La Maschera Del Demonio
Mario Bava
In the 18th century, Asa and her lover Javuto are accused of being vampires and are tortured to death. They vow eternal revenge on their torturers. Two centuries later, the witch's curse comes to pass: the vampires come back to life and begin to wreak havoc...
With : Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Andrea Checchi, Ivo Garrani
Screenplay : Ennio De Concini, Mario Serandrei (d'après la nouvelle de Gogol Vij)
Image : Mario Bava
Editing : Mario Serandrei
Music : Roberto Nicolosi
Screenplay : Ennio De Concini, Mario Serandrei (d'après la nouvelle de Gogol Vij)
Image : Mario Bava
Editing : Mario Serandrei
Music : Roberto Nicolosi
Production : Massimo De Rita
Distribution: Les Films sans Frontières
Distribution: Les Films sans Frontières
After a distinguished career as a cinematographer, Mario Bava made his first film with La Maschera del demonio (Black Sunday). Shooting in black and white, he stood out from Hammer's horror style with its explosion of colours. "With Bava, the whole atmosphere is filled with fear, even if he doesn't use the usual spiders' webs and creaking doors. In comparison to the British Hammer productions, Bava's films are the result of sustained visual research and the use of various effects to create fear" (G. P. Brunetta). With Black Sunday Mario Bava developed a Baroque, Gothic aesthetic which soon became his trademark and influenced many other filmmakers, including Dario Argento.