Reviews (14)

Solid little thriller - Basic DVD
Bava's "Hatchet" is not one of his better films, but it is definitely entertaining and worth a look for fans. Actually, I enjoyed the film more now than when I first saw it years ago so it's aged pretty well. A cross-dressing maniac is dispatching young brides one by one....what is the secret from his past that makes him want to murder all these young lovelies on their wedding nights? It's a fun giallo with a neat twist regarding his ugly wife returning from the dead to haunt him. The DVD from Image is a very basic package....no trailer this time, just a small poster-photo gallery and the always excellent liner notes by Video Watchdog's Tim Lucas. The film itself looks better than previous VHS releases, but the colors are not as sharp as they once were and there are some blemishes to the print materials used. Still, it's overall a nice presentation and worth the $$$$.

Hatchets & Lingerie & Wedding Veils, OH MY!
Mario Bava's Hatchet For The Honeymoon tells the story of a unhappily married, very disturbed, young wedding dress & lingerie designer with a "killer" Oedipus complex, not to mention a MAJOR SEXUAL fetish for women mannequins, wearing wedding veils, & hacking up young brides with a smallish meat cleaver. Let alone his passion for his toy train set & his boyhood bedroom, untouched all these years.

The young man is COMPELLED to keep killing so that he may recollect what terrible and horrible things happened to him while a young boy. Great flashback scenes while the main character is a tad stuck in his childhood throughout the movie. That is precisely WHY you feel compassion for the killer.

The BEST part of this film isn't really the plot nor the acting although they are fine and stand on their individual merits alone. However, it is the directing & cinematograpy that really stands out in this gem! The movie is highly vivid and shot in a beautiful, fluid, cinematic style while systematically building the eventual outcome and great ending of the film.

If you like Bava's work or just like Italian horror in general, you will be pleased with this film. Happy Watching!

a true budget gem!!! from the maestro of maestro's
this is a classic low budget gem from the true giallo master mario bava.im not going to give any of the movie away i will just say that i really love this movie its nowhere near his best but the bottom line is mario bava at his worst is better than 85% of anyone else at there best.its a spooky little creature of a movie and there are just some absolutley awsome artistic scenes and some great camera work for what they had.top dog low budget mario bava!! if your a true horror fan im sure you will enjoy, and welcome to the world of giallo!!if your already a fan of this genre its a no brainer for sure!!! hurry up and get this dvd, it comes out looking pretty good for its age and budget, and because you never know how long an obscure gem like this will stay on the shelves!!! GET IT!!!!!!

Bava doing what he does best in a low-budget classic
The incredible atmosphere! The music! The exquisitely beautiful European actress! Yes, this delectable little giallo film comes from the grand master of the art, director Mario Bava. Hatchet For the Honeymoon may not be Bava's best film, but it is definitely worth watching. You just won't find movies like this made in America; European films such as this just have a look and feel all their own, and I for one can't get enough of it. Unhappy with the problems a big budget brought to his previous film, Bava went out and made this relatively low-budget giallo gem of a film. You won't see any blood and gore here, as the killings take place off-camera for the most part, but you will get a double whammy of good old insanity and the always-welcome ghost.

John Harrington (Stephen Forsyth) has some issues; he freely admits in the opening narration that he is quite mad. His favorite hobby is killing brides on their wedding nights, but of course no one suspects that he is anything other than perfectly sane. Even after a certain policeman starts insinuating himself into his life, Harrington plays it pretty cool. The fact that many of the dead brides were killed in dresses Harrington designed and sold does seem a little suspicious to the cops, of course. As for why Harrington feels compelled to murder young brides, the source of the problem goes back to his childhood and a painful memory he has blocked out of his mind; each time he kills, he gets a little closer to finding out the truth locked inside his brain. You do have to feel sorry for the poor fellow in a way because he is trapped in a loveless marriage with a vindictive battle axe of a woman who refuses to divorce him; his wife Mildred (Laura Betti) insists that she will always be there by his side, and she really does mean it. Dagmar Lassander makes a great film even better, helping us get inside the mind of a madman while simultaneously allowing us to bask in the glory of her beauty. The movie sort of reshapes itself halfway through, stepping things up a notch to an even more enjoyable level, and the ending, while not exactly unpredictable, is pulled off very well.

I don't know what it is about Bava films, but I love everything about them. The distinctive music is just addictive to my ears, and Bava knows how to shoot scenes in the most interesting ways possible. There are some wondrous transitions between scenes, all sorts of awkward and slightly disturbing camera angles, and even the special effects, what few there are, come out feeling just right. Hatchet For the Honeymoon is basically a psychological film taking us into the disturbed mind of a madman; Harrington could be any man you see walking the street, a rabid wolf in sheep's (or in one case a bride's) clothing. Honestly, Bava was a genius; you could take away all of the dialogue in the film yet still follow events fairly closely thanks to some solid acting performances, the superb cinematography, and that ever-so-important music. If you are curious about giallo or European horror in general, this film makes for a great introduction to the genre.

Totally psychotic
Totally psychotic Wedding Dress designer kills his models to 'find himself', but his horrible wife has her own willpower to wield. Bava's direction parallels the edge of John's insatiable drive to Kill, an assaultive film experience. Low budget. Horrible sound, so play it loud! (6/7) ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Real good Shock for your video.
Forget Sixth Sense and others horrors with ghosts and take Shock.In this classic giallo from legendary Mario Bava will touch you fear pretty step by step,just to the macabre finale.The story is well written by four peoples,including Bava's son Lamberto and Dardanno Sachetti,important screenwriter for Italian horror film.The camera work is excellent,acting of Daria Nicolodi too.And the wonderfull collector's edition of Anchor bay entertaiment?Beautiful cover,widescreen and remastered picture,italian trailer and U.S.Tv spot and interview with assistant director Lamberto Bava!!!With perfect work of Amazon.com what else we can want?

