BLOOD AND BLACK LACE

(A.k.a. SEI DONNE PER L'ASSASSINO; SIX WOMEN FOR THE MURDERER; FASHION HOUSE OF DEATH)

While Mario Bava's THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH is widely regarded as the first giallo picture, it was BLOOD AND BLACK LACE that saw the Italian auteur truly define the mechanics of the genre, while making an impressive leap from the Gothic black-and-white photography of his masterful BLACK SUNDAY and demonstrating a consummate understanding of the use of colour in a horror film.

The story revolves around a group of pretty young models who are killed off one-by-one by a masked assassin. All the victims - and their bosses (Cameron Mitchell and Eva Bartok), plus a couple of lovers and hangers-on - are grouped together in a grand old fashion house in Rome. Furthermore, all are keen to get their hands on a diary that had been kept by the first fatality. It seems that each individual has something that they're keen to keep hidden ... in other words, as the body count mounts, there are no shortage of suspects!

The story is amazingly economic, affording Bava the freedom to concentrate almost entirely on atmosphere and visuals. This he does with aplomb. The opening credits, where each cast member stands mannequin-esque alongside their name in the titles, are swathed in deep hues of red and green. The remainder of the film follows suit. It's glorious to look at: the distinctive European art decor, stylish models' attire and coloured lighting all conspire to make this a visual feast. Not to mention, of course, the director's eye for composition: there's not a frame in the entire movie that doesn't dazzle with finesse.

But LACE also relies on some great hammy performances. Mitchell is on top form; Bartok revels as the icily beautiful matriarchal figure to her hapless models. There's also a sadistic pleasure felt from Bava as he slays his pretty cast. Much has been made of the film being a possible metaphor for Bava's fear of the opposite sex, or perhaps his own reservations about being unfaithful to the wife he was never truly happy with. The graphic (for their time) murders - a metal claw in the face; a bathtub drowning; a face burnt on a stove - represent a misogynistic urge to "destroy beauty".

You can explore the politics that motivate the film, of course, and enjoy the subtexts that lurk not far beneath the surface. Taking pleasure in the film's modernisation of 'whodunit' tropes popularised previously by authors such as Edgar Wallace and Agatha Christie is a given. But it's equally fun to simply sit back and enjoy BLOOD AND BLACK LACE on face value - as a gloriously shot, vividly colourful and gleefully mischievous "guess who?" with Gothic horror leanings.

For such a seminal film, it seems absurd to the point of virtual criminality that Bava's movie has never really been treated well on domestic release. Enter Arrow Video to rectify all that, with this stunning blu-ray and DVD combo package.

We were sent the region-free blu-ray to review. And it's a stunner.

The film is presented in its original 1.66:1 aspect ratio and has, of course, been enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Encoded as a healthily sized MPEG4-AVC file, we get a stunning new 2K restoration from original negative materials which presents the film like never before. The benefits of full 1080p HD resolution are evident from the start - pin-sharp detail, luminous colours that pop off the screen, and increased sense of filmic depth. Aside from all that, a fine layer of grain reassures us that no noise-reducing tomfoolery has been going on here; the print used is clean, and the restoration job is painstakingly faithful to the source material. Trust me, this is immense.

Mono audio gets the Master DTS-HD treatment in both Italian and English languages. I opted for the former to begin with, and then the latter upon second viewing. I preferred the latter as it matches the actors' mouths better. Both tracks are clean and clear throughout. Optional English subtitles are well-written and easily readable at all times.

The disc opens to an animated main menu page which makes great use of the movie's iconic opening score. From there, a pop-up scene selection menu allows access to the film via 12 chapters.

Bonus features are plentiful.

They begin with a thorough audio commentary track from the world's leading Bava expert Tim Lucas. He celebrates the beauty of this new restoration while offering insights into all manner of things: stunts that went wrong on the shoot; subtleties in the plot; speculation over Bava's own opinions on extra-marital sex; actors' backgrounds; the sublime use of colour (including, 22 minutes in, his own suggestion of what may be the perfect example of how to use colour in a horror film); how the film was dubbed, and much more. He even points out bits where Bava had clearly filmed more violent footage but decided against it prior to release, consequently cutting it. This really is fascinating stuff - and it's a newly recorded commentary, not the one featured on the VCI DVD of a few years back.

"Psycho Analysis" is a new 55-minute documentary exploring the film and its impact on giallo cinema. Various genre writers contribute here, along with Dario Argento and Bava's son Lamberto. Interspersed with attractive clips from the main feature, this is an intriguing feature in which the nature of gialli is explored, along with musings on how BLOOD AND BLACK LACE manages to retain such impact. In Italian with English subtitles.

A 10-minute chat with Helen Cattet and Bruno Forzani, co-directors of AMER and THE STRANGE COLOUR OF YOUR BODY'S TEARS, offers the filmmakers' own thoughts on LACE's enduring influence and how it defines gialli. They speak of the genre's fetishist nature and its renowned "mise en scene", among other things. In French with English subtitles.

YELLOW is the highly acclaimed 26-minute neo-giallo offering from Ryan Haysom, in which a dogged middle-aged man (Stephen M Gilbert) drives around the streets of 1980s Berlin obsessed with tracking down a vicious serial killer of women. The film is certainly slick and heavily stylised - there's no faulting either the camerawork, production design or editing - but exists as an almost dialogue-free visual homage to gialli along the lines of Cattet and Forzani's works. There is some good gore - overseen by Olaf Ittenbach, no less - but the overall effect is definitely one of style over substance. Still, it looks great in HD.

Michael McKenzie narrates softly over a 38-minute examination of giallo themes and trends. Clips and stills from films such as BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, SHORT NIGHT OF THE GLASS DOLLS, DEEP RED and ALL THE COLOURS OF THE DARK aid this one visually. It makes for an interesting diversion.

The fun just keeps on coming with "Blood and Bava", a panel discussion including Argento, Lamberto Bava and Steve Della Casa. This was recorded at the 2014 Courmayeur Film Festival, along with interviews that make up the aforementioned "Psycho Analysis" feature.

It makes for an entertaining 11 minutes, even if it's essentially an audio discussion set to a succession of stills from the event. Argento recalls working with Bava on INFERNO; Lamberto is prompted by Della Casa to proffer even more on the happening.

An episode of David Del Valle's "Sinister Image" TV series follows. This 2-part offering is shown in full, resulting in a hugely enjoyable 56-minute tribute to Mitchell's career. The image quality is understandably ropy, but there's no denying the content - clips from many old exploitation films, interviews with Mitchell - is priceless.

The film's original trailer and alternate US opening titles (2 minutes) are also correct and present for completists.

This sublime set is rounded off by double-sided reversible cover art and a collectors' booklet, neither of which were made available for the purpose of this review.

BLOOD AND BLACK LACE stands the test of time as not only a blueprint for the giallo genre that followed, but also as one of the greatest horror films of all time. It provides sheer classy entertainment from start to finish. And Arrow's blu-ray release of the film is pretty much perfect.

Also available in limited Steelbook packaging.

An essential purchase.

Review by Stuart Willis