Customer Reviews for
A Blade In The Dark
Killing is a Contact Sport!!
A landlord and a meeting, a foolish inquiry into some unsolved demises after this point in time, and even more deaths to follow as foolishness keeps searching. This is one of the wonderful things about Bava's film - you really get to have your cake and eat a lot of it, and sometimes the frosting is lavishly eclectic.
The bizarre becomes even more bizarre, making the oddity interesting.
Sometimes I want to take a look back at the Eurofilms and ask certain questions, but when you look at the people in these movies and even the movies themselves, you have to remember the era of film you are in AND you have to remember exactly where your film is coming from. Italian cinema was a gore-fueled beast that worked off of low cost, kicking out themes that other countries would often ban. Italian films, especially those made in the Slasher-film's Golden age, were also created with dialog that could be formatted to anyone's lips quickly (the old Sergio Leone trick perfected in his Westerns) despite the language they were dubbed onto, were filled with people that were simply picked out on a shoestring budget that didn't allow for veterans of the trade, and were graded on a curve that leaned more toward the graphic nature of the story and not toward plot-points or acting prowess..
So, how do you deal with the problem of acting? You cover each actor with gore and you do it with style so that everyone remembers it and not the dialog.
Sometimes, when watching some of the more gruesome deaths, I wonder if they were dreamed up because of specific actors? The instruments used, for example, and the situations they were used in; in the states these things were taken from our Slasher movies and, when imported in their first outings, a lot of the shots were deemed gruesome enough hat they would have to be hacked up and retitled just to get some time on a store's shelves.
It was in movies like this that I learned about drills and flutes and other implements that could kill, for example, and why they were used. In one film I read something Argento was quoted as saying about this type of film, stating that "most people have never been shot, so using a gun only give into a fear of what people have seen in the movies. In you drop a person into a vat of razors, however, people know how a razor feels and can identify with that." Since Bava worked with Argento alot, I think he knew this all-too-well.
For people who like Italian horror, gore-films, or 80s slashers, then this might be fun to try out.
A Blade In The Dark
Average giallo with above average gore
I don't really envy Lamberto Bava. Sure, he's a director in the movie business, which means he comes into contact with very hot chicks on a daily basis. That would definitely rank as a plus in my book. His career also means he doesn't have to put up with the daily grind like the rest of us mere mortals. Another plus, I think. A final positive? He makes horror flicks. That's fun with a capital 'F'. He gets to stage all sorts of bloody mayhem, capture it on film, and entertain weirdos the world over. I still don't envy him, though. Why? Look at his last name. Having the name "Bava" in the horror business would be the equivalent of laboring under the title "Spielberg" or "Lucas" in the United States. Lamberto Bava is the son of Mario Bava, a legendary Italian filmmaker who could lens a movie in any genre with astonishing ease. Mario made romantic comedies, westerns, science fiction, gialli, and a host of horror films. I've never seen a Mario Bava film that I disliked. All of his pictures contain that certain something that makes them a good viewing experience. Lamberto, on the other hand, has a tough time living up to his father's reputation.
"A Blade in the Dark" is a giallo, one of those infamous Italian murder mysteries larded with red herrings, an enigmatic killer, and hot babes. It was only a matter of time before Lamberto tried to cover ground previously explored by his father. This movie is the result, and it's not a winner. The story focuses on Bruno (Andrea Occhipinti), a composer currently scoring a horror film for his director friend Sandra (Anny Papa). The opening of "A Blade in the Dark" shows a bit of the film Bruno's laboring on. A scene unfolds in which three kids, one of them played by Giovanni Frezza (one of the most annoying child actors in the history of the world, by the way), dare one another to descend into a darkened basement. Down the stairs goes the kid, and seconds later a bloody ball comes bouncing out of the darkness! Huh? Oh well. It's all a set up to get us into the story of Bruno and the strangeness he's about to encounter in the seaside villa Sandra set him up in so the composer could create a masterpiece. From the sound of the music he's banging out on his keyboard, I think it's safe to say John Williams doesn't have much to worry about.
The hijinks kick into high gear when Bruno discovers a woman, Katia (Valeria Cavalli), hiding in one of the house's closets. Hmmm. That's weird. Anyway, the two engage in mindless dialogue before Katia sneaks off and leaves the house. She's brutally murdered outside by some kook sporting a utility knife and clad in female attire. Bruno, noticing Katia's sudden disappearance, goes looking form her only to discover a diary she dropped outside. A clue! Upon reading the diary, Bruno learns some intriguing bits about the villa's former occupant, a woman named Linda. It's intriguing enough that Bruno begins to delve a bit deeper into the history of the house. He finds a locked door downstairs that he can't get into, and learns that the room has something to do with Linda. While all this is going down, other women suddenly show up only to fall into the psycho's orbit. Bruno's girlfriend Julia (Lara Naszinsky) and Katia's friend Angela (Fabiola Toledo) both meet their grim end in or around the seaside villa. What's going on? It turns out that the answers lie in the very film Bruno is working on. Prepare yourself for a shocking denouement in which the movie reveals all.
