Finally, master visualist Mario Bava's shocking (for its time) '60s murder mystery is available in America in uncut form. This is the seminal film that drew the blueprint for the giallo — a particularly Italian genre of suspense/horror/mystery thriller with an emphasis on bizarre psychological aberrations and intense murder scenes.
With a diverse pallet of candy-colored hues and sinister shadows, Bava weaves a tale of savage multiple murders with the Christiana Haute Couture, a high-profile house of fashion, at its vortex. The models there are leading scandalous lives behind the scenes and the tell-all diary of one of the women, Isabella, chronicles all the sordid details. When Isabella turns up brutally murdered and the diary's existence becomes public knowledge, no one can feel safe. Will the price of learning its secrets be horrible death?
Accompanied by Carlo Rustichelli's swanky core, Bava's Blood and Black Lace establishes all the giallo formula's key ingredients. The faceless, black-gloved killer that came to stalk the cinematic landscape through the works of Dario Argento, Sergio Martino and others made his first dramatic appearance here. This had to be strong stuff for the mid-'60s. Not because of gore (which is actually mild), but for the grim sadism with which some of the victims are dispatched. It still packs a punch. Goosebumps are guaranteed.
