Wonderful Movie

Fantastic!

Absolutely the worst movie.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Originally titled 'Six Women for the Killer', this Mario Bava film is often cited as the movie that pioneered the giallo horror subgenre with a plot that places more emphasis on gruesome murders than catching a killer. Full of creepy tracking shots and with eerie sound effects frequently favoured over background music, the film certainly succeeds in depicting a handful of memorable murders and stalking sequences. There is a particularly effective part where one victim to-be is chased around an antique dealer's place where every nook and cranny is lit up in varying neon shades of blue, pink and purple. The opening murder is effective too. The plot, characters and acting here leaves a lot to be desired though with the story coming to a near stand-still in between the murders. Thomas Reiner makes for one of the dullest police detectives of all time, though to be fair, the cast are hardly saddled with the sort of dialogue that could have made their characters come alive. Of course, many will be quick to point out that narratives are always a secondary consideration in gialli, but when one considers what Dario Argento was able of achieve in years to come with films like 'Suspiria' and 'Tenebrae' that managed to wrestle good performances and a decent plot into the giallo formula, it is hard not to mentally compare and contrast. Certainly, if viewed with minimal expectations, there is a lot to like about 'Blood and Black Lace'; it is simply hard not to expect something more revolutionary from a film that kick-started an iconic movie trend.

I can't say this loud enough. This is one of the most gorgeous films I've ever seen released on blu-ray. Seriously it is a visual delight. Let me put it this way and this is no fault in the film. I had to start watching this film 4 different times. I made the mistake of doing so late at night and was so tired I'd fall asleep. Again, this was no fault of the film. And each time I went back, including the final time, I always started at the beginning. Not to remind me of what happened but because I so enjoyed the look of the film. It is beautiful! So let's get the story out of the way first shall we? The film opens with the murder of Isabell, a model who works in an haute couture fashion house on her way home on a dark and stormy night. Her body shows up the next day in a studio closet. As the police begin to investigate the number of suspects grows rather than dwindle. It seems most of the other models had some reason or another to fear Isabella. The owner, the studio's manager, friends and other co-workers as well.A diary that Isabella kept is also discovered but before it can be taken to the police it is stolen. The woman, another model, who stole the diary is tortured and also found murdered. Each time we see the murderer he/she is clothed in a black coat, black gloves and a full face mask. The identity of the murderer as well as who will survive are not revealed until the end of the film.Yes, the story can seem fairly simple. But the twists and turns presented in the backstage issues among the cast make it as much a melodrama as a near perfect giallo film.For those who don't know what giallo is it is a genre of Italian film named so because they presented whodunits, murder mysteries that were similar to the style of writing found in books published in that country that were published with a bold yellow border, giallo meaning yellow in Italian. Those books which featured the writings of Edgar Wallace, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie and more were quite popular. The films were mostly whodunits as well but had several items that became running themes, among them a killer whose face is not seen who wore black gloves. The amount of violence was also fairly extreme for the time and was a noted feature.So what makes this one stand out? The director of the film was Mario Bava, a noted Italian director who came from a cinematographer background. For Bava the look of the film was as important as the story being told if not more so. It shows in this film. The colors used here virtually leap from the screen. Bava used extremes in color to highlight various scenes with the murders taking place in a highly stylized use of lighting and color that I've not seen before. It helps the story rather than hinder it. It catches your eye and makes you watch just to see the images on screen.It was also one of the first of the giallo films, some calling it the very first made although there were a few others that qualified. While it was released in 1964 it holds up to today's standards. Younger viewers might think it is ripping off any number of slasher films they've witnessed but the fact is it was there long before the rest. The film led the way for directors that followed, including the most famous of these other than Bava, Dario Argento. Having worked with Bava the influence he had on Argento is obvious.It's hard to describe just how amazing this film is visually. I know, I keep raving about it but it really is that great. From the opening credits my eyes went wide watching what was on the screen. I kept asking myself how I had never seen this movie but then I thought what sort of condition would it have been in had I seen it years ago? Arrow Video has done an amazing release with this one offering it in a 2k transfer and in 1080p. Until you watch it you won't realize just how amazing the film looks because of this.Not only have they done a great job with the presentation of the actual film the extras are so good that even I watched them. And keep in mind, I'm not one to watch all of the extras on every film. But Arrow does such a great job of it that I can't help myself. Space doesn't allow me to go into detail what they've rounded up but trust me, it is well worth it.Arrow Video has pulled out all stops on this release and it shows. Fans of the film will go insane over the combination of extras combined with the gorgeous presentation. Horror fans may end up discovering a treat that they somehow missed like I did. And collectors will find this a must have for their shelf, an original film that delights all of the senses. For some it might seem dated but for those willing to take the trip this is one Italian film that should be required viewing for film fans and one that I know I'll be watching more than once.

