"...the three tales that were picked for this anthology are probably some of the scariest ever brought to the big screen..."
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If a horror film can maintain its scares on one theme, it's doing well. If it can do it with three themes, it's a wonder. Well, sit back and find out about a three-story horror film wonder that has us...
By TESS HENSEN I love horror anthology movies, don't you? You know what I'm talking about--those wonderfully creepy movies that give us not one, but three or more horrific stories to give us three or four times the nightmares. They are great for popping in the VCR on a night when you might have a shorter attention span than normal. Some of the more famous anthology movies that I'm sure you're familiar with would be titles like Tales From The Crypt, Trilogy Of Terror, Vault Of Horror, Tales Of Terror, Creepshow and Twilight Zone: The Movie. Most of these films deal with stories that were originally found in those great E.C. publications like Tales From The Crypt, Creepy and Eerie, or were based on Edgar Allan Poe short stories. However, before any of these films saw the light of celluloid, there came along in 1963, a horror movie anthology directed by Italian horror master Mario Bava, entitled Black Sabbath.
Black Sabbath (AKA. The Three Faces Of Fear, The Three Faces Of Terror, Black Christmas, and Son Of Satan) was original in the fact that it relied on classic ghost stories from authors not otherwise known for tales of the supernatural, for it's filmic presentation. Even though these authors were not known for ghost stories, the three tales that were picked for this anthology are probably some of the scariest ever brought to the big screen. Add to that the interesting and surreal vision of Mario Bava as director, the campy narration of Boris Karloff that relieves the horrific tension between each story, and you've got one heck of a fun fright film!
The first story, "A Drop Of Water," is based on a short story by Anton Chekhov, and is your basic gothic cautionary tale. An elderly lady who is known to have supernatural powers dies, and her nurse is called to prepare the body for burial. As the nurse is dressing the hideous corpse--the make-up in this segment is truly gruesome and is guaranteed to give you shivers-- she spies a beautiful and expensive ring on the deceased woman's hand. Apparently greedy, and with a lack of morals, the nurse takes the ring from the hand of the corpse and keeps it for herself. What follows as the nurse returns to her home that night is a series of atmospheric disturbances, dripping water and one pesky fly. Has the old woman's spirit manifested itself into an insect and followed the nurse home to scare her to death? Alas, the cycle continues however, as a neighbor woman discovers the dead nurse in the morning - and takes the ring from her cold dead fingers!
The second story is a surprising giallo-style turn titled "The Telephone," based on a short story by an author named Snyder. In this one, a beautiful woman is plagued by calls from an unknown stranger who taunts her menacingly. At first she is just irritated, thinking it's a typical prank caller--but things turn sinister when the stranger tells her he can see her and, among other things, threatens her life. He then reveals to her that he is someone that she thinks is dead. She had apparently been having an affair with him while he was in a relationship with another woman--and the result of this love triangle was his murder. Therefore he blames both women for his death. After he tells her who he is, she calls the other woman, who is sympathetic enough to join her so she won't be alone. This, I believe, is the weakest story in the anthology, and from this point it becomes predictable, with both the caller's intended victims conveniently in the same place so as to make for easy pickings for him.
The third and last story in the anthology is probably the best, in my humble opinion. It is based on a short story by Leo Tolstoy, and is titled "The Wurdalak." Boris Karloff stars in this one as a family man who has been hunting down a local vampire (wurdalak) bandit. His family has been instructed by him not to let him back in the house if he is gone more than three days, as that means he has probably become a wurdalak as well. You see, a wurdalak only preys upon and drinks the blood of those he loves, therefore his family is at the greatest risk. As the hour approaches (10 p.m.) that would mark his third day gone, his family frets over what they will do if he comes back even a minute past the barrier time. A young man who was also hunting the wurdalak bandit has joined the families vigil, and has fallen for the beautiful daughter. The family man does indeed come back--only minutes after 10 p.m., and the family--not believing that he could be a wurdalak, lets him back in. Of course, he is a blood-sucking creature of the night - and starts taking out his family one by one. Talk about the blood-sucking Brady Bunch!
While all three stories are entertaining enough - I think that the first and third offerings in this anthology are the best. The amazing muted colors in "A Drop Of Water" lend so much to the building of tension that they could be construed as characters as well, and then there is the corpse's make-up that I mentioned earlier - nightmare city! "The Telephone" seems out of place here - yes, it has supernatural elements in that it is a ghost story of sorts, but it is much more of a giallo, or thriller, instead of straight-ahead horror. And after the first story I was expecting and hungering for more of the same. "The Telephone" would work well as a full-length feature, and bearing in mind that this film was released in 1963, I wouldn't be surprised if the directors of films like Black Christmas and When A Stranger Calls borrowed some of the story and style from this installment.
What "The Telephone" lacked in full-fledged horror, "The Wurdalak" had in spades. The watcher sympathizes with the family when they let the father back in--he is a loved one, and better that he be a vampire than dead to them. The watcher understands when, one by one, the family gives themselves over to the father - how else would they be able to continue living as a loving family unit? Better to be together as a family of vampires, than not to be together at all. It is at turns, poignant, sad and horrific. The humorous narration--almost horror hosting--of Boris Karloff between stories in the English version of the film is probably designed to lighten up things a bit when they get too scary. I know it was a welcome break between the first and second installments, as I was still shuddering from the sight of the hideous old woman's corpse shambling towards the nurse as she is about to get what's coming to her. What a wonderful sense of humor Karloff had! So, if you are a fan of horror anthology movies like I am, and if you have not yet seen this gem--or even if you have, please by all means screen it for yourself on a dark, stormy night--and be prepared for the nightmares that will follow! Thanks, Tess! Although most anthology films can usually only claim to be worthy of their source material, Black Sabbath actually eclipses the classic works it's based on. Another terror triumph for Mario Bava. Article copyright © Tess Hensen |
