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At one time, American DVD distributor, Anchor
Bay, used to pretty much specialise in bringing
to DVD obscure and cult items – like the
one that's under review here. Sadly, in
recent years, Anchor Bay seems to have abandoned
the arena of Euro horror, though thankfully we
now have the likes of Blue Underground, NoShame
Films and Mondo Macabro to fill the gap. So, anyway,
I thought now would be good time to revisit one
of Anchor Bay's Euro horror releases and
decided to once again let my eyes feast upon Lamberto
Bava's A Blade in the Dark
and let you know my thoughts on the film and its
presentation on DVD.
Bruno (Andrea Occhipinti) is asked by his friend
Sandra (Anny Pappa) to write a score for her new
horror film. Bruno agrees and moves into a secluded
villa to write the score. Whilst there he encounters
two women both looking for Linda, the previous
occupier. Mysteriously, the women vanish as quickly
as they arrive and Bruno begins to suspect foul
play. He becomes convinced that a murderer is
at work and that the clue to his/her identity
lies within Sandra's film. A string of red
herrings and grisly murders are paraded before
the viewer until the identity of the killer is
finally revealed….and trust me, you won't
guess this one!!
It's not an overly complex plot, as you
can see, but here Bava relies more on style than
content, borrowing heavily in his directorial
style from the likes of Argento and his father
Mario. Unfortunately Lamberto Bava is no Argento
or Bava Sr. and the film runs out of steam very
quickly. The film tends to drag and is overly
talky - not that dialogue is a bad thing in a
film, but it is when it's boring dialogue.
The cast do their best with a rather uninteresting
script but sadly fail to save the film from being
a rather mundane Giallo-by-the-numbers.
However, where Bava does excel is in his handling
of the brutal murder sequences, which are obviously
his forte. The bathroom murder midway through
the movie is particularly vicious and shocking,
the nastiest scene I've witnessed in a Giallo
for a long time. Sadly though, even these standout
scenes fail to make this film anything special.
Not Lamberto Bava's best by a long shot.
This was, I think, a wasted opportunity and would
probably have turned out better in the hands of
someone more experienced in this genre. |
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| Video |
| The disc is to the usual standard of an Anchor
Bay release. Remastered from vault materials this
is a very nice-looking clean transfer free from
defects. The image is a little grainy, but this
is probably down to the source elements and the
stock the film was shot on more than to any fault
with Anchor Bay. Purchasers will be more than happy
with the quality of the image presented here. |
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| Audio |
| The audio is presented in basic mono and is really
nothing special. The sound levels tend to fluctuate
rendering some scenes extremely quiet whilst others
boom out deafeningly. There was much that could've
been improved upon in the audio department, but
it's serviceable, and if you crank up the
volume it's not too much of a problem. The
sound is crisp and clear though and does reasonable
justice to the soundtrack score. |
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| Extra Features |
| The extras are a little sparse and a commentary
track is conspicuous by its absence. But a trailer
is provided along with a talent bio section. Also
included is a 10 minute featurette with interviews
with director Lamberto Bava and writer Dardano Sacchetti.
This is a great feature with both Bava and Sacchetti
providing insights not just into the making of A
Blade in the Dark but on Italian horror
cinema as a whole. Bava tells of how A Blade
in the Dark was originally intended as
a four part television series but ended up as a
feature instead. It's also interesting to
note that Bava prefers the English titling of the
film rather than the Italian La Casa con
la scala nel buio which translates as The
House with the Dark Stairs. And in closing
Sacchetti says the important thing he's learnt
in the last 30 years is not to trust anyone in the
movie business!! |
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| The Verdict |
| A more than acceptable release from Anchor Bay
and purchasers will not be disappointed with the
quality of this product. Unfortunately the film
itself is nothing special, having said that however,
it's not completely without entertainment
value and the murder set-pieces are very impressive.
It is certainly an essential purchase for Giallo
completists and I'm more than happy to have
this in my collection. When all is said and done,
I'd still rather watch something like this
than the latest blockbuster offering from the likes
of Michael Bay. |
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