People are voting emotionally.

Dreadfully Boring

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Blistering performances.

****SPOILERS****Filmed in lush and dazzling colors and mostly, some 90% of it, at night the late Mario Bava's "Blood and Black Lace" set the slandered for all the likewise Italian as well as US & European Giallo slasher movies that was to follow it. Set in an Italian boarding house for fashion models run by Contessa Cristina Como, Eva Bartok, and her American lover Max Marian,Cameron Mitchell,a crazed and masked killer targets the woman staying there starting with Isabella,Francesca Ungaro,whom he strangles to death within the first 10 minutes of the movie. As we soon find out it was Isabella who knew the killer's identity who she was blackmailing for embezzlement money of the boarding house's way of doing business.The film goes on to have the masked killer knock off some half dozen of the woman at the boarding house until with almost a half hour to go in the movie to no one's surprise-It was very obvious right from the start- that his identity is revealed as well as the person-Which wasn't that obvious- who's involved in his string of murders! Trying to throw the police off his scent the killer forces his accomplice to murder another one of the women, by drowning her in a bathtub and slashing her wrist, staying at the boarding house, to provide him with an alibi and then have him or her killed so to have the police case on his crimes closed. It was too bad for him that it didn't quite work out that way and it was that mistake, in his accomplice surviving, that ended up doing him in! ***SPOILERS**** It was police Inspecter Silverster, Thomas Reiner, who smelled a rat in all these killings and the real reason for that is the late Isabella's secret red diary that a number of pages had since gone missing. It was what's in it that implicated a number people who were embezzling the funds of the boarding house and the fashion salon connected to it which lead to the killer's murderous rampage. This at first was just a simple money issue that escalated into serial murder and ended up with the deaths, by them killing each other, of those involved in it.

This is another thoroughly underwhelming horror entry from Mario Bava, injudiciously praised because of it coming so early in the giallo canon. If it had been released ten years later, you never would have heard of it.The movie is set in (and indeed, never leaves) a fashion house where, of course, the models are the victims of a masked killer. There is no reason for the killer to wear a mask; if anything this would make the job more difficult. They would be spotted so much more easily by anyone who happened on the scene. The mask is, of course, only worn to surprise the audience when we find out who the killer really is.Not that it really works as a surprise.The movie has no characters who make any kind of impression, and certainly no one we care about. Its many shots of mannequins invite unfavourable comparisons between these dummies and the women that sometimes stand in front of the camera. The mid sixties release date means that the movie isn't particularly violent and there is no nudity or sex. There is a mention of - shock, horror - drug abuse that is accompanied by some raucous strains on the soundtrack as if the mere word "cocaine" should be enough to send us into palpitations.Nothing else in the movie will have that effect on you. There's no tension, or surprise, or shocks whatsoever. When the killer is revealed, it's not even much of a surprise.

"Blood and Black Lace" focuses on a fashion house who becomes targeted by a sinister killer; each murder appears to be connected to a diary that belonged to the killer's first victim.In true Bava fashion (no pun intended), "Blood and Black Lace" is a visually luscious film that has been branded as the "first giallo," and it probably was. The setup of the film is fantastic and precedes the slasher prototype by at least a decade; an expansive fashion house full of laced mannequins, exquisite architecture, shadowy corners, and gorgeous supermodels—what better setting for a horror film? Bava, the auteur he was, takes full advantage of the silk-laden mannequins, velvet curtains, and glamorous interiors, which are bathed in shadows and illuminated in bright colors; at some points, the film has an even "Suspiria"-esque visual flair, but predates Argento's film by a good thirteen years. Narratively, the film has a fairly straightforward, if not flimsy script, which, though fairly routine by today's standards, would have been much more full of surprises in 1964. The performances in the film are decent, and Cameron Mitchell makes an appearance as a potentially shady salon owner, and complements the film nicely. While it is not a particularly gory film, Bava does a phenomenal job with the models' death scenes, crafting what may be among the most beautiful murders in film history.Overall, "Blood and Black Lace" is a rightfully sung genre classic; in my opinion, it is one of Mario Bava's greatest achievements, chock full of luscious supermodels, a sprawling mansion, and a masked killer with a vendetta. The film operates as both a slasher and a murder mystery in equal measure, and engages on both platforms. The visual flair is the centerpiece holding it all together of course, in true Bava tradition.

Mario Bava's acclaimed masterpiece of murder and mayhem is widely considered to be the first real "giallo" film. That is, the sub-genre of films which consist of a series of murders perpetrated by a masked villain who is unmasked at the end of the film. These films always have detectives investigating the cases too, and Dario Argento was very fond of this particular type of movie. However, BLOOD AND BLACK LACE is the one that started it all back in the early sixties.Any fan of murder mysteries should watch this film as the twists and turns are very good, enthralling even, and keep the viewer's mind working overtime to figure out who the killer actually is. There's a fair share of red herrings and suspects to contend with, all lensed with Bava's famed stylish camera-work and brimming with sinister atmosphere - the screen is almost always full of shadows, where killers lurk unseen. Watching this film today, I'm reminded of many later films which consciously or not resemble this movie. The killer's blank white face is very similar to that of Michael Myers in HALLOWEEN, except more effective because there are no features, there is no face - it's just blank and expressionless, devoid of humanity. This makes the killer a very frightening and mysterious one indeed.The cast all give it their best and are commendable. The women do their bit and act terrified accordingly. The men are all shifty and suspicious looking, so it's very difficult to spot who exactly is the murderer. The murders are violent and almost always include the victims in their underwear, perhaps giving the title meaning and at least providing some lurid attractiveness - while not gory, we still see the agony of death, the throes of pain. They're very brutal for the time too.A quiet yet effective score provides some suspense, as well as the dark and shadowy sets. The plot weaves all over the place, yet it never becomes absurd or over the top - instead, remaining believable and exciting. BLOOD AND BLACK LACE is really a great Italian thriller, made by one of the masters of horror, and should be seen by any self-respecting mystery, thriller or giallo fan.