Black Sunday (1960)

After watching some Italian horror with A Bay of Blood on Saturday, I remained in that mood on Sunday. This is usually how it works, as once I go down a path, I tend to stay there a little while. With that in my head, I decided to kick back and watch a classic, the 1960 Mario Bava masterwork Black Sunday.

Plot/ A vengeful witch and her fiendish servant return from the grave and begin a bloody campaign to possess the body of the witch's beautiful look-alike descendant. Only the girl's brother and a handsome doctor stand in her way.

I could not help myself after watching some Bava, I needed more. After some thought, I felt that Black Sunday (AKA The Mask of Satan) was perfect for my mood. This film is a masterpiece. Everything about this flick works really well. The cast featuring Barbara Steele is amazing and the performances are solid, the atmosphere is dark, heavy and dreadful, the scenery is tremendous and the cinematography is top notch. More importantly, the effects work well for the period and the storyline is layered and very enjoyable. In the end, this is one of the most influential films of the horror genre and a movie that must be seen. If you are a horror fan and have not seen it, what are you waiting for? See it!