I Tre Volti Della Paura (aka Black Sabbath) (1963) ****
Mario Bava's I Tre Volti Della Paura (The Three Faces Of Fear aka Black Sabbath) (1963) is simply one of the best horror anthologies ever made. Though it's only three stories, each one is unique and worthwhile, filled with beautiful actresses and spooky imagery. It's not a gory movie but it's got an old school charm that holds up to this day. Hell, pioneering metal band Black Sabbath took their name from the film, which only adds to its legacy.
The first two stories "The Telephone" and "The Wurdulak" aren't particularly scary, though both have great atmosphere, but the third—"The Drop Of Water"—is still terrifying, even given its artifice. Bava's images (Ubaldo Terzano shot the film, but Bava was also uncredited) are, as expected, flawless. His many years as a cinematographer previous to directing served him well—as good of a storyteller as he was, he was first and foremost a master technician.
I watched the Italian language version of the film, as there are many differences between it and the English language version known as Black Sabbath released by AIP. After the film, I watched the featurette "Twice The Fear" on Arrow Video's Blu-ray which compares the two versions and, while it's nice to hear Boris Karloff's voice on the English version, I'm of the opinion that the Italian is superior.
You can find my Mario Bava Feature Films Ranked list here.
The first two stories "The Telephone" and "The Wurdulak" aren't particularly scary, though both have great atmosphere, but the third—"The Drop Of Water"—is still terrifying, even given its artifice. Bava's images (Ubaldo Terzano shot the film, but Bava was also uncredited) are, as expected, flawless. His many years as a cinematographer previous to directing served him well—as good of a storyteller as he was, he was first and foremost a master technician.
I watched the Italian language version of the film, as there are many differences between it and the English language version known as Black Sabbath released by AIP. After the film, I watched the featurette "Twice The Fear" on Arrow Video's Blu-ray which compares the two versions and, while it's nice to hear Boris Karloff's voice on the English version, I'm of the opinion that the Italian is superior.
You can find my Mario Bava Feature Films Ranked list here.
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