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Kill, Baby...Kill! (1968)
Directed by: Mario Bava
Starring: Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Erika Blanc
Hammer horror, Italian style? That was my first thought when I started watching Kill, Baby...Kill! It has the look and feel of a Hammer horror movie (not a bad thing in my book), but it soon becomes apparent that this is a cut above most of what that eminent British studio had to offer.
A coroner arrives in a small Italian village to investigate the mysterious death of a woman, only to find the townsfolk living in fear of something of which they refuse to speak. As he and his beautiful assistant investigate further, it soon becomes evident that the reason for their dread centers around the Villa Graps and a mysterious young girl who appears as a harbinger of death. The coroner is a sensible man, refusing to believe in the supernatural, but soon even he must admit that the deaths that plague the town are caused by something not of this world. A curse? A ghost? It will take all his courage and determination to discover the truth.
I became a fan of director Mario Bava because of his brilliant cinematography; his camera shots are outstanding and his use of light and dark and color to create a mood are brilliant. Unfortunately, the scripts of some of his films don't live up to the amazing camera work, but this is not the case in Kill, Baby...Kill! The story is strong, and the way Bava lets it slowly develop, gradually revealing bits of information to his hero and the audience heightens the suspense. The performances by the cast are also generally very good, especially by the secondary characters.
On the whole, this ranks as one of my favorite Bava films, right up there with his gothic horror masterpiece Black Sunday. I definitely recommend this one, especially if you're a fan of old horror films. You won't be disappointed.
Kill, Baby...Kill! (1968)
Directed by: Mario Bava
Starring: Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Erika Blanc
Hammer horror, Italian style? That was my first thought when I started watching Kill, Baby...Kill! It has the look and feel of a Hammer horror movie (not a bad thing in my book), but it soon becomes apparent that this is a cut above most of what that eminent British studio had to offer.
A coroner arrives in a small Italian village to investigate the mysterious death of a woman, only to find the townsfolk living in fear of something of which they refuse to speak. As he and his beautiful assistant investigate further, it soon becomes evident that the reason for their dread centers around the Villa Graps and a mysterious young girl who appears as a harbinger of death. The coroner is a sensible man, refusing to believe in the supernatural, but soon even he must admit that the deaths that plague the town are caused by something not of this world. A curse? A ghost? It will take all his courage and determination to discover the truth.
I became a fan of director Mario Bava because of his brilliant cinematography; his camera shots are outstanding and his use of light and dark and color to create a mood are brilliant. Unfortunately, the scripts of some of his films don't live up to the amazing camera work, but this is not the case in Kill, Baby...Kill! The story is strong, and the way Bava lets it slowly develop, gradually revealing bits of information to his hero and the audience heightens the suspense. The performances by the cast are also generally very good, especially by the secondary characters.
On the whole, this ranks as one of my favorite Bava films, right up there with his gothic horror masterpiece Black Sunday. I definitely recommend this one, especially if you're a fan of old horror films. You won't be disappointed.