That was weird. Those were the first words that spilled out of my mouth as the end credits rolled on Dark Waters, a British/Italian/Russian co-production filmed in post-Soviet Ukraine. Directed and co-written by Mariano Baino, Dark Waters is a singular experience. Steeped in Lovecraftian influence, the film can be dizzying, even maddening, to watch. However, with the captivating direction and surprisingly engaging story, Dark Waters may actually be worth your time. It is not, however, a film for the feeble-minded.

How do you top Re-Animator, one of the funniest fright films of the 1980s?

By 1977, the nature of the horror film had already changed significantly. Instead of the Gothic mood pieces of previous decades, the genre had become more dynamic, seeking shocks rather than heady atmosphere. Italian horror auteur Mario Bava's final theatrical film reflects this change. Partially directed by his son, Lamberto Bava, who trained under such directors as Ruggero Deodato and Mario Lanfranchi, Shock is inconsistent, pairing the trademark style of the senior Bava with the new sensibilities of the junior.

The story of Mario Bava’s Lisa and the Devil is the stuff from which cinema legends are made: brilliant auteur is given carte blanche to make his masterpiece, but the end result can’t find a distributor. To recoup costs, the film’s producer pressures the director to add scenes of demonic possession to cash-in on a popular American film (in this case, The Exorcist).

5 Dolls for an August Moon is perhaps the most curious of Mario Bava’s horror films. As with 1963’s The Whip and the Body, Bava was hired on after the script and much of the rest of the production had already been set. Luck wasn’t with him this time however, and he was stuck with a script he despised, his request to rework it denied. The resulting film is a whodunit that doesn’t care who did it, a thriller lacking in actual thrills.

You know you’re in trouble when the film you’re reviewing opens with a song that’s heavily reminiscent of the “Batman” theme (campy 1966 version). Still, other horror films have overcome a ridiculous pop tune – The Blob beat Burt Bacharach, didn’t it? Unfortunately, Antonio Margheriti’s Naked You Die resembles its theme song in more than a couple ways. It is a fairly disposable, imitative affair, packed with more goofy pep than seems appropriate for a “killer among us” film.

To stab and to burn from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in psychosis and in nightmare, to hate and to objectify, from this day forward, when death tears us apart… Marital bliss, Hatchet for the Honeymoon is not.

What’s in a name?

Sporting one of my favorite movie titles ever, Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace is a prime example of the Italian horror genre known as giallo. Gialli (the plural form of the word) are basically stylized mystery/horror films containing occasional scenes of intense violence. They are often marked by unnatural yet strangely intriguing lighting techniques. Naturally, gialli tend to become efforts in creating a moving atmosphere.

It is impossible to simply watch Mario Bava’s The Whip and the Body. You can only hope to experience it, to let it wash over you and consume your senses. A sumptuous visual masterpiece dripping with sadomasochistic eroticism, The Whip and the Body is the most beautiful of all Bava’s films.