HALLOWEEN HORRORS: I VAMPIRI

When police find the body of a young woman floating in the river Seine, journalist Pierre Lantin (Michaelis) embarks on a personal crusade, aiming to solve the mystery of the so-called 'Vampire Murders.' The latest in a series of blood-drained corpses leads our intrepid newshound to a castle owned by the Duchess du Grand, whose neice, Gisele (Canale), adds further to a troubled history shared by the Lantin family and her own flesh and blood.

Often referred to as the first Italian horror film, I Vampiri started life as a bet between Riccardo Freda and two Italian film producers who wagered that Freda would not be able to shoot his proposed feature inside 12 days. The rest, as they say, is history. With 2 days left and only 50% of the script translated into film, Freda asked for an extension and was duly turned down. Freda walked, Mario Bava stepped in and managed to complete the film, courtesy of major script changes, the inclusion of stock footage and some truly inspired photography. The end result may occasionally reflect the rather bizarre production deal, but it's still a fascinating and visually impressive film which is strong enough to carry the weight of two great directors.

Freda's love of the macabre is well to the fore here, rubbing shoulders with Bava's already considerable talents to deliver suspense and shock in equal measure. As Bava's grand design unveils eerie candlelit tombs, hidden passageways leading to corpse-ridden rooms and, best of all, a remarkable transformation scene, the excellent cast grow in stature: Micahelis, promoted by Bava from supporting actor to major player; Canale, impossibly gorgeous as the cold-hearted beauty harbouring a dark secret; Antoine Balpetri's harrassed scientist, who is in just as much of a hurry as his director - in this case to produce results for a less-than model patient - and Paul Muller as a drug addict who exists on a supply-and-supply basis. Although Muller's character suffers from the directorial switch (the ligature marks on his neck are, literally, from another film entirely), this should not detract too much from a stylish study in terror which thoroughly deserved its promotion to DVD. While Image's disc presentation looks way too bright and washed-out in places, it generally provides a sharp, stable picture with bags of detail in those wonderfully spooky castle interiors. B+ for the transfer and the same for the film which marked the formative steps of a golden age.

A TRUE MAESTRO OF THE MACABRE

Although HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON has been out for quite a while, copies are still available in the UK for the bargain price of £3.99 at play.com. This Region 2 Anchor Bay release features a glorious transfer of what may be Mario Bava's most personal film, and I'll doubtless chat about it at some stage in the future. For now, I'd like to turn the spotlight on an excellent 60 minute documentary which can be found on this same DVD as a special bonus feature.

MARIO BAVA: MAESTRO OF THE MACABRE contains a winning combination of interviews with family, friends, colleagues and admirers, with the added value of film clips and rare stills. Narrated by Mark Kermode, MOTM offers nostalgic glimpses of Bava's life with son Lamberto, grandson Roy and granddaughter Georgia remembering the man with pride and great affection.The aforementioned family members are slotted in amongst such talented film writers as our very own Kim Newman, and Bava biographer Tim Lucas, while Tim Burton, Joe Dante and Daria Nicolodi are amongst those representing the film world. This, together with the main feature, represents a solid introduction to those yet to dip a toe into Mario's filmography, and it's also required viewing for fans of long standing who seek out anything and everything relating to probably the most imaginative director in Horror Cinema. The likes of BLACK SUNDAY, TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE and BLACK SABBATH are featured in clips that compel one to reach for those wonderful Anchor Bay boxsets, reminding us that Bava accomplished so very much with so very little money.

Of course, Bava had his critics just like any other director, and has been accused of caring more about the imagery than the performances of his cast. While Bava may not have been an actor's director in the truest sense of the term, his experience and eye for detail ensured no-one looked out of place. Indeed, Tim Lucas makes a brilliant point when he observes Bava always knew if an actor was visually right for a film. That's why the likes of Barbara Steele and Rada Rassimov will live in our minds forever. When Tim Burton declares that "Images are the story" right at the end of this doc, we are reminded that Bava's films were often shot in a parallel dreamworld where the line between the living and the dead are wafer thin. MOTM is testament to a great career which has recently been afforded reverential treatment in book and DVD form.

While we're not quite there in terms of authorised releases of all Bava's directorial output, the Anchor Bay boxsets offer practically definitive versions of most of his major works and missing titles will most likely surface in the not-too distant. Those who wish to learn everything there is to know are directed to Tim Lucas' book which is quite simply the finest book on film I've had the pleasure of reading.

MARIO BAVA: MAESTRO OF THE MACABRE makes for a wholly worthwhile companion to the above treasures and bring back memories of the Fantasm Festival in 1998 at London's NFT. The month of July saw a major retrospective of Bava's films. A friend of mine who lives in London managed to attend every screening during this amazing run, and I was lucky enough to see KILL, BABY...KILL!, DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE GIRL BOMBS, DANGER: DIABOLIK and BARON BLOOD on the big screen. The only film missing from this festival was RABID DOGS, and Alan Jones explained that Lea Lander held the print and refused to release it. Thanks to Alan's sterling efforts, we all savoured the chance to see such classic titles on a cinema screen and KILL, BABY...KILL! had quite an effect on my group of friends. Indeed, as we stepped out onto The South Bank on a hot July evening (remember those?) after the screening, I shivered for a good few seconds as I recalled the images of a little girl reaching from beyond the grave into the land of the living. Alan Jones was involved in the MOTM release, acting as consultant and interviewer but it would have been nice to see him onscreen, adding to the tributes for a great director. Jones did more than anyone to raise Bava's profile in the UK. Our thanks go to him and all the others who did so much to aid our discovery and enjoyment of this maestro of the macabre.

