Black Sunday
(The Mask of Satan)

Image Entertainment
DVD, 87 mins., 1960, 1:66 (anamorphic enhanced)

review by Shade Rupe

Ah, yes! For an archetypal classic horror film definitely in the same lineage as the Universal pictures to have been denied a legitimate release for so many years is a criminal act. Forever quoted by film fans, and film makers in their own works, Black Sunday presents itself as the timeless chunk of cinematic history as director Mario Bava created it to be.

Princess Asa (Barbara Steele, or 'Steel' as presented in the film's opening credits) is condemned to death for witchcraft, along with her brother Prince Igor Javutich. In one of the first episodes of gore in cinema, a strong metal mask with sharp spikes is held over her face, and slammed on with a huge wooden hammer. Her screams are acoompanied by gushes of blood from the mask, and we fade to the future.

Two hundred years later, the crypt where the evil witch's corpse is kept is found by two travelling doctors. After peeking into the stone coffin, one pricks his finger and the drop of blood from the accident begins a process of reanimating. sFrom her own grave, lying still, waiting for her new life, Asa summons her brother to rise from the grave. Plans for a new reign for her and her brother begin to take fuller shape when she lures a young man to her coffinside, him planting a kiss on the still-not-alive-again Asa's beautiful, yet horrible, face, disfigured from the spiked mask pounding from two centuries before.

And it is this face that has made Barbara Steele one of the favorite icons of evil in horror cinema. Although only making this one film with Mario Bava, her high cheekbones and portrayal of both Princess Asa and her descendant Princess Katia, a more beautiful version, has sustained her title of the 'Queen of Horror,' and her archetypal embodiment of strong beauty and disfigured evil has reigned supreme over all other contenders for over 40 years.

Mr. Lucas' commentary is technical,intensively researched, and also filled with trivial. Noting the differences between the AIP version, and offering full biographies on each actor, this commentary is a catalogue of anything that could ever be known about this film. This, of course, means that it can be enjoyed more than once for almost every doorknob, dress button, or pointed lamp becomes an icon of cinema history. Lord knows how many times Mr. Lucas has viewed this film, and we're planning on seeing it at least 1% as many times as he has. Which means we'll probably be wearing out our DVD's grooves within six months.

Image's excellent packaging of this title includes info-packed liner notes by Tim Lucas, a theatrical trailer, photo and poster gallery and a nice menu screen collage with various Black Sunday imagery and music. With Image Entertaiment's dedication to producing the finest quality entertainment they can, we can only hold with baited breath for the vast catalogue of upcoming titles they will be putting so much hard work into. And with the ever-vigilant eye of the Video Watchdog at the helm of the Mario Bava Collection, it's fair to say it can only get better.

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