gore than most contemporary moviegoers were accustomed to seeing in 1960.” Blog Critics
“Here, the art house and horror meet seamlessly, creating a world that’s as beautiful and ethereal as it is haunting and atmospheric.” Talk of Horrors
Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.com
“Grisly stuff. At the same time, Black Sunday is strikingly beautiful in its crumbling sets and stark, chiaroscuro lighting. Bava served as his own cinematographer, and the combination of his expert lensing and the suitably gloomy production design generates a sublime gothic mood. As for Barbara Stelle, well, death becomes her—she’s enchantingly wicked here.” Blu-ray.com
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