An impressive swan song for Bava.
First of all, both Lamberto and his father Mario worked on this film. Second, there is no proof how much of the film was directed by one or the other. I'm inclined to think it was more Mario's doing and less his son's, because nothing Lamberto Bava did afterwards is as good as this, and that includes Macabre and A Blade in the Dark, not to mention the junk he lowered himself to once he started directing the Demons films.

This is definitely smoother, more atmospheric and more slickly disturbing than the disjointed and undeveloped Twitch of the Death Nerve. Not that the latter was a bad film, it had its moments, but Bava ultimately did not pull that one off. Good performances all around combined with a disturbing incestual theme and a stylistic tour-de-force result in an impressive swan song for Mario Bava. Sure, it's not a masterpiece, it's no Lisa and the Devil, but a worthy addition to any Italian horror fan's DVD library. And check out that score by Goblin spin-off Libra!

Mario? Lamberto!
Shock (Mario Bava, 1977)

While Mario Bava put his name to Shock (known to American audiences as behind the Door II)-- the last film Bava was involved with before his death in 1980-- that probably wasn't a good move. Bava, whose career reached such heights as I, Vampiri (1956) and Bay of Blood (1971), never sank so low as this. Not even Danger: Diabolik! (1968) is this bad.

Much of the blame rests on Mario Bava's son Lamberto, who in an interview included with the DVD says (admits to?) having directed over half the film himself. Anyone who's seen any of Lamberto's solo outings (Demons 2, Demons 3, Black Sabbath,
Midnight Killer, etc. ad nauseam*) already knew that about five minutes into this dog. It's all the more disturbing given a high-powered, albeit small, cast and a script that might have actually worked in the hands of a director who understands how to build suspense. Mario, for example.

The story (which isn't a sequel to the original Beyond the Door, incidentally; the only thing the two have in common is David Colin, who plays a different role in each movie) centers around a family who move into a new house. Well, not really a new house. The mother, Dora (Daria Nicolodi, a Dario Argento staple), lived here before with her first husband, who committed suicide years before. Her new husband (John Steiner, who also worked with Argento in the 1982 film Tenebre)is an angel compared to the first guy, or so everyone seems to think. Dora's child from marriage #1, Marco (David Colin, who never acted in another film after this), is also along for the ride. By the family's first night in the house, Marco is starting to fall under the influence of something rather nasty.

Yes, you've seen a bunch of possessed-kid flicks before, but there's enough here to have made this one compelling (Bava has a take on the Oedipus complex that's just plain nasty-- some of the few scenes that actually make this worth watching) had it been done correctly. However, any subtlety reflected in the original script is woefully absent here; foreshadowing is writ large enough for even the densest viewer to be able to spot any good jumps from a mile off, and the ending can be seen coming long before you actually get there. Not a good thing in a supposed mystery.

Painfully, both Steiner and Nicolodi turn in good performances, and the soundtrack, originally credited to Libra (who have since been unmasked as Italian pop stalwarts Goblin), is as much a joy as is all of Goblin's other early work. However, Shock provides hard and painful evidence at how much less than the sum of its parts a whole can be. * 1/2

(* Yes, Lamberto is credited with the original Demons. One wonders whether Dario Argento was just the writer on that one.)

Scary, Suspenseful Masterpiece
This was the last film the venerable Mario Bava directed and is definitely worthy of being published on DVD. Having seen both the VHS version more than once, the picture quality of this DVD is as good as you're going to get on a film that was originally shot in 1977. Unfortunately, the filmographies are not as extensive as they could be. But, it's the actual feature film that's important here, and this DVD only adds to the unique elements that make this another of Bava's great productions. The acting is superb and the individual film arts (editing, lighting, sound, music, make-up, etc.) are masterfully executed to creep you out and make you suspect your own loved ones.

THE LAST PICTURE SHOW
Last film of the italian king of B-movies - Mario Bava - , SHOCK is now presented by Anchor Bay in an above-average DVD version. Trailers, italian, english and french dubbed versions and incomplete filmographies are offered as bonus features as well as a short interview with Lamberto Bava, the son of the late Maestro.

I didn't see SHOCK when it was theatrically released nor in the VHS-NTSC standards so I cannot make comparisons regarding the quality of images. In my opinion, the copy is superb without a single white or black spot and I had a tremendous pleasure to watch for the first time this movie which belongs to the psycho-horror thriller genre.

Due to production restrictions, at least I presume so, most of the action takes place in a cozy italian mansion near the sea. A couple played by John Steiner and Daria Nicolodi - Dario Argento's compaign - has just moved in with Daria Nicolodi's child. The father of the child has died seven years ago and, since then, Daria has spent a lot of time recovering from a severe depression.

As in BAY OF BLOOD, the child has an important role in the movie. One of the characteristics of Mario Bava's cinema is to always leave to the audience the possibility to find a rational explanation for the most bizarre events. In SHOCK, one could perfectly imagine that the story is told from the sole point of view of Daria Nicolodi who is lead to psychosis by her guiltiness.

