Notable Cast: Boris Karloff, Michele Mercier, Lidia Alfonsi,
Milo Quesada, Mark Damon, Susy Andersen, Massimo Righi, Rika Dialina, Glauco
Onorato, Jacqueline Pierreux, Milly, Harriet Medin
The horror anthology is a kind of film that has been around
for years and in the last decade it has seen a renewal of energy.
Enough so that there are some fairly strong established franchises around the
idea like V/H/S and ABCs of Death. However, most of
anthologies in the last five decades still pale in comparison to the Mario Bava
classic, Black Sabbath. It’s amazing
to think that it has been over 50 years since the release of this trifecta of
terror tales because the film has some stunning material and it showcases a
director who is simply a natural at crafting tension and spooks over three
different kinds of scripts. It’s not quite a perfect film, but it’s still a
striking film that works some serious Italian horror magic into its stories to remain an impactful watch today.
Instead of doing the normal Blood Brothers style review of
looking at the film as a whole while just pointing out the details from
specific moments from various portions, I wanted to approach this review in a
different manner by looking at each story in Black Sabbath. While many newer anthologies tend to try and thread
the stories together or make them interconnected, Black Sabbath is simply three short tales that happen to have an
intro and an outro told by Boris Karloff as himself. Truthfully, the intro
and outro, while necessary to give a kick off and a closure, is a bit awkward
as Karloff makes jokes and almost pokes fun at the idea of the entire thing
being a movie. It’s fine, but it’s easily the hardest portion to appreciate. Hell,
in the American version they completely edit out the outro. The intro and outro
are very brief though and it doesn’t take long for Black Sabbath to kick right into the stories.
 |
| Ring, ring, ring...banana phone. |
THE TELEPHONE (3/5): The Italian version of Black Sabbath
starts off with this story and, oddly enough, it’s easily the weakest one. This
is also the story that seems to differ the greatest between versions, more on
that in second, but neither version is great. The Italian version is more akin
to the giallo concept as a young woman is tortured via her phone by a voice
from the past, Frank, who threatens to kill her and whatnot. The performances
here are solid enough to be believable and Bava does a remarkable job at
keeping the short tale interesting without making a lot of the dialogue sound
explanatory to why things are happening. Depending on what version you are
watching, the tone of the story is very different with the American cut having
a very stark supernatural element to the story and the Italian one being more
of a thriller in tone. Both versions are littered with plot holes and each version
has its own unique plot problems, but in the end I have to say that the Italian
version is a bit stronger as the supernatural elements actually detract from
some of the more interesting character interactions. Solid, but hardly
exceptional in either form.
 |
| Boris Fuckin' Karloff. |
THE DROP OF WATER (4.5/5): Say what you will, but as far as
I’m concerned “The Drop of Water” is the best story in Black Sabbath. While
“The Wurdalak” utilizes more complex plotting and “The Telephone” more
complex characters, “The Drop of Water” strips a lot of that for the sake of a
juxtaposed nuance of subtle character beats and even more heightened visuals.
Like the other two stories, this one is sold mostly by its atmosphere and
Bava’s patented visuals (to this day I’m not sure any other director quite has
the brilliant use of lighting that Bava uses). The story is very simple as a
nurse seemingly pisses off a deceased spiritual communicator by stealing her
ring and then has to deal with the subsequent haunting. The American version is
a bit too bombastic with its score and uses the sound effects to less effect,
but the dialogue makes the nurse seem a bit nicer which in a way actually adds
to the theme of guilt. So take your pick on which one you want to see first.
Both versions are littered with memorable moments though and the face of the
dead woman is one that burns into your memory with its contorted grin. “The
Drop of Water” is terrifying for such a short story and it really caps off the
whole film nicely.
 |
| She obviously died from vitamin D deficiency. |
ARROW VIDEO FEATURES:
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of two versions of the film; ‘I tre volti della paura’ – the European version with score by Roberto Nicolosi & ‘Black Sabbath’ – the re-edited and re-dubbed AIP version with Les Baxter score, on home video for the first time
- English SDH subtitles for English Audio and a new English subtitle translation of the Italian audio
- Audio Commentary with Bava biographer and expert Tim Lucas
- Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic David Cairns, a comparison of the versions of the film by Tim Lucas and a substantial interview with AIP Producer Samuel Z. Arkoff on his experiences of working with Bava, illustrated with original stills and posters
- Introduction to the film by author and critic Alan Jones
- A Life In Film – An Interview with star Mark Damon
- Twice the Fear – A comparison of the different versions of the film
- International Trailer
- US Trailer
- Italian Trailer
- TV and Radio Spots
Written By Matt
Reifschneider
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