Black Sabbath

CinemaSerfMay 2023

3.0

Boris Karloff introduces this triptych of short stories. I found the first, the shortest, to be the least interesting centring around a greedy nurse who robs a corpse of a valuable ring only to find that it's erstwhile owner isn't quite finished with it, or her, quite yet! The second sees a beautiful woman return to her apartment one evening only to find herself subjected to repeated telephone calls warning her that she shall not see the morning! Michèle Mercier is quite effective as the terrified "Rosy" in this story. Finally, Karloff himself takes to the stage in a rather lengthier, enjoyable, vampire story that sees a travelling count discover the body of a dreaded bandit and take it to a nearby farm. It's only once there, and with the return of the father "Gorca", that he begins to realise that this danger has already been "invited in"! The productions have a very Hammer look to them, the make up and visual effects (especially in the first story) don't hold up so well, but in the main, the three stories are quite solid with portentous messages of revenge for those who would steal or cheat or kill! You are unlikely to recall it a few days after watching, but Bava knew how to do budget/studio horror quite well and the last two stories make a decent fist of developing some sense of menace and threat. Good fun.