Anyway, SHOCK is an example of a smart B-movie with good scary effects done without the help of computers. Mario Bava was a real movie lover perpetuating the example of Georges Méliès, the french movie director who invented some of the first special effects of Movie History. In 1905.

A shockingly good DVD. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Superb Gothic Horror
Delirious! Part whodunit, part ghost story and perhaps one of the finest Gothic tales of the sixties. "La Frusta E il Corpo" is a very beautiful romantic horror movie. Don't miss it. The atmosphere is unique, the film is like a painting, the photography and the scenery are exceptional, the music is stirring, and the acting is very good. (Christopher Lee is haunting and the handsome Daliah Lavi reminds me at Barbara Steele) At least as good as the Hammer Film Productions! I am very happy that nearly all the work of maestro Mario Bava is now available on DVD and I can only hope that it will be possible to buy other great Italian classics such as "La Danza Macabra" and "I Lunghi Capelli de la Morte" from Antonio Margheriti on DVD in the future too.

Mario Bava's Gothic S&M romance......
Kurt Menliff (Christopher Lee) returns to his ancestral castle after being banished by his father some years before. He finds that his lover Nevenka (Daliah Lavi) has married his brother. However, it is not long before they resume their previous S&M relationship and Kurt is mysteriously murdered. Is Nevenka being haunted by his ghost or is it al in her mind? You'll have to watch it to find out.

"The whip and the body" is unlike many of the horror films made in the 1960s. However it is typical of Bava's horror movies in that the lines between good and evil are somewhat blurred. There are no "good" characters in this movie. They are either weak, cruel, hypocritical. The heroine is not the typical virginal innocent of most horror movies, in fact the virtuous romantic "leads" of this film are only background characters. The main focus is on the relationship between Kurt and Nevenka. We are encouraged to sympathise with them. This is what makes the film so daring. The whipping scenes are pretty explicit (especially for 1963) but it is the fact that Bava treats this relationship like a "normal" love story (therefore not condemning the participants) that makes the film so unique among horror films of the period. Regardless of this, the film is worth watching for the startling use of colour and cinematography alone. Some scenes almost resemble a 19th century Romantic painting. If you are a horror fan or even a film buff (and definately if you are a fan of Lee or Lavi) see this film!

Bava at his best
They certainly don't make pictures like this anymore. This is an unique combination of ghost story and SM-romance, capturing the sensibility of the gothic novel, unmatched by any other cinematic attempt that I'm aware of. Christopher Lee is the mystical brother who returns to the family mansion, where everybody despices him, making him responsible for the suicide of a servant girl - the knife is kept in a showcase as a holy relic. Only Nevenka (Daliah Lavi), once his fiancé, now his sister-in-law seems confused about her feelings towards him. He is soon found murdered and the movie becomes a kind of whodunit, since everybody would have perfectly adequate reasons to get rid of him (the lumbering servant even looks like Peter Lorre). Soon he comes back from the grave to haunt Nevenkas bedchamber. Daliah Lavi has the same kind of fragile, pale beauty as Barbara Steele (who was initially offered the part), which makes her well suited for this kind of aesthetic. This is how one could imagine what Poe's Ligeia would look like.
This is really not to be missed by any lover of the gothic genre and the restored DVD looks quite good.

An unknown masterpiece
A true gem that gets better and better with every viewing, Whip And The Body is an extremely sophisticated piece of work. Visually mesmerizing, totaly ahead of it's time as far as the plot goes, this is Bava at it's very best. Whip And The Body is recommended to all serious movie lovers so don't get frightened by the italian gothic horror label the movie carries, this is grand cinema, the work of a genius that needs way more recognition.

Don't let the title fool you. It's not what you're thinking.
The writing in this film establishes an excellent mood and atmosphere that's well sustained throughout despite other potential literary shortcomings depending on the individual tastes of the viewer. Lee as usual is delighfully eerie and menacing. The sound, color and clarity are excellent. The ending was disappointing for some reason that I cannot quite articulate, but overall a worthy addition to my growing dvd gothic collection. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Good Bava
This was the supposed sequel to Lisa and the Devil, Bava's shimmering, near-incomprehensible masterpiece. In Baron Blood, Bava has toned the story line down considerably. One of the overiding themes still is cause and effect; that is, in the world of Bava, our actions that we know are wrong but that we do anyhow can have horrifying consequences. At least in this movie, the repercussions manifest themselves in the lifetimes of the principal characters. The story resolution is much more believable (not to say digestable) than Lisa and the Devil. Unfortunately, by stepping a little more into the mainstream with Baron Blood (less risks are taken with the principle characters this time around), Bava has sacrificed much of the haunting uneasiness that made Lisa so enjoyable. He also doesn't have Telly Savalas in this film either!

Color Gothic
Its hard for me to appreciate gothic horror set in modern times. Color takes away from gothic atmosphere as do planes, automobiles and electric lighting. The basic story is a good one and Bava does manage to pull off the gothic look, although not nearly as well as in earlier black and white films. Well acted and not a bad movie, just not as good as expected from Mario Bava.

DISAPPOINTING BAVA.....
Although it is certainly ambitious and contains the director's trademark visuals and style, this is not Bava's best work. With atmosphere to spare, you'd think it would be better than it is. But "Baron Blood" comes off as a bunch of steam over nothing. The "extra uncut footage" is nothing more than a couple of rather tame gore shots. A tired looking Joseph Cotton wheels around an ancient castle as some REALLY dumb dodos recite an incantation to bring back a 16th century sadist who returns and chases Elke Sommer around through colored fog. Sommer (who was utilized to much better advantage in Bava's masterpiece "Lisa & the Devil") has nothing much to do here but scream and run. Rest of cast is below par in unexciting roles and the "Baron" is a messy looking mask in a black hat and cloak that may or may not be Cotton! This is such a "PG" excercise that it's OK for older kids and a total waste of time for adults. Nothing really much happens that holds your attention for very long. So the best I can add is that it's for die-hard fans only and 12 year olds on up. What a waste....

