Themes: Serial Killers, Woman In Jeopardy, Drug Trade
Main Cast: Luciano Pigozzi, Cameron Mitchell, Eva Bartok, Thomas Reiner, Arianna Gorini, Mary Arden, Claude Dantes
Release Year: 1964
Country: FR/IT/WG
Run Time: 90 minutes
Plot
Director Mario Bava's second thriller revolves around a fashion salon owned by wealthy Cristina (Eva Bartok) and her greedy lover Max (Cameron Mitchell). The salon is a front for cocaine-trafficking and blackmail, so when model Isabella (Lea Kruger) is viciously strangled, leaving a detailed diary behind, many of the people connected with the salon become very nervous. Isabella's roommate Nicole (Arianna Gorini) finds the diary and soon has her throat clawed out with a piece of medieval armor. Peggy (Mary Arden), who borrowed abortion money from Isabella, is tortured and has her face pressed into a red-hot iron. The bodies continue to pile up until a conspiracy is exposed and the perpetrators start getting their just desserts. Luciano Pigozzi, Massimo Righi, and Claude Dantes are among the cast. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
Review
Widely recognized as one of the earliest and influential of Italy's "giallo" films (pronounced "yellow" and so called for their similarity to a series of yellow-covered Italian crime novels), Blood and Black Lace is a perennial favorite among the fans of Italian director Mario Bava. Setting a fierce series of murders within a prestigious fashion house, Bava upped the ante on the genre with this often frightening thriller. Marked by its intense and brutal killings, numerous women die at the hands of a madman whose blank white mask is eerily void of expression or emotion. Many later slasher films owe their roots to this chilling Bava masterpiece. The director's most striking talent is his visual eye and use of color, which give the film a highly unique style and look. The brilliant use of primary hues serve as visual foreshadowing throughout the picture and make repeated viewings a fascinating necessity. The camera slowly lurks through the shadowy, mannequin-filled halls, capturing the stark beauty of the models -- and the striking brutality of their murders. The killings are highly disturbing in their savagery -- strangling, gouging, drowning, and a torturous scalding among them -- especially considering who the killer turns out to be. Bava's directorial excellence also extends to his cast, with stars Cameron Mitchell and Eva Bartok turning in especially solid performances. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
