Cover Art

Credits

Director: Lamberto Bava Starring: Andrea Occhipinti, Anny Papa, Stanko Molnar, Lara Naszinski, Michele Soavi Screenplay: Elisa Briganti, Dardano Sacchetti Country: Italy AKA: La Casa Con la Scala Nel Buio

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.

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!!