What an absolute classic.
_Black Sunday_ was the first Mario Bava movie I ever saw. It was also my introduction to the Queen herself, Barbara Steele.
What we get here is a masterpiece of gothic horror, that fits nicely in between Universal monster movies, and Hammer horror.
A fair amount of gore, but it's never as gruesome as it could be. Throughout, the film maintains an elegance with beautiful black-and-white images of foggy cemeteries, dark woods, and stormy landscapes.
Now, the movie is not without its flaws: it lags a lot in the second act, and there could have been a few more minutes devoted to developing the characters. However, the hits vastly outweigh the misses. With such a strong opening and ending, I can't knock off too many points. Not to mention, this was made in 1960. What a trailblazer! And, let's be honest here, the pre-existing horror template was Universal, and those movies - classics though they may be - are heavily flawed.
Surprisingly good special effects, and the acting is tastefully subdued - again, I have to stress that this was 1960 when the direction for horror was over-the-top acting that is laughable today. Truly ahead of its time.
_Black Sunday_ does so much with shadows, camera angles, and shots that are set up behind branches or other objects, giving it an eerie feel like a sinister force is lurking, and we're seeing all of this from its point of view.
This is totally a must watch during October. Fans of classic Universal horror or just black-and-white horror, in general, need to watch this.
Barbara Steele at her best, and likely the same for Bava.