Questions about this movie????
I was very young when I THINK I saw this movie. Is there a scene where a guy is getting a Chinese Water Torture done to him? Also, is there a scene where the guy kills a poodle and serves him to the owner? Just wondering.. If so, GREAT MOVIE!!!

So-So
A reasonably enjoyable film, enhanced by the presence of sexy Elke Sommer and talented Joseph Cotten. Although "Baron Blood" has the characteristic failings of horror films of that era, particularly the non-U.S. ones, I would say that it's superior to most of the others of that time, which tended to be inept and cheaply made. ... Read more

Description

Countess Federica, the elderly owner of a coveted piece of bayside property, is brutally slain by her husband--who is himself killed by a mysterious third person at the murder scene! Who is the killer? Could it be the real estate developer or the entomologist neighbor who wants to preserve the natural insect life thriving around the bay? Perhaps the Countess's illegitimate son, in a bid to claim a name for himself, is responsible? Whoever it is, brace yourself, because no one's a suspect for very long in Mario Bava's black comedy of human greed--which boasts 13 characters and 13 of the most shocking murders ever filmed! A.k.a. "Bay of Blood" and "Carnage." ... Read more

Reviews (30)

EXCELLENT movie, but...
...be warned.
You have NEVER heard audio so bad on a DVD.
Trust me. This is the most incredibly BAD audio experience you'll ever have. Dialogue is near-impossible to hear. Music suddenly swells and threatens the life of your speakers. Shrill sounds fade away into near-silence, as you lean-in to the screen/stereo, hoping to catch a word or two.....

It's brain-numbingly bad. I've never heard anything so awful in my life before, and hope never to again.

I'm not trying to steer anyone away from the film, it's a wonderful black comedy, and certainly one of the most influential horror films of all time (setting the stage for the now-common 'slasher film'). As well, the picture on this DVD is excellent, nice and crisp, wonderful colours, and a few great trailers which are icing on the cake.

Just... be warned about the audio.
Hopefully

Bottom of the barrel
This early slasher flick didn't interest me at all. I found it way too confusing, horribly acted, clumsily edited, terribly written and so on and so on...
I like most of Bava's films, but this one is the bottom of the barrel.
My advice, check out any other Bava movie. ANY.

SOUND PROBLEMS
The movie itself I actually give 5 stars... it's totally fantastic! BUT... did anyone else have problems with the SOUND on this DVD? It's unbelievably screwed up and un-adjustable. It literally makes the DVD unwatchale! It's kind of shocking that anyone would let this happen. Is it a mistake? I would love to get my money back but it's too much of a hassle. Otherwise, this is a GREAT Mario Bava film... really great... go fo a DVD from another company or the VHS copy though.

YOU MAY NOT WALK AWAY FROM THIS ONE!
Mario Bava's movies are like songs by The Beatles: every one of them is a mini-masterpiece that in one way or another changed the way music was made (or in this case, horror movies). With BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, Bava singlehandedly created the giallo, probably THE greatest facet in Italian horror next to the Zombie Holocaust subgenre. But TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE (aka A BAY OF BLOOD, CARNAGE, LAST HOUSE-PART 2, REAZIONE A CATENA (CHAIN REACTION), ECOLOGIA DEL DELITTO (THE ECOLOGY OF MURDER) and ANTEFATTO (BEFORE THE FACT)) is by far the most revolutionary of Mario Bava's horror films. Made in 1972, a banner year for the giallo (Fulci's excellent DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING and Argento's FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET, just to name a few), TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE was the blueprint for the tidal wave of slasher movies in the late '70s and early '80s (e.g., the FRIDAY THE 13TH series, THE PROWLER, MADMAN, THE BURNING). In fact, FRIDAY THE 13TH producer/director Sean S. Cunningham even confirms the fact that all these slasher movies owe a debt to Bava (according to Tim Lucas, the leading expert on Bava, in his commentary for BLOOD AND BLACK LACE)! But on its own, TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE is a darkly funny commentary on greed and the preservation of nature and mostly murder!
There are no likeable characters in TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE. Everybody, from Countess Frederica to those four teenagers, is so dire and self-centered that it's damn near impossible to identify with any of them. But that's what makes it so damn good. Their eventual killings are not so much fueled by greed as by karma. As with a good EC Comic, those who refuse to play nice are gonna get what's coming to them, and boy do these people have it coming to them! Those awesome gore effects, like the spearing and the decapitation, come from none other than Carlo Rambaldi, who did the effects for E.T., ALIEN, POSSESSION, and Argento's DEEP RED, just to name a few. I like the humorously ironic ending; that ending makes TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE the DR. STRANGELOVE of horror movies, but I wouldn't dream of giving away the joke.
Yes, TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE is so evocative and scary (what else would you expect from Bava?) that I can forgive the sound quality for being a little off. I hope Bill Lustig's Blue Underground can secure the rights to Mario Bava's work because this company always does such an excellent job with their DVD releases. I bet that they can clean up and remaster the soundtrack with at least a 2.0 stereo surround mix (or maybe an EX surround and a DTS mix), maybe add a commentary from Lucas among a few extras. They could even give anamorphic enhancement to BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, THE WHIP AND THE BODY, LISA AND THE DEVIL, and HOUSE OF EXORCISM; I'm speculating but I sure hope this will happen in the foreseeable future. But for now, Image Entertainment's DVD, with a glorious anamorphic transfer and trailers for this and other Bava goodies like the aforementioned LISA and EXORCISM, does the trick. In any case, TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE, the most influential movie from the founding father of Italian horror, is a definite must-watch for slasher buffs!

