Dir: Mario Bava
Cast: Boris Karloff, Michèle Mercier, Lidia Alfonsi,
Rika Dialina
Not Rated, Approx: 92 Minutes
Image DVD
Les Trois Visages de la Peur
Black Christmas
The Three Faces of Fear
The Three Faces of Terror
best and most inspired.
and this one ranks among the best of them. Visually stunning and downright scary, Black Sabbath delivers the
goods on every level. Heavy atmosphere and an intense color scheme mixed together with some of the best
soundstage work ever make this truly an unforgettable experience.
beautiful wide release DVD from Image Entertainment. The English language version is interesting in its own
right; the most notable advantage is that the great Boris Karloff's voice isn't dubbed into Italian. On the downside,
the stories are rearranged and slightly re-edited for the worse. This version is by no means unwatchable but
does render it inferior to the Italian language release. As for Karloff, he is still quite effective in another language.
His facial expressions do more here than I would have expected; that and there is better conclusion to his
wrap-around segments in the Italian version.
of creepy and funny, lightening the tension between stories but not destroying the mood. It made me feel like a
little kid listening to one of the grown-ups tell scary stories.
early date. The sexual tension in this one is very subtle, gingerly dancing around themes that would be further
(and more explicitly) explored in later gialli. Bava works in lesbian undertones that are lost in the English version
and compensated for with nonsensical supernatural elements. While this is a tense story in its own right, it is most
interesting when viewed as an important step in the evolution of the giallo.
sense of humor seen in the wrap-around for an utterly mysterious and frightening demeanor. The atmospheric
landscapes are really a testament to the brilliant eye of Bava. The story concerns a traveller who seeks shelter
for a night with a family who is concerned that the head of the household (Karloff) may have been infected by a
vampire. Bava lays it on thick here with equal parts romance and horror as slowly the family is torn apart. One
particular shot featuring some vampires looking in through some windows on a dark night is one of the most
stunning compositions I've ever seen.
my favorite in the anthology. This story is simply superb! From the onset we are bombarded with a thick
atmosphere and an intense lighting scheme. A young nurse is called to prepare the body of a recently deceased
woman in her estate. While alone with the body, she steals a large ring and is immediately haunted by an
unrelenting dripping of water. She returns to her apartment and begins having a breakdown as she's afraid the
ghost of the woman has come to terrorize her. Bava sends the viewer's imagination into overdrive by eluding to
but not directly showing several haunting images. This is not to say that he skimped on the visuals though, there
are some images in "A Drop of Water" that still make me squirm in my bed at night if I make the mistake of letting
them into my head.
into the genre or not. Not only is this a classic genre piece, but also the work of one of the greatest directors that
ever lived. It is an excellent example of how to build tension, atmosphere, and create an unforgettable film
experience. This is a testament to the formalist power of cinema and should never be forgotten. While both
versions available are worth a look for comparative purposes, the Italian language version is superior and, if
there were a choice, should be viewed first.
Review by Dr. Spector 2.22.02
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