Mario Bava’s Blood and Black Lace, one of the earliest Giallo films, is still regarded as a classic in the genre, having stood the test of time for more than 60 years since its initial release. Surprisingly, the film was initially poorly received by critics and audiences alike. It wasn’t until 1970, when the Giallo genre became a popular trend in Italian cinema, thanks to Dario Argento’s The Bird with Crystal Plumage, that Blood and Black Lace began to gain traction and recognition, with many pointing out that Argento had borrowed elements (such as the design of murder sequences, eroticism, etc.) from Bava’s film.
Isabella (Francesca Ungaro), a young model employed at Christian Haute Couture, a Roman fashion house that is co-managed by Massimo Morlacchi (Cameron Mitchell) and recently widowed Countess Christina Cuomo (Eva Bartok), is murdered by a mysterious masked figure. During a fashion show, Nicole (Arianna Gorini), a fellow model, discovers Isabella’s secret diary, which contains dirt on all her colleagues and incriminating evidence against the killer. In trying to obtain the diary, the killer begins murdering the models one by one, leading Inspector Silvestri (Thomas Reiner), who is investigating the case, to believe that the culprit is a sex fanatic who murders beautiful girls. Things get interesting when another murder happens even after Inspector Silvestri has kept all the possible suspects under custody. Who might be the killer?
The plot, which revolves around love, jealousy, and betrayal, isn’t particularly unique, but the screenplay structure is what keeps this film engrossing. The first two acts keep us engaged, owing primarily to meticulously designed kill sequences, especially the one that takes place at an antique shop. The sequence begins with the victim arriving at the shop to meet its owner, Franco (Dante Di Paolo). She looks everywhere for him but cannot find him. And then, out of nowhere, the killer attacks her, leaving her terrified for her life. She makes a valiant effort to evade his assaults and flee the shop, but just as she is ready to unlock the door with the keys, the killer suddenly attacks her and kills her with a spiked glove. It is a masterfully staged and executed scene, and its unique quality stems from its immaculate production design, paired with the effective utilization of colors and light. The entire shop looks densely packed with antiques such as ancient military armor, sculptures, mirrors, furniture, etc., giving the impression that the killer could be hiding anywhere. Furthermore, the flickering lights and the use of blue and red colors create an unsettling and foreboding atmosphere that will undoubtedly terrify the viewers.
As an intriguing plot point, the screenplay discloses the perpetrator’s identity by the end of the second act, which only serves to heighten the audience’s curiosity—after all, the killer had a solid alibi and couldn’t have killed at that precise moment. However, the screenplay answers that question at the beginning of the third act, and the remainder of the film focuses on the killer’s plan of escaping scott-free by making someone else a scapegoat and escaping suspicion. As a result, this leaves the audience guessing, right up until the credits roll, if the killer can successfully carry out their plan.
The production values of Blood and Black Lace appear impressive, even though the film had a minimal budget (lower than Bava’s earlier works). The film also features some visceral and graphic visuals that will linger with you long after you’ve seen it. The most prominent example includes a scene where two dead bodies are placed side by side and lit from below, making them look more sinister, and another scene towards the end shows the killer drowning a victim in the bathtub and cutting their wrist as the blood slowly flows from the wrists and approaches the victim’s dead face in the water. The bathtub scene has been imitated in several films, including J. Lee Thompson’s Happy Birthday to Me (1981), Martin Scorsese’s Kundun (1995), and Dario Argento’s Two Evil Eyes (1990).
Blood and Black Lace movie links: IMDB, Letterboxd
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