I'm sort of kidding about a "shocking denouement". "A Blade in the Dark" isn't really shocking at all in terms of plot or character development. What we're dealing with here is an average, muddled giallo that doesn't live up to anything made by Mario Bava (or Dario Argento, for that matter). I had a tough time keeping track of what happened as the film progressed, and the conclusion is a real groaner in terms of logic. Another negative plaguing the film is the lousy dubbing. Really, this movie contains some of the worst dubbing in the history of cinema. It's so laughable and distracting that it takes away from the movie's impact. What rescues the movie from the garbage bin is the gory kills. We see women sliced and diced with that utility knife in ways that will make the hardcore gore fans cringe. The killer wraps one gal's head in plastic and then proceeds to slam it repeatedly against a tiled countertop until she dies. The stabbings go on and on in nauseating detail. The murders in "A Blade in the Dark" are so violent that even Europeans had problems with the film. Too, it's hard to ignore the inherent misogyny in these crimes. Those wacky Italians!
Anchor Bay, which I'm told doesn't exist anymore thanks to a buyout, brings us a great DVD version of the movie. The picture and audio quality should keep most buyers happy, as will the extras on the disc. We get a trailer for the film, liner notes from Mario Bava historian Tim Lucas, and a twenty-minute interview with Lamberto Bava and scriptwriter Dardano Sacchetti. This last feature, called "Behind the Blade," is neat to watch, as the two men reminisce about making films on a low budget and offer their opinions about the film business in general. So there you go. If you like gialli, you'll definitely want to give "A Blade in the Dark" a shot. It's not nearly as good as the movies made by Lamberto's father or those from Dario Argento, but the excessive gore and laughable dub job should keep you marginally entertained for an hour and a half. Three stars.A Blade In The Dark
Entertaining Enough. 3.5
This is the only Lamberto Bava movie I've seen, and it's pretty good. It's a giallo, and massively influenced by Dario Argento's work, particularly 'Tenebre'. (On which Bava was a assistant director, I believe) And no, it's not as good as that movie, or 'Deep Red' or 'Opera', but if you like all those films I think you'll at least find this to be quite watchable, and there's a good chance that you'll rather like it.
As with all giallo or slasher films, the quality of this film is primarily derived from how interesting the murder/horror scenes are. Fortunately, the ones here are quite good. Unfortunately, all the other aspects of this film are a bit sub par, but this doesn't effect the overall enjoyment level of this film much. 'A Blade in the Dark' was originally made with Italian television in mind, which likely hurt the film in a number of ways. First of all, it doesn't appear to have been made with an English audience in mind, so the dubbing isn't up to snuff, either in terms of performance or translation.(And the dubbing/dialogue never tends to be very good in this sorta film) It is never really incoherent, I guess, but it's pretty damn inelegant most of the time, and is occasionally laughably stilted and unrealistic. That, and there are some rather weird translations, such as when one character refers to another as 'cockroach', in a manner which suggests that this is a term of endearment. The basic plot is that there is a musician living out in a large, empty house, where there are a number of murders.(Or apparent murders. They don't find the bodies until late in the film.) Part of the reason it doesn't work as a mystery is because it's trying to hard to hide the killers identity. Virtually everyone is setup as a potential suspect, but no one really stands out, and the only way to figure out the killer's identity would be to be abundantly familiar with the genre's clichés. And there isn't really much of an investigation. The characters just sorta sit around and talk about who the killer might be, or whether there really is a killer at all.
Yeah, this film is far from plausible, but I don't really buy that it is any less plausible than your average Argento film. Sure, nobody calls the police, but no charred dummies are mistaken for corpses, nor are vengeful ravens used to identify the killer(Opera), no apartments are left unwatched by the police despite the fact that the killer is known to have dropped a note off there, in person, and will almost certainly do so again (Tenebre) and the entire investigation does not depend upon sheer luck and happenstance (Deep Red). (Well, actually it arguably does, but that only makes it equally implausible) Still, the whole murder-mystery is less interesting than in those films, for the aforementioned reasons. The film also has some pacing problems, which I suspect may have been created by it's intended medium.(It would need to fit into a time slot, on TV) Thus, the latter portions of the film are a bit too talky, with characters frequently just sorta rambling on without really discovering much.