IT'S ARRIVED!

The Mario Bava Collection Volume 2 arrived today, all the way from the US.

Thanks to DVD Pacific for getting to it to me so quickly. I've had a busy day off work today and it's late now so I think I'll start checking out the contents tomorrow. Of course, it's October 31st tomorrow and my wife and I plan to watch John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN after I get done with work tomorrow evening. This may seem a predictable choice of film, but it was a particular favourite of my wife and I before we met and we've never watched this film together. After we've dealt with Myers and co, I think some Bava would be a good choice and BARON BLOOD will perfectly suit such an occasion. Whatever you're doing or viewing, enjoy your evening.

THE YEAR OF THE BAVA

Over at MOON IN THE GUTTER, Jeremy has reminded us that Volume 2 of The Mario Bava collection has just started shipping. I've had my copy on order for some weeks now and am greatly looking forward to seeing pristine transfers for, amongst others, LISA AND THE DEVIL and BARON BLOOD; two films that have not fared well on DVD in terms of visual quality. While I patiently wait for this set, I'm working my way through Tim Lucas' staggering book on this great director. This really is the year of the Bava, so I thought I'd post a review of my own favourite film from the vol 1 Bava set. It's a review I wrote a few years back and has been updated with regard to the gorgeous transfer from the aforementioned box.



KILL, BABY...KILL!


That wafer-thin line between the living and the dead has been crossed by many directors but few, I'll wager, could walk the walk like Mario Bava. With the sole exception of Lisa And The Devil, Bava had to work with meagre budgets and tight schedules, relying on ingenuity, imagination and those painterly eyes that created some of the most vivid nightmares ever committed to celluloid.Kill, Baby...Kill! pits science and law against the forces of evil when Dr. Paul Eswai (Rossi-Stuart) and Inspector Kruger (Lulli) arrive at the small Transylvanian village of Kremingen; the latter in response to a letter from one extremely frightened girl who was found impaled on iron railings before Kruger could reach the village. Eswai is asked to perform an autopsy, aided by Monica (Blanc), an ex-local girl who returns home to find her birthplace gripped by fear. As Bava works his magic, we slowly discover the legend of Melissa Graps (played by a young boy , Valeri) , a 7 year old girl who, many years earlier, bled to death following an accident while drunken villagers ignored her cries for help. Now, those who catch sight of her unquiet spirit suffer a similar fate while her mother (Vivaldi) presides over the family villa, surrounded by memories and fuelled by hate.Although Bava is often cited as a master of style over substance, Kill, Baby...Kill! is a veritable feast for lovers of the macabre who like nothing better than a tale well told. A frightened coach driver who reluctantly delivers Eswai into a place of evil; terrified villagers who form a wall of silence; a sorceress (Dali', echoing Rada Rassimov's character in Bava's Baron Blood) who uses 'the old ways' to ward off the dead; wonderful mist-shrouded night scenes where a tolling bell signals another impending death.... a familiar storyline with stock characters? To an extent, yes, but even though we're on familiar ground, the soil seems firm and fresh, thanks to Bava's supreme technical skill, coupled with his unerring ability to get under the skin of what really scares us. Here, the spectral figure of Melissa Graps takes centre stage, emerging as one of Bava's eeriest and most imitated creations. This 'bambino diavolo' has inspired the likes of Martin Scorsese (The Last Temptation Of Christ) and Federico Fellini (Toby Dammit, from Spirits Of The Dead), who took note of the images of a child clad in white, emerging from the shadows of half-lit corridors, peering through windows with a malevolent, death-dealing stare or, most chilling of all, perched on a swing, her laughter peeling through the cold night air: wish I had a gold coin (embedded in the heart, perhaps?) for every film that wheels on a child's ball bouncing down the stairs to land at the feet of the living.Melissa's evil mother also succeeds in quickening the pulse rate, at first commanding our sympathy and then moving to the other end of the scale as her part in this story becomes apparent. Long-time admirers/potential newcomers to this film can now choose between several DVD releases, though Kill, Baby...Kill! has yet to receive the red carpet treatment it so richly deserves. My first encounter ocurred several years ago, courtesy of a 3rd gen bootleg tape, followed by a poor quality print shown at London's NFT during their wonderful Mario Bava retrospective. The release of VCI's Region 1 DVD finally hinted that Kill, Baby...Kill! could turn out to be another piece of Bava eye candy. While it's nice to see a version of this film with acceptable colour saturation, it must be noted that flesh tones are on the dull side and there are many instances of grain and print damage. Brentwood Home Video's Fright Night collection (approx $15) contains 10 movies of varying a/v quality, but their presentation of Kill, Baby...Kill! was the best I'd seen. As one would expect, Brentwood have not delivered a pristine version, but the colours are much bolder than on the VCI disc with more detail in those macabre set designs. Unfortunately, both the Brentwood and VCI discs are pan-and-scan, hampering Bava's widescreen compositions.Happily, the situation was corrected earlier in 2007 via Anchor Bay's marvellous Mario Bava collection Volume 1. Here, you'll find a truly beautiful transfer, in the correct aspect ratio. This reverential treatment ensures we can at last be privy to Bava's original vision and the film look a good deal more eerie, thanks to this long-awaited release. Aka: Curse of the Dead, Die Toten Augen des Dr. Dracula, Operazione Paura