So, here I was, trying to pick a movie out for Friday night, going through the massive AMC+ catalog when I spotted the old Italian movie Black Sunday. I somewhat recognized the name of director Mario Bava, but I couldn’t tell you where from. Now, my limited experience with Italian horror movies tend to show a lot of crazy stuff that has more to do with atmosphere and gore than actual plot. But those movies all came around in my lifetime from the looks of things. Black Sunday is a bit older, and it has a more Gothic look. Maybe it would be, well, coherent.
Then again, like a lot of Italian horror movies I’ve heard about, this one also had an alternate title of The Mask of the Demon. That was what the title card actually said, so why it was listed as Black Sunday I don’t know, and I am feeling far too lazy to look it up right now.
In 1630s Moldovia, Asa Vajda (Barbara Steele) was a vampiric witch, sentenced to death by a mob that included her own brother Griabi. She and her lover Javutich (Arturo Dominici) had bronze masks hammers into their faces, but a sudden storm prevented the mob from finishing the execution. Asa naturally swore revenge against her brother and his descendants. Cut to 200 years or so later and two doctors, traveling through the area, happen into the crypt where they two were left. It turns out that Asa may not be as dead as she should be, made worse when the older doctor breaks the seal holding Asa in a state of undeath, removes the mask, and even bleeds a bit to wake Asa up.
From here, Asa works to get her revenge on her brother’s family. That would be an older man, Prince Vajda (Ivo Garrani) and his two children, Constantine (Enrico Olivieri) and Katia (Steele again). Apparently, Katia is the physical reincarnation of Asa, and as such, Asa will not be killing her directly so much as sucking the life out of her and coming back to life as Katia. However, Katia is everything Asa isn’t, and the younger doctor, Andreas Gorobec (John Richardson), finds himself falling for her even as his older colleague (Andrea Checchi) seems to be falling under Asa’s spell. Is Katia doomed or can Asa be finally defeated for good?
I had said above that Italian horror movies, in my experience, are a little hard to follow with crazy plots. That is not the case here. This one has a solid through line, and while it may be a little unclear whether or not Asa is a vampire, a witch, or both, she does have rules governing her supernatural abilities. It also helps that Steele, something of an icon for this sort of movie from this time period, plays both the innocent Katia and the evil Asa well as distinct characters. Yes, they look identical, and the movie even plays that up in the climax, but they are not the same person.
The movie also makes great use of the sort of scenes and tropes that one would expect to see. The black-and-white cinematography is filled with shadows. It seems to be perpetually night at all times if not outright storming. The Vajda castle has secret passageways, haunted tapestries, and death traps if you don’t watch your step. Basically, it’s a very old-fashioned gothic horror movie, and it’s told well with good performances, creepy settings, and a solid plot.
Grade: A-
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