'Blood and Black Lace' comes from Italian horror aficionado Mario Bava and was released in 1964. The newest release of this classic giallo slasher comes to us on a multi-disc pack from Arrow Video. The story involves the recent mysterious deaths being experienced at a fashion academy. The deadly masked killer has only just begun and each death becomes even more gruesome.
The film was one of the earliest examples of what would become the 80's slasher genre later on, with the many similarities right down to the masked killer with a signature weapon. The film is actually a part of the italian horror sub-genre known as 'Giallo' (yellow in english) which were more akin at the time to mystery novels with almost everyone being made out to be the suspect in question and giving the audiences many twists and turns throughout.
For many of you who choose to pop this one in, you will most likely be as surprised as myself at how graphic the film truly is. Some of this stuff is downright sadistic and hateful, nothing you would have expected in 1964 but a lot of that aspect really makes this film stand out among other reasons. The colors in these older films when bumped up to high definition are very vibrant and beautiful to behold. Even in the film's most violent moments, you will notice the brightness and deep colors of the blood and the lighting around the characters. It's a beauty to be sure.
Where 'Blood and Black Lace' ultimately falls, along with the genre in general is the lack of a straight story. Many films like this and later on with 'Suspiria' and 'A Bay of Blood' have many problems with visuals over the story itself. Whether this be due to the Italian language and subsequent dubbing into English that ultimately causes a distance between the audience and the film or even due to some critics claiming these films rely only on violence that causes these issues, it will turn off many viewers who will find it rather slow paced or confusing in its narrative.
As for the Blu-Ray release itself, Arrow Video has impressed here, as with their previous US release 'The Mutilator'. The picture quality is really cleaned up well for a film with this age, and because of the film's age you won't be getting the best quality possible per se but for what they had to work with 'Blood and Black Lace' shines in my opinion.
Sound quality is also great, with both English dubbing and the original Italian languages being enhanced for modern viewers. As with many special labels, Arrow Video's special features for the film are the jewels of this crown. You get a audio commentary from Mario Bava's autobiographer, multiple documentaries, essays on the film and the genre itself and much more. Any horror fan will want this release just for the features alone.
'Blood and Black Lace' is not the traditional horror film you would see on most people's much watch list, but the film's obscurity is slowly vanishing and many are finally getting to see this intense film for themselves. If you love Alfred Hitchcock with a mix of 'Friday the 13th', you'll definitely enjoy 'Blood and Black Lace.'
THE MOVIE: A-
VIDEO: B+
AUDIO: B-
SPECIAL FEATURES: A+
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