Black Sunday (1960) *

 /////July 2008/////

Katia(Barbara)is condemned by her brother as a witch, vowing to curse him and their ancestry as the "mask of Satan" is hammered into her face. The rain stops the flames from burning her body, so Katia's corpse(..with the mask still buried into her face)is placed in a crypt with a window opened so that a crucifix would always be present for her face to see. Two centuries later, Dr. Thomas Kruvajan(Andre Checchi)and his assistant Dr. Andre Gorobec(John Richardson)are traveling through the countryside on their way to a convention when the carriage they are riding breaks a wheel near a mausoleum in ruins holding the crypt of Katia. Awaiting the coachman's repairs of the damaged wheel, Thomas and Andre decide to visit the inside of the mausoleum, finding Katia's crypt, morbidly curious of what it entails. Thomas is attacked by a giant bat he eventually kills with a gun, but not before swinging wildly at it with his cane breaking the crypt's glass with drops of his blood trickling into her face. A vampire thanks to her ties with Satan, Katia's corpse is given fresh flesh..she summons her servant Igor Javutich(Arturo Dominici)who bursts from his grave, to find Kruvajan, so that he can give over all his blood, strengthening her even more. Katia desires to destroy the remaining descendants of her family lineage, Prince Vajda(Ivo Garrani), his son Constantine(Enrico Olivieri) & daughter Asa(Steele). Katia wishes to use Asa's identity to walk the earth anew. With his mentor a vampire slave to Katia, Gorobec(..falling in love with terrified Asa)will seek help from the local priest(Antonio Pierfederici)in order to stop Katia and her evil henchman Igor.

Mario Bava provides us with his Italian Gothic chiller which made Barbara Steele an icon. Those bulging eyes of madness and face raging with hatred, Steele leaves quite an impression. There was a revival going on where other country's were bringing their own interpreations on the Universal classics, adding extra violence and more adult themes into the mix. This was Bava's homage to those films. Sure, the opening voice of doom narrating to us what was transpiring is a bit hokey(..particularly the cringe-worthy dialogue)and unnecessary, but those masked executioners with flaming torches round about as Katia proclaims her vengeance and devotion to Satan certainly makes up for it. This film has it all:doomed family with a castle containing a creepy secret passageway, cob-webbed mausoleum, spooky graveyard, vampirism, a trap-door pit, giant bat, moving fog, the works. Not to mention Bava's fluid camera-work and terrific villains which make life miserable for the Vajda family members. There's time even for a little romance as Asa and Gorobec fall in love as Katia threatens their very lives. If you can get past the dialogue woes and soak up the atmospheric thrills, then Bava's "Mask of Satan" is a treasure in store for you.