A Blade in the Dark (1983)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Best movie ever!

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

As the son of the godfather of giallo, Mario Bava, director Lamberto Bava had a lot to live up to when he entered the film business as a horror movie director. Likewise, so did his second film, "A Blade in the Dark," coming on the heels of his undeniably strong debut effort, "Macabre." Despite a few misfires here and there, Bava's sophomore effort (mostly) cuts deep. Originally conceived as a four- part anthology TV series, the film has an unusual pace and generally off-beat vibe that may be off-putting to some viewers, but when the film gets going, it really knocks you off your feet (or couch?) with its prolonged and cruel death scenes and proto-meta plotting.The film opens on two young boys -- who are as annoying as they are mean -- goading another boy to venture into a dark basement by incessantly chanting "You're a female!" at him. Sure enough, the kid takes the bait, and not long thereafter, a bloody tennis ball is thrust in the bullies' direction, sending them into a screaming frenzy. It's not the opening of the movie, per se, but the first scene of a new horror movie being scored by Bruno (Andrea Occhipinti), a film composer working alone in a rented villa that holds many mysteries. Among these mysteries are why beautiful women seemingly wander in and out, uninvited and unexpected, before succumbing to their grisly demises. Gee, a "No Trespassing" sign might suffice, no?Bava milks the atmosphere for all its worth, turning a slightly padded plot into random bursts of pure shock. There are a couple of stalk scenes that walk a fine line between tense and patience- testing, but the payoff is almost always worth it. Likewise, there's enough mystery and intrigue to keep the whole thing from going off the rails. Perhaps a little tightening would make the film pop that much more (it badly needs 15 minutes or so shaved off), but "A Blade in the Dark" remains pretty darn razor sharp just the same. It's not the finest giallo with the name Bava attached, that's for sure, but it's definitely worth reaching into the dark for.

There is much to enjoy in this film, not least the wild killings and surely the longest dragging of a body scene in cinema. The film is uneven, however, uneven in pace and in quality of scenes. I have just learned that this was originally intended as a four part TV series. This explains the stop, start nature of proceedings which would have made more sense with the movie plot up. Nevertheless there are some great moments and two of the most horrible and drawn out murders in giallo, its just that momentum is not maintained. It also doesn't help that the basement area of the villa used for filming is so vast with numerous rooms and closets, all a drab off white colour. Surely Lamberto's father would have had a field day here, cheering things up eerily with a full pallet of projected colours. Mario Bava would also have made sure that even if he was basically just showing a series of kills that we would be fully involved and feeling some concern and therefore horror as events pan out. So, some great moments but not a great film and for a film about a composer, the music wasn't particularly inspiring, maybe blame the 80s for that though!

Thats right When The Lights Go Out - The Knife Goes In, which is just one of the many taglines to this nasty vicious thriller. In my review for "Stagefright" I mentioned that I purchased this one along with 3 other slasher movies, including the brilliant "Stagefright".The directer Lamberto Bava really piles on the terror with this twisted shocker "A Blade In The Dark" which set in a villa and the movie centres around Bruno (Andrea Occhipinti) a young composer whose being hired by a movie directer Sandra (Anny Papa) to write a score for her latest horror movie who refuses to let Bruno see the final scene for mysterious reasons and before you know it women appear at the villa and gets viciously killed, all of which has something to do with the horror movie he's working on and also the mysterious occupant Linda who also seems to be involved.Lamberto Bava really does a great job with this movie, creating tension and fear at the isolated villa all of which are shot beautifully, the gruesome deaths scenes are also a real treat, although I haven't seen that many giallo thrillers, I have to say that this one has got to be a stand out, the best is "Deep Red". On a bad note though the dubbing in this movie is terrible and a lot of the acting is quite bad, but that's all part of the cheesiness and this movie's charm.All in all a fine addition to the slasher genre, with a few flaws but great tension and death scenes are brutal.

Handsome young music composer Bruno (amiable Andrea Occhipinti) secludes himself in an isolated villa so he can devise the score for an upcoming horror film. A vicious psycho starts brutally butchering assorted lovely young women in the immediate area. Bruno investigates the savage homicides in order to find out if the killings have something to do with the movie he's working on. Director Lamberto Bava creates a reasonable amount of tension, maintains a grim, brooding tone throughout and stages the shockingly gory and sadistic murder set pieces with effectively ferocious go-for-it flair (the bathroom kill in particular is positively gut-wrenching). Moreover, there's a downright delectable bevy of beauteous ladies who are real easy on the eyes: Lara Naszinsky as Bruno's fetching blonde girlfriend Julia, Anny Papa as perky horror director Sandra, Valeria Cavalli as alluring neighbor Katia, and Fabiola Toledo as enticing brunette fox Angela (Toledo has a much-appreciated gratuitous topless scene). Occhipinti makes for an engaging lead, with solid support from Michele Soavi as friendly real estate agent Tony and Stanko Molnar as creepy sleazeball handyman Giovanni. Both Gianlorenzo Battaglia's slick cinematography and the elegantly eerie score by Guida and Maurizo De Angelis likewise hit the satisfying spot. The killer's true identity is both genuinely surprising and admirably perverse. Good, gruesome fun.