Great movie, shame on image entertainment!
In short, another masterpiece from horror maestro bava and a beautiful widescreen transfer dvd with one litte exception, in terms of sound quality this is the worst dvd ever released!!!
The music is as loud and distorted as each dialogue is low and barely audible unless you have a stadium sound equipment of course. So DON'T BUY IT and go for a vhs or dvd english edition of this one, it's not uncut but the sound is perfectly OK. Shame, shame, shame Image Entertainment!!! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Though the original Italian title translates to "Six Women for an Assassin," the American title, Blood and Black Lace, is far more evocative of the psychosexual nature of this elegant slasher picture. The thin plot concerns a respected Italian fashion house, a murdered model, cocaine, and a tell-all diary that seems to implicate just about everyone connected with the house of style. The disappearance of the diary initiates a wholesale slaughter of the remaining models. Mario Bava's stylish exercise in mayhem lovingly delivers every elaborate killing with dreamy assurance. As the stalker, a faceless figure wrapped up in a trench coat, makes a move for his next gorgeous victim, Bava's prowling camera snakes through sets, rushes down hallways, and generally takes off like a low-budget Hitchcock flick on speed. By contrast, Bava runs through the police investigations with a perfunctory air--the lifeless scenes, which aren't helped by the flat English dubbing, feel like he's marking time between the murders--and when the identity of the black-clad killer is revealed it almost seems beside the point. As the narrative melts into a near abstract display of choreography and color (with an often troubling misogynist edge), exposition and psychological explanations seem oddly out of place in this elaborate dance of death. As a traditional thriller it lacks any genuine thrill, but as a piece of cinematic spectacle it has moments of dreamy, disconnected beauty. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (17)

The First Giallo!
In my opinion, this film is the first giallo. This movie gave birth to what filmakers like Dario Argento & others have popularized in the late 60s & throughout the 70s & 80s as a specific genre of horror film. Bava used the now-familiar use of the gloved & hooded killer killing beautiful women in a variety of sadistic ways. In Argento's films like DEEP RED, TENEBRE, THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMMAGE, & his latest one SLEEPLESS (aka NON HO SONNO), one can see the homage or formula that he used to make these films successful & effective. And it can all be traced back to this 1964 film, BLOOD & BLACK LACE (aka SEI DONNE PER L'ASSASSINO).

Bava used lavish sets, deep colors, fluid camera work, & the familiar thin narrative in this movie that is copied later on by Argento, Fulci, & yes, even American directors like Brian De Palma & John Carpenter. The storytelling in this movie is rather weak as to what set off the murders of those lovely models. Instead, this film relies more on STYLE & loads of it. And the rervelation on who the killer is... well, I won't spoil it.

BLOOD & BLACK LACE is an exercise in style & taste. It's like watching a beautifully choreographed ballet of death with brutal intensity & violence.

I would also go so far as to name this film the FIRST TRUE "BODYCOUNT" horror film.

To modern horror film fans, BLOOD & BLACK LACE may not be your cup of tea. But watch it & relish it for it is a feast for your eyes. The mesmerizing beauty of Bava's genius is a sight to behold.

A Landmark Horror Movie
Mario Bava, the founding father of Italian horror (see my BLACK SUNDAY/THE MASK OF SATAN review), was a real trendsetter with his innovative camera tricks (he was a cameraman as well) and cinematic mastery. Every one of his movies changed the face of horror worldwide. But BLOOD AND BLACK LACE may just well be the most influential and ground-breaking movie in his distinguished career!
A fashion house in Italy becomes a slaughterhouse when the diary of one of the models is discovered. It seems that there is some unsavory material within the diary concerning the models. Everyone is after the diary, and in fact somebody even goes as far as to bump off a few people for the diary. Who will survive?
See folks, this is where the Italian giallo, the career of Dario Argento (my favorite Italian horror director), and the slasher film began. When I saw BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, I gained a new understanding of Italian horror and how cool it is. It's all right here: wild camera moves (achieved on a red wagon!), lighting in different colors (echoing EC Comics long before George Romero gave it a shot in CREEPSHOW and even before the first TALES FROM THE CRYPT movie in 1972), gorgeous but ill-fated women, psychosexually motivated mayhem, and of course truly awesome murder sequences! Yes indeed, we can all thank Mario Bava for the state of Italian horror in its heyday and for all those slasher movies that have come out recently because Mario Bava singlehandedly shaped the state of modern, non-Gothic/supernatural horror in just 90 minutes of murder and mayhem!
VCI's DVD is a testament to this movie's significance in horror history. The audio commentary by Bava expert Tim Lucas provides a treasure trove of trivia for Bava buffs and Italian horror fans alike! Best of all, the presentation is uncut and in widescreen, complete with the original opening title sequence (which was truly awesome and evocative) and restored murder sequences which are as cringe-worthy as anything Tom Savini could come up with! We have the American title sequence (courtesy of Filmation Studios, the animators of Fat Albert and He-Man) and French title sequence, and much, much more! A truly ground-breaking horror film, BLOOD AND BLACK LACE is a definite must-watch!

