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Finally,
master visualist Mario Bava's shocking (for its
time) '60s murder mystery is available in America
in uncut form. This is the seminal film that drew
the blueprint for the giallo — a particularly
Italian genre of suspense/horror/mystery thriller
with an emphasis on bizarre psychological aberrations
and intense murder scenes.
With a diverse pallet of candy-colored
hues and sinister shadows, Bava weaves a tale
of savage multiple murders
with the Christiana Haute Couture,
a high-profile house of fashion, at its vortex.
The models there are leading scandalous lives
behind the scenes and the tell-all diary of one
of the women, Isabella, chronicles all the sordid
details. When Isabella turns up brutally murdered
and the diary's existence becomes public knowledge,
no one can feel safe. Will the price of learning
its secrets be horrible death?
Accompanied by Carlo Rustichelli's
swanky core, Bava's Blood
And Black Lace establishes
all the giallo formula's key ingredients. The
faceless, black-gloved killer that came to stalk
the cinematic landscape through the works of Dario
Argento, Sergio
Martino and others made his first dramatic appearance
here. This had to be strong stuff for the mid-'60s.
Not because of gore (which is actually mild),
but for the grim sadism with which some of the
victims are dispatched. It still packs a punch.
Goosebumps are guaranteed.
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