I tre volti della paura (1963)

Directors:

Mario Bava
Salvatore Billitteri

Writers:

Mario Bava (writer)
Alberto Bevilacqua (writer)

Release Date:

6 May 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

This is the night of the nightmare...The day of the Undead.

Plot:

A trio of atmospheric horror tales about: A woman terrorized in her apartment by phone calls from an...

Plot Keywords:

Nurse | Vampire | Corpse | Medium | Escaped Prisoner

Cast

Michèle Mercier	...	Rosy (segment "The Telephone")
Lidia Alfonsi	...	Mary (segment "The Telephone") (as Lydia Alfonsi)
Boris Karloff	...	Himself / Gorca (segment "The Wurdalak")
Mark Damon	...	Vladimire d'Urfe (segment "The Wurdalak")
Susy Andersen	...	Sdenka (segment "The Wurdalak")
Massimo Righi	...	Pietro (segment "The Wurdalak")
Rika Dialina	...	Maria (segment "The Wurdalak") (as Rica Dialina)
Glauco Onorato	...	Giorgio (segment "The Wurdalak")
Jacqueline Pierreux	...	Helen Chester (segment "The Drop of Water")
Milly	...	The Maid (segment "The Drop of Water") (as Milly Monti)
Harriet Medin	...	Neighbor (segment "The Drop of Water")
Gustavo De Nardo	...	Police Inspector (segment "The Drop of Water")

Also Known As:

Black Sabbath (USA)
Les trois visages de la peur (France)
The Three Faces of Fear
The Three Faces of Terror

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

Italy | France | USA

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (self applied) (2001) | France:-12 | Italy:VM14 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:16 | UK:X

Filming Locations:

Titanus Farnesina Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Alta Vista Film Production

Trivia:

Boris Karloff came onto the production because he was under contract with American International Pictures who were interested in doing another picture with Mario Bava.

Goofs:

Plot holes: In "The Wurdulak", Gorca shouldn't have been able to turn Giorgio into a vampire, because Giorgio had already been stabbed to death by Maria.

Quotes:

Mary: [to Rosy] You have no reason to be afraid.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pulp Fiction (1994)

Not Bava's best but still fun

"Black Sabbath" is often thought as of both one of Bava's best and the single greatest horror omnibus. It's neither (Bava's best is either "Black Sunday" or "Danger: Diabolik" and the finest horror omnibus is still the original "Dead of Night"), but its a lot of fun for fans of vintage Gothic horrors. Everyone involved seems to be having a lot of fun, especially Boris Karloff who introduces each story and stars in the second one. Still, despite an occasional camp atmosphere, the stories all achieve some sense of suspense, especially the unbearably horrifying final tale "A Drop of Water". The fact that Bava manages to balance more light-hearted elements along with the terror prove he was one of the greatest directors of the fantastic of all time. And as usual, his direction is magnificent and use of color schemes completely puts Argento to shame.

The stories themselves are a rather mixed bag. The first one, "The Telephone", is never really scary (until the end that is) yet remains an interesting real time piece. The lesbian subtext (edited out of the American version) is quite ahead of its time, and Michèle Mercier is absolutely gorgeous. "The Wurdalak" is a novel twist on the vampire myth and beautifully directed as usual for Bava, but probably the weakest story. I'm rather ashamed to select this as my least favorite, because of the delicious as usual performance from Boris Karloff. The final entry, "A Drop of Water", is easily the best, possibly the first Giallo film. It looks beautiful, tells a compelling story, and the tension just builds up until the climax. Its simply Bava at his finest.

"Black Sabbath" is a lot of fun to watch for fans of vintage horror films. The only really annoying part is the breaking the fourth wall gag at the end, which completely ruins the film's dreamlike mood. The American print wisely edits it out. And yes, one of the greatest bands of all time did take their name from this film. (7/10)