ONE OF THE BEST USES OF COLOR EVER
If you are looking for a breathtakingly beautiful use of color and lighting, YOU MUST SEE "BLOOD AND BLACL LACE". This has to be one of the great overlooked movies of all time. Great Jazz score.
What happened to the mentality that could both make and go see this kind of movie? After watching this one, and looking over the current cinema listings in the local paper, I nearly cried at the lack of anything like this to see.
The rich jewel tones that flood every frame in this film are amazing. Eastmancolor must be one of the most underrated processes in film history. Notice how shocking the white undergarments of the models seem after the killer rips their bodices away.
A great movie in which nearly the whole cast lies dead at the end. Eva Bartok is amazingly beautiful, why didn't she become more of an international star?
Recommended.

Blood and Black Lace.
Blood and Black Lace is often described as the original 'body count' movie. I'm not really sure how this credential was bestowed, but you can certainly sense an early Friday the 13th aura about the movie. The young models are stalked and dispatched by a hooded maniac, much as you've seen in countless 'slasher' flicks. But it's important to realize that this film was made in 1964, 14 years before John Carpenter would introduce his Halloween to the universe. But, while this movie certainly earns respect for being an innovator in the genre, much of Blood and Black Lace is pretty slow moving. Not scary, but ammusing and very funny. Great Black Comedy.

PRIME BAVA....
Many have said this movie is misogynistic. I won't get into that. To be fair, I would have to say that it is disturbing to a degree, but also a stylish shocker done by a master film maker that is highly watchable if you're not squeamish. The world of haute couture is a perfect place to present a murder thriller in that it affords the limitless opportunities of playing with color, showcasing beautiful women and providing a host of possible villains...and victims. Bava does all of this in classic continental style. The victims are beautiful fashion models, the murders are violent and ,in some cases, gory. The settings of the salon and showrooms are garish with lots of red and black. The murder set pieces are scary, bizarre and done to the hilt. The storyline has some cohesence with enough sordid details to make it juicy. VCI has done the film marvelous justice on DVD and it looks beautiful. All in all, an engrossing horror film that continues to satisfy Bava and giallo fans and a collector's treat as well. Enjoy this one. ... Read more

Description

Italian horror master Mario Bava's most personal film. John Harrington and his wife Mildred run an exclusive Paris fashion salon devoted to wedding apparel for women. Unknown to all but himself, John has embarked on a spree of homicides, killing young brides on their wedding nights because, with each murder, his memory comes closer to revealing the traumatic event that branded him a dangerous psychotic. Fed up with his wife (who's no newlywed), John gets rid of her the only way he can--by presiding over her murder while wearing a wedding veil himself! But Mildred's ghost has no intention of letting him forget his vow: Till Death Do Us Part! ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Solid little thriller - Basic DVD
Bava's "Hatchet" is not one of his better films, but it is definitely entertaining and worth a look for fans. Actually, I enjoyed the film more now than when I first saw it years ago so it's aged pretty well. A cross-dressing maniac is dispatching young brides one by one....what is the secret from his past that makes him want to murder all these young lovelies on their wedding nights? It's a fun giallo with a neat twist regarding his ugly wife returning from the dead to haunt him. The DVD from Image is a very basic package....no trailer this time, just a small poster-photo gallery and the always excellent liner notes by Video Watchdog's Tim Lucas. The film itself looks better than previous VHS releases, but the colors are not as sharp as they once were and there are some blemishes to the print materials used. Still, it's overall a nice presentation and worth the $$$$.

Hatchets & Lingerie & Wedding Veils, OH MY!
Mario Bava's Hatchet For The Honeymoon tells the story of a unhappily married, very disturbed, young wedding dress & lingerie designer with a "killer" Oedipus complex, not to mention a MAJOR SEXUAL fetish for women mannequins, wearing wedding veils, & hacking up young brides with a smallish meat cleaver. Let alone his passion for his toy train set & his boyhood bedroom, untouched all these years.

The young man is COMPELLED to keep killing so that he may recollect what terrible and horrible things happened to him while a young boy. Great flashback scenes while the main character is a tad stuck in his childhood throughout the movie. That is precisely WHY you feel compassion for the killer.

The BEST part of this film isn't really the plot nor the acting although they are fine and stand on their individual merits alone. However, it is the directing & cinematograpy that really stands out in this gem! The movie is highly vivid and shot in a beautiful, fluid, cinematic style while systematically building the eventual outcome and great ending of the film.

If you like Bava's work or just like Italian horror in general, you will be pleased with this film. Happy Watching!

a true budget gem!!! from the maestro of maestro's
this is a classic low budget gem from the true giallo master mario bava.im not going to give any of the movie away i will just say that i really love this movie its nowhere near his best but the bottom line is mario bava at his worst is better than 85% of anyone else at there best.its a spooky little creature of a movie and there are just some absolutley awsome artistic scenes and some great camera work for what they had.top dog low budget mario bava!! if your a true horror fan im sure you will enjoy, and welcome to the world of giallo!!if your already a fan of this genre its a no brainer for sure!!! hurry up and get this dvd, it comes out looking pretty good for its age and budget, and because you never know how long an obscure gem like this will stay on the shelves!!! GET IT!!!!!!

