Monday, February 8, 2016

100 Scariest Movie Moments: #40 Black Sunday

(Disclaimer: With most foreign language films, I try to watch them once in the native language to see the performances as intended, and once dubbed into English in order to better follow the plot. However, I found out that this film was changed substantially between the original version and the dub. So, because the original list makes it clear they’re addressing the dub, I’m going with that. And I’ll be crediting the actors physically portraying the role, not the voices.)



I really don’t get how this film got its reputation as a classic. I suppose the blurry imagery might be the result of me watching a low-quality copy. But even beyond that, it seems quite generic. Asa Vadja (Barbara Steele), a Witch killed in Moldavia in the 1600s with her servant and lover Javuto (Arturo Dominici), returns from the grave. She also doubles as a Vampire, and the words “Witch” and “Vampire” are used fairly interchangeably throughout the film. Combining the two might have been interesting, but only if we were given a clear explanation for the rules. Instead, the only really interesting subversion is that Vampires are now killed by crosses being plunged through one of their eyes, rather than with wooden stakes through their hearts. Did Asa choose to worship Satan as a Vampire, or was she bitten and turned into a Witch? I haven’t a clue, although she apparently has no problem converting others via her bite.



Beyond that, the movie often comes across as goofy, but not goofy enough to actually be funny. Asa is awoken when two traveling doctors, Thomas (Andrea Checchi) and Andre (John Richardson) wander into her tomb. They break the cross over her coffin and the window that was put there to allow her to see it (...because the Power of Christ cannot move through opaque surfaces, apparently), and for God knows what reason, remove her mask Thomas cuts himself and the blood drips into her mouth, awakening her and Javuto. So basically, this was a slap-stick routine, only without the comedy.



We eventually find out that Asa plans on gaining eternal life by draining the blood of Katia (also played by Steele), her distant grand-niece. Or maybe she’s draining her energy. I’m not really sure how the rules for that work either. But okay, it’s Italian horror, it doesn’t make sense. I suspect the “Witch” aspect was added to make Asa a more clear villain for the film, implying that she’d chosen to be evil, rather than being turned against her will. Pretty much everything that she does fits more closely with her role as a “Vampire.”



The eventual defeat of Asa is carried out by Andre, now in love with Katia, while Katia herself is unconscious. This clearly represents a massive lost opportunity. The opening scene established that Asa was originally condemned by her own brother, almost certainly Katia’s ancestor. Her obsession with Katia should then, logically, have at least some aspect of revenge. However, instead of showing the two squaring off, Katia is used as a generic damsel in distress throughout the film, and the story closes with her being rescued.



The music of this movie comes across as fairly weak as well, often being misused to kill the mood of a given scene. For example, when Katia is first bitten and receives treatment from Andre, the music tells us this is romantic, rather than frightening. Obviously such a scene can be used to build up sexual tension, but treating someone’s Vampire bite should not be dealt with so casually. Furthermore, when the movie does deliver even minor shocks, it often punctuates it with music that goes over-the-top, as if director Mario Bava invented the unnecessary jump-scare decades early.



Of all the Italian films on this list, this is the one with which I was the least impressed by far. None of them make a lot of sense, but most of them draw you in with creative visuals so that you don’t really care about the plot. However, this movie lacks that level of creativity, instead giving us a second-rate Dracula. And therefore, this is one of the few movies on this list that I generally don’t recommend.

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