Shock: Beyond the Door II (1977) / August 2007

I thought Daria Nicolodi was quite striking in "Shock"

 I'm guessing these user comments on IMDb were from when I rented Bava's film from Netflix during the big DVD boon of the pre 2010 era.

Dora(Daria Nicolodi)returns with her new husband, pilot Bruno(John Steiner) and son Marco(David Colin Jr)to the home she once shared with her former husband. It's brought up as the movie continues that her first husband, a pianist whose best days were behind him as he progressed into drug addiction bringing Dora down with him, had committed suicide. Bruno tries to keep her calm because we immediately notice she's quite emotionally fragile. The idea of returning to the home of a devastating past is hard to accept at first without some reservations. With Dora's husband often away flying commercial aircraft, she begins to notice strange behavior from son Marco who even informs his mom that he is to kill her! That admitting such an atrocious deed coming from a boy is alarming to say the least. Soon Dora is plagued by disorienting nightmares and is often spooked by inanimate objects which often fall around her. With her son's bizarre behavior and some past recollections regarding what REALLY happened to her dead husband Carlo, Dora's sanity will be tested. The rocky marriage to Carlo sent to an emotionally distraught Dora to a sanitarium and being haunted by his spirit will only further complicate matters. Why is Carlo tormenting her to begin with? And, why is he using his son as a "go-between" to frighten his former wife? And, why is blood oozing from a brick wall down in the basement? And, more importantly, how is Bruno connected to the whole ordeal? In one scene, we hear the angered spirit, speaking through Marco, refer to Dora and Bruno as pigs.

Bava's final film has some really cool set-pieces such as the corpse hand often fondling Dora's throat as she sleeps or caressing her ankle after causing her to fall. We see doors swing open out of the blue, a chandelier fall nearly on top of her head, furniture spring towards her, and even a razor blade(which has significance in the grand scheme of things)suspended in air coming towards her, at one point, slicing a gap in her gown. David Colin Jr is quite creepy as the possessed Marco and Daria is pretty much in a state of near hysteria throughout. One thrilling sequence shows Marco coming towards her changing into Carlo upon arrival. May not be Mario at his best, but very entertaining with a great score. Probably the nightmare sequences have the style we often are accustomed to when watching a Mario Bava film as he implements visual techniques that make Dora's visions so bizarre, surreal, & disturbing. The film's revelation regarding Carlo's fate is really neatly presented.