Review by - R. Burrows

Dripping with atmosphere, Black Sunday is a dark fairy tale in the tradition of the classic Universal horror films of the 1930's.

The film opens with the execution and burning of a young witch, played by Barbara Steele. Before her executioner hammers a grotesque steel mask over her face, she vows to return from the dead and one day have her revenge. Many years later, intruders violate her tomb and accidentally reanimate the witch, unleashing her vengeance from beyond the grave.

The director, Mario Bava, was a cinematographer before he became a director, and uses his considerable skill in giving this film a nightmarish quality. Black Sunday is saturated with eerie, disturbing images and brief flashes of shocking violence. Often imitated but never matched, this is the kind of film that puts images in your head that you’d rather not think about when you’re walking alone on a dark night.

I would rate Black Sunday with 5 out of 6 possible chills, deducting one chill for the sound quality. Some of the dialogue was re-dubbed and later added in, and although mostly successful it can be occasionally distracting.

Regardless of this small flaw, this film will not disappoint. Dark and cold, Black Sunday is a film filled with images of the dead rising from the grave, secret passageways, and cobweb choked castles.

Watch this one with the lights out.

chills: 5

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