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.
Credits: TheMovieDb.
Film Cast:
- Princess Asa Vajda / Katia Vajda: Barbara Steele
- Dr. Andrej Gorobec / Dr. Andreas Gorobec: John Richardson
- Prince Vajda: Ivo Garrani
- Igor Javutich / Javuto: Arturo Dominici
- Prince Constantine Vajda: Enrico Olivieri
- Dr. Choma Kruvajan / Dr. Thomas Kruvajan: Andrea Checchi
- Priest: Antonio Pierfederici
- Ivan – Manservant: Tino Bianchi
- Inn Keeper: Clara Bindi
- Nikita – Coachman: Mario Passante
- Boris – Stablehand: Renato Terra
- Sonya – Innkeeper’s Daughter: Germana Dominici
- Narrator (voice) (uncredited): Nando Gazzolo
Film Crew:
- Editor: Mario Serandrei
- Screenplay: Marcello Coscia
- Matte Painter: Mario Bava
- Gaffer: Antonio Rinaldi
- Sculptor: Eugenio Bava
- Music: Roberto Nicolosi
- Screenplay: Ennio De Concini
- Production Design: Giorgio Giovannini
- Producer: Massimo De Rita
- Camera Operator: Ubaldo Terzano
- Production Supervisor: Paolo Mercuri
- Costume Design: Tina Grani
- Screenplay: Dino De Palma
- Short Story: Nikolai Gogol
- Art Direction: Nedo Azzini
- Executive Producer: Lionello Santi
- Production Secretary: Armando Govoni
- Assistant Director: Vana Caruso
- Conductor: Luigi Urbini
- Script Supervisor: Bona Magrini
Movie Reviews:
- talisencrw: This was just great. My first Bava experience–hopefully I’ll eventually take in his entire oeuvre.
- Dsnake1: Black Sunday is a black and white gothic horror film focused on the revenge plot of an executed plot and the people trying to stop her.
The plot itself is fine. It’s nothing extra special, but it facilitates the movie well enough. The characters and many of the other general building blocks of the film are also fine. So why is this movie worth watching?
Well, the director, Mario Bava, does a stellar job of setting the scene. The soundtrack to the movie is spectacular. The black and white really aides to the atmosphere, as does the cinematography. The cinematography, in particular, is outstanding. The film relies on a wonderful selection of long shots. There are many shots where the length doesn’t particularly add to the story, but it certainly adds to the atmosphere and overall creepiness of the movie. The film also includes some fairly gruesome scenes, nothing quite like a splatter film, though. The scenes are well placed and add to the experience rather than become the focus themselves.
All in all, if you’re after a great atmospheric horror film and don’t care much about a plot or characters, you may find yourself enjoying Black Sunday.