Dear Mario Bava,I enjoyed the title sequence with the actors looking ponderously at me. I enjoyed looking at the film - each frame like a gaudy painting. I enjoyed the cinematography with the quick zooms. I enjoyed looking at the beautiful women - especially Eva Bartok. I enjoyed the background score which sounded similar to the one used in Orson Welles' Touch of Evil.Like Touch of Evil, Blood and Black Lace is also a stylish film without much substance. It was humorless. The plot resolution at the end was completely unimaginative. It is almost as if you did not care too hoots about the story or the script.Don't get me wrong. I love stylish films. And I did enjoy Blood and Black Lace. To a certain extent.Best Regards, Pimpin.(6/10)

Cited as the most prominent ancestor to the slasher movie (sorry, "Psycho"), "Blood and Black Lace" is more than just a stalk-and-slash splatter fest; it is also an artistic orgasm for the inimitable Mario Bava, a director so obsessed with the connection between romanticism and horror that his films, more often than not, found themselves as drenched in Technicolor mystique as they did claustrophobic shadows. "Blood and Black Lace" is important when considering the history of horror, but it is also a huge step for Bava. He kicked off the 1960s with great black-and-white chiller "Black Sunday", furthered his potential with an eventful 1963 (which included "The Whip and the Body", "Black Sabbath", and "The Girl Who Knew Too Much"), and then cemented his status as a visually adept horror maven with 1964's "Blood and Black Lace".Though not a success in its native Italy, its reputation has grown over the years, in part to the renewed interest in the giallo genre and a newfound respect for the filmmakers who were almost Hitchcock but never quite made it. Though I am not as fond of "Blood and Black Lace" as I am "Kill, Baby, Kill" and "Danger: Diabolik" (the former a Gothic spooker, the latter a campy soul sister to the early days of TV's "Batman"), I still find myself haunted by its images, so simultaneously dazzling and freakish that I, a day later, cannot decide if the film is beautiful or nightmarish."Blood and Black Lace" details a series of callous murderous disturbing the lives of the models employed by the Christian Haute Couture fashion house. Run by the physically stunning Countess Cristina Como (Bartok), whose husband has just died, the grounds seem to see tragedy regularly; so when Isabella (Francesca Ungaro), a flighty model, is offed one night by a masked assailant, it becomes clear that something is afoot at the mansion. Death may not just be a frequently occurring coincidence. The film then deviates into whodunit grounds, accentuating its red herrings and its murders. Surprisingly, though, the final result is not satisfying but predictable — one can only kill off so many people before a suspect(s), who never seems to be in trouble, turns into a definite beast of slaughter."Blood and Black Lace" has a reputation that precedes it, and though I cannot deny that it is extravagantly shot and opulently envisioned, the stiff acting of the cast, not to mention the bland dialogue of the screenplay, becomes distracting. Bava is unparalleled when it comes to visuals — why must he ignore his actors in favor of optic luminosity? The photography of the film is so brilliant that it, certainly, deserves its own review. But the material is so flimsy (and eventually been-there-done-that) that making excuses for "Blood and Black Lace"'s lack of unfiltered thrills becomes hopeless. Don't fear, though: there is no denying the film's other strengths. The girls are memorably alluring, the murders are impressively staged, and the music, which sounds more like background noise to a Spanish café, gives the impression that danger is running amok but is going unnoticed by the patrons of the invisible party going on outside. Everything looks great: if only there wasn't an underlying feeling that "Blood and Black Lace"'s accomplishments consist of being historically important and acting as an unusually exquisite Tumblr gif set.