Bava doing what he does best in a low-budget classic
The incredible atmosphere! The music! The exquisitely beautiful European actress! Yes, this delectable little giallo film comes from the grand master of the art, director Mario Bava. Hatchet For the Honeymoon may not be Bava's best film, but it is definitely worth watching. You just won't find movies like this made in America; European films such as this just have a look and feel all their own, and I for one can't get enough of it. Unhappy with the problems a big budget brought to his previous film, Bava went out and made this relatively low-budget giallo gem of a film. You won't see any blood and gore here, as the killings take place off-camera for the most part, but you will get a double whammy of good old insanity and the always-welcome ghost.

John Harrington (Stephen Forsyth) has some issues; he freely admits in the opening narration that he is quite mad. His favorite hobby is killing brides on their wedding nights, but of course no one suspects that he is anything other than perfectly sane. Even after a certain policeman starts insinuating himself into his life, Harrington plays it pretty cool. The fact that many of the dead brides were killed in dresses Harrington designed and sold does seem a little suspicious to the cops, of course. As for why Harrington feels compelled to murder young brides, the source of the problem goes back to his childhood and a painful memory he has blocked out of his mind; each time he kills, he gets a little closer to finding out the truth locked inside his brain. You do have to feel sorry for the poor fellow in a way because he is trapped in a loveless marriage with a vindictive battle axe of a woman who refuses to divorce him; his wife Mildred (Laura Betti) insists that she will always be there by his side, and she really does mean it. Dagmar Lassander makes a great film even better, helping us get inside the mind of a madman while simultaneously allowing us to bask in the glory of her beauty. The movie sort of reshapes itself halfway through, stepping things up a notch to an even more enjoyable level, and the ending, while not exactly unpredictable, is pulled off very well.

I don't know what it is about Bava films, but I love everything about them. The distinctive music is just addictive to my ears, and Bava knows how to shoot scenes in the most interesting ways possible. There are some wondrous transitions between scenes, all sorts of awkward and slightly disturbing camera angles, and even the special effects, what few there are, come out feeling just right. Hatchet For the Honeymoon is basically a psychological film taking us into the disturbed mind of a madman; Harrington could be any man you see walking the street, a rabid wolf in sheep's (or in one case a bride's) clothing. Honestly, Bava was a genius; you could take away all of the dialogue in the film yet still follow events fairly closely thanks to some solid acting performances, the superb cinematography, and that ever-so-important music. If you are curious about giallo or European horror in general, this film makes for a great introduction to the genre.

Totally psychotic
Totally psychotic Wedding Dress designer kills his models to 'find himself', but his horrible wife has her own willpower to wield. Bava's direction parallels the edge of John's insatiable drive to Kill, an assaultive film experience. Low budget. Horrible sound, so play it loud! (6/7) ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Good Bava
This was the supposed sequel to Lisa and the Devil, Bava's shimmering, near-incomprehensible masterpiece. In Baron Blood, Bava has toned the story line down considerably. One of the overiding themes still is cause and effect; that is, in the world of Bava, our actions that we know are wrong but that we do anyhow can have horrifying consequences. At least in this movie, the repercussions manifest themselves in the lifetimes of the principal characters. The story resolution is much more believable (not to say digestable) than Lisa and the Devil. Unfortunately, by stepping a little more into the mainstream with Baron Blood (less risks are taken with the principle characters this time around), Bava has sacrificed much of the haunting uneasiness that made Lisa so enjoyable. He also doesn't have Telly Savalas in this film either!

Color Gothic
Its hard for me to appreciate gothic horror set in modern times. Color takes away from gothic atmosphere as do planes, automobiles and electric lighting. The basic story is a good one and Bava does manage to pull off the gothic look, although not nearly as well as in earlier black and white films. Well acted and not a bad movie, just not as good as expected from Mario Bava.

DISAPPOINTING BAVA.....
Although it is certainly ambitious and contains the director's trademark visuals and style, this is not Bava's best work. With atmosphere to spare, you'd think it would be better than it is. But "Baron Blood" comes off as a bunch of steam over nothing. The "extra uncut footage" is nothing more than a couple of rather tame gore shots. A tired looking Joseph Cotton wheels around an ancient castle as some REALLY dumb dodos recite an incantation to bring back a 16th century sadist who returns and chases Elke Sommer around through colored fog. Sommer (who was utilized to much better advantage in Bava's masterpiece "Lisa & the Devil") has nothing much to do here but scream and run. Rest of cast is below par in unexciting roles and the "Baron" is a messy looking mask in a black hat and cloak that may or may not be Cotton! This is such a "PG" excercise that it's OK for older kids and a total waste of time for adults. Nothing really much happens that holds your attention for very long. So the best I can add is that it's for die-hard fans only and 12 year olds on up. What a waste....

Questions about this movie????
I was very young when I THINK I saw this movie. Is there a scene where a guy is getting a Chinese Water Torture done to him? Also, is there a scene where the guy kills a poodle and serves him to the owner? Just wondering.. If so, GREAT MOVIE!!!

