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Mario Bava Box Set (2001)

Rating: 4 Stars (out of 4)

Black Fun Day

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy The Mario Bava Box Set on DVD.

This 2001 box set from VCI Entertainment includes: The Whip and the Body (1963), Blood and Black Lace (1964) and Kill, Baby... Kill! (1966). Italian horror master Mario Bava (1914-1980) brought bold, lurid color to the horror film with a vengeance in these three classics.

The Whip and the Body stars Christopher Lee in a story about ghostly deaths and revenge (Bava directed the film under the pseudonym John Old). Blood and Black Lace kicks off the serial killer genre as a group of fashion models gets knocked off one by one while everyone tries to get their hands on a secret diary. This is arguably Bava's most accomplished work, executed with a dazzling, unprecedented use of bright colors and deep shadows.

Both films come in new color, letterboxed transfers with a choice of Italian or English soundtracks (the films were shot in various different languages, so neither track is "correct") as well as commentary tracks and loads of extras.

This is not the case, however, with the rare Kill, Baby... Kill! which tells the story of a doctor who arrives to perform an autopsy in a small village terrorized by the ghost of a young girl. The best available print of the film was apparently in pretty bad shape. Still, it's possibly the most thrilling of the three films, and despite scratches and flaws in the film stock, the colors and images come through fairly strong and sharp.

Bava's intense, spooky atmosphere and masterful vision inspired many others, from Italy's Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci, to America's Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino. This superb box set is a must for Halloween.

Starring: Christopher Lee, Daliah Lavi, Tony Kendall, Cameron Mitchell, Eva Bartok, Thomas Reiner, Ariana Gorini, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Erika Blanc, Fabienne Dali, Piero Lulli, etc.
Written by: Mario Bava, Marcello Fondato, etc.
Directed by: Mario Bava
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Language: English, Italian with English subtitles
Date: October 31, 2001