Horror genius Mario Bava is, as far as I am considered, one of the greatest directors ever, an opinion that most true Horror lovers will share. His repertoire includes more masterpieces than any other Horror director's, titles like "Black Sunday", "Blood And Black Lace", "Kill Baby... Kill", "The Whip And The Body", "Bay Of Blood" or "Lisa And The Devil" are just some of the many essential Horror films this Italian genius has made. 1977 was a memorable year for Italian Horror fans. Fellow Horror genius Dario Argento directed "Suspira", one of the most brilliant horror films of all-time, in that very year, and Mario Bava ended his career with "Shock", mainly in order to boost the career of his son Lamberto (Dèmoni), who is an OK director himself, but never came near his father's brilliance. This last Mario Bava picture is an Italian-style Haunted House film, and while "Shock" is not as memorable as most other films by this brilliant director, it is definitely a creepy, genuinely scary and downright great film that Italian Horror fans can not afford to miss.
Dora Baldini (Daria Nicolodi) moves into a house with her husband Bruno (John Steiner) and her son Marco (David Colin Jr.). Her first husband and father of her son has long been dead, but the Pilot Bruno, who is mostly away due to his job, has become a surrogate father. The new house which they are moving into, is actually the old house in which Dora used to live with her former husband, and while Bruno enjoys the huge mansion immensely, Dora becomes more and more scared of the strange things that seem to be going on. Especially the strange behavior of her little son begins to frighten her...
Daria Niccolodi, the long-time girlfriend of Dario Argento who starred in many of his films, is a very good actress and she once again delivers a great performance, and while I didn't find her attractive in every movie she was in, she is very beautiful here. John Steiner is a great actor, who is especially talented for playing villains and psychos, and my only regret with his casting here, is that he plays a kind-hearted family man. The supporting cast furthermore includes Italian Horror and Exploitation regular Ivan Rassimov. The academy award goes to little David Collin Jr., who delivers an exceptional child performance. This is one out of only two films he ever was in, and yet this nine-year-old actor is capable of giving you the creeps merely by his facial expressions. The excellent Progressive Rock score by 'I. Libra' (a band that includes 'Goblin' member Walter Martino) and the ingenious camera work compliment this film's atmosphere even more, and the exceptionally creepy finale lives up to the film's title. As mentioned above, this last film is not as brilliant as most of Bava's other films (such as his brilliant second-to last film "Cani Arrabiati" aka. "Rabid Dogs"), but this man was a cinematic genius, and even though this does not nearly range among the highlights in his career, it is a highly atmospheric, creepy and great Horror film. Mario Bava sure was a brilliant director. Even his slightly lesser films, such as this one, are exceptional movies that outshine the rest!
Dora Baldini (Daria Nicolodi) moves into a house with her husband Bruno (John Steiner) and her son Marco (David Colin Jr.). Her first husband and father of her son has long been dead, but the Pilot Bruno, who is mostly away due to his job, has become a surrogate father. The new house which they are moving into, is actually the old house in which Dora used to live with her former husband, and while Bruno enjoys the huge mansion immensely, Dora becomes more and more scared of the strange things that seem to be going on. Especially the strange behavior of her little son begins to frighten her...
Daria Niccolodi, the long-time girlfriend of Dario Argento who starred in many of his films, is a very good actress and she once again delivers a great performance, and while I didn't find her attractive in every movie she was in, she is very beautiful here. John Steiner is a great actor, who is especially talented for playing villains and psychos, and my only regret with his casting here, is that he plays a kind-hearted family man. The supporting cast furthermore includes Italian Horror and Exploitation regular Ivan Rassimov. The academy award goes to little David Collin Jr., who delivers an exceptional child performance. This is one out of only two films he ever was in, and yet this nine-year-old actor is capable of giving you the creeps merely by his facial expressions. The excellent Progressive Rock score by 'I. Libra' (a band that includes 'Goblin' member Walter Martino) and the ingenious camera work compliment this film's atmosphere even more, and the exceptionally creepy finale lives up to the film's title. As mentioned above, this last film is not as brilliant as most of Bava's other films (such as his brilliant second-to last film "Cani Arrabiati" aka. "Rabid Dogs"), but this man was a cinematic genius, and even though this does not nearly range among the highlights in his career, it is a highly atmospheric, creepy and great Horror film. Mario Bava sure was a brilliant director. Even his slightly lesser films, such as this one, are exceptional movies that outshine the rest!