It is also the first giallo shot in color. This film is gorgeous, one of the prime examples of how to shoot horror in color. It's pure candy-coated Eastmancolor beautiful mayhem. Some scenes are practically marinated in all sorts of hues, while even the "blander" scenes provide plenty of visual interest. The standout scene, IMHO, has to be the death in the antique store. I absolutely love this scene for its lighting. It's my favorite Bava sequence, though I'll readily admit I'm not as up on Bava as I should be.
Seriously. If anything, look this scene up. When I get my own house, I'm lighting my basement this way.
The plot revolves around models at a fashion house. One model, Isabella, is murdered before a big show. After her death, her diary is uncovered, which has a lot of salacious information. Unlike my diary. Which mostly has...well, I'll leave it at that.
Now whoever gets their hands on this diary is getting murdered, as well as other people involved in the whole mess. Soon the bodies start piling up, while some people keep quiet to save their own asses.
Visually, this film is a treat. It's like a bag of bloody Crazy Core Skittles. And every time I watch this film, I always notice a strange glow emanating from the screen. This just adds to the magic and pulls me in every time.
That said, I am gearing up to dodge a couple of projectiles, here. As gorgeous as everything is, I always lose interest in the last half hour or so. The plot begins to run out of steam, and there are too many endings. Once the identity of the killer(s) is revealed, there is another 15 minutes left to go. This ends up sucking the suspense out of the film.
Still, Blood and Black Lace is a film I wish more people would seek out. Click on my amazon.com link and buy it NOW...
And if you're stuck on what to get me for Christmas, I'd love one of those red velvet mannequins with a long black wig on it. I dunno what I'd do with it, but I want one.
Later.
-Justin
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