So-So
A reasonably enjoyable film, enhanced by the presence of sexy Elke Sommer and talented Joseph Cotten. Although "Baron Blood" has the characteristic failings of horror films of that era, particularly the non-U.S. ones, I would say that it's superior to most of the others of that time, which tended to be inept and cheaply made. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This late entry in Italian horror auteur Mario Bava's catalog is inkeeping with much of his other work: a rather murky plot, inventive camera work and editing, gauzy lighting using red and blue gels, and an atmospheric, dreamlike feel throughout. Where it parts ways with many of his films is in the high body count--so high that many feel Bay of Blood was a likely influence on American slasher films such as Friday the l3th. The killing centers on a list of potential heirs to a piece of lakefront property ripe for development (a subplot involves camping teenagers who are also being slaughtered--sound familiar?). The slayings come fast and furious, with gunshots, chokings, stabbings, decapitations, and a two-for-the-price-of-one impalement, to name a few. Bava creates an off-kilter mood of melancholia for the film that makes it somewhat less fun than the mindless slasher flicks of the 1980s, but also renders it a more thought-provoking, cynical sort of movie.--Jerry Renshaw ... Read more

Reviews (30)

EXCELLENT movie, but...
...be warned.
You have NEVER heard audio so bad on a DVD.
Trust me. This is the most incredibly BAD audio experience you'll ever have. Dialogue is near-impossible to hear. Music suddenly swells and threatens the life of your speakers. Shrill sounds fade away into near-silence, as you lean-in to the screen/stereo, hoping to catch a word or two.....

It's brain-numbingly bad. I've never heard anything so awful in my life before, and hope never to again.

I'm not trying to steer anyone away from the film, it's a wonderful black comedy, and certainly one of the most influential horror films of all time (setting the stage for the now-common 'slasher film'). As well, the picture on this DVD is excellent, nice and crisp, wonderful colours, and a few great trailers which are icing on the cake.

Just... be warned about the audio.
Hopefully

Bottom of the barrel
This early slasher flick didn't interest me at all. I found it way too confusing, horribly acted, clumsily edited, terribly written and so on and so on...
I like most of Bava's films, but this one is the bottom of the barrel.
My advice, check out any other Bava movie. ANY.

SOUND PROBLEMS
The movie itself I actually give 5 stars... it's totally fantastic! BUT... did anyone else have problems with the SOUND on this DVD? It's unbelievably screwed up and un-adjustable. It literally makes the DVD unwatchale! It's kind of shocking that anyone would let this happen. Is it a mistake? I would love to get my money back but it's too much of a hassle. Otherwise, this is a GREAT Mario Bava film... really great... go fo a DVD from another company or the VHS copy though.

YOU MAY NOT WALK AWAY FROM THIS ONE!
Mario Bava's movies are like songs by The Beatles: every one of them is a mini-masterpiece that in one way or another changed the way music was made (or in this case, horror movies). With BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, Bava singlehandedly created the giallo, probably THE greatest facet in Italian horror next to the Zombie Holocaust subgenre. But TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE (aka A BAY OF BLOOD, CARNAGE, LAST HOUSE-PART 2, REAZIONE A CATENA (CHAIN REACTION), ECOLOGIA DEL DELITTO (THE ECOLOGY OF MURDER) and ANTEFATTO (BEFORE THE FACT)) is by far the most revolutionary of Mario Bava's horror films. Made in 1972, a banner year for the giallo (Fulci's excellent DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING and Argento's FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET, just to name a few), TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE was the blueprint for the tidal wave of slasher movies in the late '70s and early '80s (e.g., the FRIDAY THE 13TH series, THE PROWLER, MADMAN, THE BURNING). In fact, FRIDAY THE 13TH producer/director Sean S. Cunningham even confirms the fact that all these slasher movies owe a debt to Bava (according to Tim Lucas, the leading expert on Bava, in his commentary for BLOOD AND BLACK LACE)! But on its own, TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE is a darkly funny commentary on greed and the preservation of nature and mostly murder!
There are no likeable characters in TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE. Everybody, from Countess Frederica to those four teenagers, is so dire and self-centered that it's damn near impossible to identify with any of them. But that's what makes it so damn good. Their eventual killings are not so much fueled by greed as by karma. As with a good EC Comic, those who refuse to play nice are gonna get what's coming to them, and boy do these people have it coming to them! Those awesome gore effects, like the spearing and the decapitation, come from none other than Carlo Rambaldi, who did the effects for E.T., ALIEN, POSSESSION, and Argento's DEEP RED, just to name a few. I like the humorously ironic ending; that ending makes TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE the DR. STRANGELOVE of horror movies, but I wouldn't dream of giving away the joke.
Yes, TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE is so evocative and scary (what else would you expect from Bava?) that I can forgive the sound quality for being a little off. I hope Bill Lustig's Blue Underground can secure the rights to Mario Bava's work because this company always does such an excellent job with their DVD releases. I bet that they can clean up and remaster the soundtrack with at least a 2.0 stereo surround mix (or maybe an EX surround and a DTS mix), maybe add a commentary from Lucas among a few extras. They could even give anamorphic enhancement to BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, THE WHIP AND THE BODY, LISA AND THE DEVIL, and HOUSE OF EXORCISM; I'm speculating but I sure hope this will happen in the foreseeable future. But for now, Image Entertainment's DVD, with a glorious anamorphic transfer and trailers for this and other Bava goodies like the aforementioned LISA and EXORCISM, does the trick. In any case, TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE, the most influential movie from the founding father of Italian horror, is a definite must-watch for slasher buffs!

Great movie, shame on image entertainment!
In short, another masterpiece from horror maestro bava and a beautiful widescreen transfer dvd with one litte exception, in terms of sound quality this is the worst dvd ever released!!!
The music is as loud and distorted as each dialogue is low and barely audible unless you have a stadium sound equipment of course. So DON'T BUY IT and go for a vhs or dvd english edition of this one, it's not uncut but the sound is perfectly OK. Shame, shame, shame Image Entertainment!!! ... Read more