Review #343: 'Blood and Black Lace' (1964)

When Isabella (Francesca Ungaro), a model, is brutally killed on the grounds of a fashion house by a masked killer, investigator Sylvester (Thomas Reiner) is called in. He discovers a nervous misfit group of employees and models, all seemingly nervous about the pending investigation. When Countess Cristina Como (Eva Bartok) finds Isabella's diary amongst her belongings, tensions run high, and a wave of corruption, drug abuse and blackmail is slowly uncovered as the body count piles up and the killer searches for the diary.

Generally considered as one of the most influential giallos ever made, Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace oozes style and blood. Opening with a quite stunning credits sequence, the cast are framed in beautifully lit shots alongside the mannequins of the fashion house. It's a great introduction to one of the most gorgeous horrors I've ever seen. I've long admired the style of Dario Argento (his Inferno (1980) and Opera (1987) are up there with the most stylistic) but this film blows him out the water in terms of sheer beauty. The early set piece which sees the killer stalk a model through the underbelly of the fashion house employs bright reds and blues, and it's a hugely effective way to juxtapose the beautiful with the ugly (the inevitable murder).

Yet Black Lace seems to be a work of style over substance, and while there is a bucket load of style, there's precious little substance. Sylvestor's investigation is a prime focus early on, but seems to disappear when the revelation comes. The revelation itself is easily guessable, as the many red herrings are far too obvious, and the reasons behind the murders is a simply written story about blackmail. It was a flop on its release after Bava's two commercially successful films, Black Sunday (1960) and Black Sabbath (1963), and it's not too difficult to see why. I feel I'm yet to see the best of Bava (apart from the excellent Danger: Diabolik (1968) I have only seen the relatively flat A Bay of Blood (1971)), but I'm confident his reputation is there for a reason, and I'll look forward to discovering his better works.


Directed by: Mario Bava
Starring: Cameron Mitchell, Eva Bartok, Thomas Reiner
Country: Italy/France/Monaco

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie