the leading man is my tpye

Some things I liked some I did not.

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Let me start this by saying that Black Sunday its visually fantastic, from the sets to the cinematography itself, its a delight to look at. However, when it comes to characters, plot and dialog I feel it falls really flat. Bava isn't known for having the best scripts in Italian horror cinema but at least there are things that I remember about his other films, I don't think there's a single memorable character in this. You don't need an incredibly well written story for this type of film but maybe it could have been a bit better.I was constantly checking out of this, I was enjoying its visuals, there's no doubt about that, when it comes to camera work and atmosphere Mario Bava is always great, but if we talk about characters or plot, there is usually nothing that memorable or interesting and I am aware of that.I think it just needs to grow on me, I wasn't feeling very well when I watched it and maybe that had something to do with it but I don't think that's was the problem, I blame the dull and uninteresting writing. I will give this a high rating because its amazing when it comes to expressing ideas, themes and emotions visually but I don't find it to be that great of a movie.

Two centuries ago, two Satan worshipers (Princess Asa Vajda and her lover) are captured and crucified. But, the ritual fire was interrupted by an unexpected rain. She challenges to wipe out the entire family of her brother who did this. After two centuries, she wakes up and wanted to regain her life through her exact replica, Katia Vajda.Some of the effects in the film was really unbelievable. It's hard to think how they pulled out those effects in 1960.It's really a nice film for horror film lovers. #KiduMovie

"Black Sunday" is one of my all time favorite horror movies - definitely in my top 10. Considered to be a cult classic, it undeniably deserves that honor. The story concerns a witch/vampire who is executed (quite the nasty little scene for the '60s) who vows revenge on the descendants of her persecutors. Due to a mishap, she gets the opportunity to do just that 200 years later and goes after folks with a vengeance, especially her descendant Katia.This film was my introduction to Barbara Steele who plays duel roles as both the vampire/witch and her contemporary counterpart. The fact that she is able to play two characters - one embodying evil, the other innocence - and play them both very well gives you an idea of her range. One of the things I've loved about her from the very beginning is that she uses her whole body to express herself in the parts that she plays. It is quite effective. One thing to keep in mind if you haven't seen it is that the film was originally done in Italian, so the English version is dubbed. For me personally, I was so mesmerized that I really didn't notice. It was also shot in black and white and made in 1960, so you are not going to see the over the top special effects and the fast pace that are so common in horror these days. For the time it was made, I thought the little gore the movie has, the effects and the makeup were quite well done.From what I understand, "Black Sunday* was banned in Great Britain for a while and some versions of it are censored - I apparently had the good luck to see a mostly uncensored version (without the "special" relationship between Asa and her brother). Try to find one of those if you can.The film slows down just a bit in the middle as the family and some folks in town realize something is amiss. Even so, it is truly worth the watch. It is unbelievably eerie and beautifully shot - if nothing else, it should be seen for those reasons alone. Is this movie going to keep you up at night or make you keep your lights on for a couple days? Probably not if you are watching current horror. It is, however, an excellent movie for it's time and unquestionably a must see for fans of classic Gothic horror. I absolutely loved it.

Mario Bava's directing debut, a movie so rich in atmosphere it feels like you're in the movie and not just watching a movie. The atmosphere of the movie got me in its grip in the beginning of the first 10 seconds or so into the movie. Not many movies have that effect on me. It was an atmosphere rich in feeling unwanted and guilt that I spent the first 5 minutes or so of the movie to get over that feeling. Indeed, the scene where the vampire witch gets her face nailed with the Mask of Satan was a scene that set the whole tone for the rest of the movie. Incredibly enough the movie did not break that atmosphere until the end. Only a few movies keeps the same atmosphere from start to finish, Lawrence of Arabia, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Barry Lyndon comes to mind. I am not sure if it was the acting, the cinematography, the script or the direction but definitely the movie was well handled with a great sense of sensibility. Things happening in the movie did not seem to be the result of coincidence, everything seemed to be pieced greatly together by Mario Bava.Director: Mario Bava, written by: Ennio De Concini and Mario Serandrei, plot: survive, genre: horror, year of release: 1960, themes: heresy, life and death, summary: a vampire witch gets back from the dead when a young doctor accidentally spills blood in her mouth, then the witch stalks a young woman who resembles her in order to become fully alive. Like written earlier the movie has a strong feeling of being unwanted and guilt, the feeling of being wrong, the feeling of being unaccepted. This is where I get the feeling one of the movies's main themes are heresy and it was the Christians who nailed the Mask of Satan on the witch's face for practicing witchcraft. Witches have mostly been portrayed as those inhuman monsters who deserve to die in the name of God. That is how the Christians saw them and had them portrayed because they were full of bigotry. That bigotry led to a lot of women were burned as witches even for the most trivial reasons. But anyway, the movie captures that mood of heresy pretty damn good. So good it felt like I was in the movie.Barbara Steele in her portrayal of the witch was both creepy and wicked. She definitely had a very strong on-screen presence but she also had a strong off-screen presence, making most scenes unsettling to watch because it felt like the power of the witch was big enough to extend beyond the tomb she was lying in. What is scariest about her is that she wants what the main characters have and what she misses: life. Now the thought of an already dead person coming back from the dead in order to take your life is scary in and on itself. Made creepier by Barbara Steele's acting. Anyway, the movie like written earlier does not break the mood it established which is quite astonishing. The movie keeps its atmosphere without succumbing to jump scares, which I respect a lot. Because horror is a mood, an atmosphere, a feeling. Which many modern horror movies have forgotten all about. The reliance on that mood in this movie is staggering even though there isn't any gore or violence. This is a movie I will keep respecting until the day I die. Awesome movie.