This film isn't as stylish as lots of other Italian stuff, but it's nicely crafted, particularly during the murder scenes. It lacks any elaborate camera movements or surreal sets and lighting, but it is nicely shot, and the murder scenes have got a nice rhythm to them. Sadly, the first two death scenes are definitely the most interesting ones. The first one is the best, and it's really quite brilliant. It's a very extended scene, showing both the stalking and killing, juxtaposed with shots of our musician protagonist working on his music, and the following disposal of the body, and the near discovery of it by said protagonist.(I can't come up with his name right now. Sorry.) The most effective part is when the killer is dragging the body over a staircase, with the head brutally thumping itself against the steps again and again. The next, more famed scene, is less extensive, but still quite impressive. It is one of the most brutal murders I've seen in this sort of film, and it has a fairly nice, extended buildup, but there are a few basic execution flaws. Most notably, it involves smashing someone's head against a counter, repeatedly, but the attempt is less than convincing, as the killer sometimes lifts the head all of an inch of the counter before smashing it again, and it often doesn't seem to be being done with any real force. That, and I swear the sound isn't quite in synch some of the time, so that the smashing sound doesn't come at the right moment.(I haven't watched it carefully enough to know for sure, however). Still, it's a very effective scene, with a very cold and vicious finish. The rest of the murder scenes aren't as interesting or original, but they get the job done. The film isn't terribly gory, but it is very forthright and harsh with the violence, which probably works better overall, and is fairly typical of this sort of film.
The film looks and sounds pretty decent, as you'd expect for an Anchor Bay release. Lastly, in case you didn't notice, you ought not to buy this version of the film, as there is the 'A Blade in the Dark'/'Macabre' disc which is also available. I haven't actually watched 'Macabre' yet, so I can't vouch for it's quality, but that disc only costs half as much as this one, and I'm betting that `Macabre' is worth -15 dollars, at the very least.A Blade In The Dark
You Are A Female! You Are A Female!
Lamberto Bava's A BLADE IN THE DARK from 1983 is one of the greatest giallos of all time regardless of the dubbing, which is rather incongruous and weird at times. This movie is a combination of the great Dario Argento's DEEP RED (my favorite giallo) and TENEBRE (Awesome ending!), where a composer is drawn into a bizarre murder mystery involving the former tenant of the villa that he's rented to compose a horror movie score. This movie had me on the edge of my seat whenever the killer was on the loose; the box cutter clicking made my skin crawl and the bathroom scene made me cringe with fear! The scene where the director of the horror movie in question gets strangled by the film of her own final reel, the one she doesn't anyone to see, left an impression on me; this was perfectly ironic and kind of humorous when you consider that the director is killed by her own movie! I also like the humorous tone of this movie (I actually read the booklet that came with the DVD, which is how I learned about the sense of humor); this must be a precursor to SCREAM in that respect.
Lamberto Bava learned a lot from his father Mario and Argento, with whom he worked with on INFERNO and TENEBRE, which is why this film is so good. I loved the music score in this one as well and I still have it stuck in my head as I write this review! In my opinion, although I knew about this movie since I read about it on Terrortrap.com (which summarized the entire film), the way the killer is revealed made me scream just like the ending in TENEBRE did! A must for giallo buffs and horror movie fans alike!A Blade In The Dark
God Has Punished Me, Yet Again...
Do not watch this DVD. It is soo scary and gave me nightnares. It would be real good to watch for Halloween in a dark room with your friends, if you have any after showing them this movie. It's too scary and good people are in it that act real good and scary. I ate popcorn while I watched and now I do that every night, pop popcorn and watch this movie in the dark, by myself, because all my friends are too scared to watch it over and over again, but not me. I like being scared. Especially around Halloween time and I also like owning two copies of this movie on DVD because I know I will wear the copy that I keep watching, because it's soo scary, out. So don't buy this DVD, because my copies might wear out and I'll need to buy another one and there's no telling when a scary movie like this will be real hard to find. Buy 'The Tigger Movie' because I own two copies of that one too and it's not soo scary but it's a good movie and I think that you will like it. But if you want to watch my copy of this DVD, I think that would be fine as long as you close your eyes with me during the scary parts, which come at different times of the movie. If you do find a used copy of this movie then buy it because I don't buy used copies and that would be fine. If there's anything that you want to know about this movie just ask because I know everything about it and all of the scary parts. I don't even know who could write such a scary movie, they must be real nice and smart, but scary too. Thank you for reading.A Blade In The Dark
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