aka: Mask of Satan, La maschera del demonio, Revenge of the Vampire
director: Mario Bava
starring: Barbara Steele, John Richardson, Arturo Dominici and Ivo Garrani
country: Italy
genre: supernatural gothic horror
the plot:
A vengeful witch returns from the grave to possess the body of her beautiful descendant.
why the cult:
The film that established Mario Bava as one of genre film’s great stylists with striking black-and-white visuals and star-making performance by Barbara Steele. A moody and haunting work that is one of the great works of gothic horror cinema.
other viewing suggestions:
- Black Sabbath (1963) and The Whip and the Body (1963) are other gothic tales directed by Bava, this time in glorious color.
- The film is very loosely based on Nikolai Gogol’s short story “Viy”. The Viy (1967) is a wild Russian film based on the same source material.
