Blood and Black Lace

The vivid colors, interestingly cluttered sets, cool camerawork, characters with a wide variety of weaknesses; it all adds up to one of the most (visually) entertaining giallos I've seen. Everyone lives in a tacky semi-gothic mansion for some reason, so good. The moment someone goes "Oh, it seems victim #1 had a diary in her purse here" and about eight characters all look up nervously in close-ups, I knew I'd be in for a good time.

I'm Used To My Italian Films With Bad English Dubbing Or Whatever They Call It So The Italian Language Took Me Out But This Movie Is "VISUALLY STUNNING"

Visually very impressive - colour drips from the screen, and the camerawork is terrific. The plot is slight (and slightly ludicrous), and perhaps a bit predictable; this may not have been the case back in the day, of course. That said, the pacing is good and there is enough tension and interest to keep you involved throughout. Its influence on the giallo and slasher genres is pretty clear. I've yet to see a Bava film I didn't enjoy to some degree. Worth checking out.

Out of the Bava films I've seen, this one is probably the closest to my understanding of what giallo is... kind of a whodunit thriller/slasher flick (often with a killer who wears black gloves) with a sense of grand guignol. I thought all the elements were well done, especially the score, and the movie was a bit of fun. But it didn't really push any of my buttons. My favorite is definitely still Black Sunday.

Where's a good place to hold a slasher film? How about a modeling agency? Yes. Yes, please.

I really enjoyed this. Although the dialog was cheesy at times (which wasn't helped by the poor audio syncing problems), the movie was beautifully shot. I loved the use of colors and the confident camera movements. The story was pretty decent too. Things really clicked along smoothly without ever hitting a lull (like many Italian horror movies). I was also pleasently surprised at how violent the movie was. I guess I was expecting it to be pretty bloodless considering it was released in 1964.

Defining early giallo with outlandishly decorated setting & twisty plot about human perversion. A group of fashion models & directors are engulfed in a vortex of blood & need as complex character relations form a murderous web of desire, greed & addiction. Music stayed with me & I have to say the visuals are absolutely exquisite. Succeeds almost entirely through stylistic coherence that manages to somewhat recontextualise the silly & problematic content. Intriguing & elegantly trashy atmosphere.

A film of two halves: bask in sublime sets, luscious lighting and clinical camera work; eventually tire of the somewhat directionless plot. Bava's cinematographic experience certainly shines through in making this a visual treat. It's up there with the best of Hollywood. There are some intriguing and tension-filled scenes but the plot needs to do a bit more than asking us to count slowly from 1 to 6 in search of meaning. Still, above average entertainment levels for a giallo.

An elegant, expertly paced and tension filled classic that helped to redefine and further influence the "Slasher" subgenre of horror. One of Bava's best movies, fuled by its jazzy score and utilizing its handful of kills to craft something creepy and entertaining. Even though its as much a mystery film as it is a giallo/horror movie.

Visceral, brutal, and genuinely suspenseful. The storyline and performances never really catch up with the vibrant visuals, but as the countless scores of movies inspired by Bava's work would prove, that stuff was never the point.

Sets the groundwork for decades of future Giallo.

Incredibly fun, suspenseful, and more intelligent than 98% of present-day horror films. Excellent.

Giallo may not be for me if this is considered 1 of the best examples. Since it's from '64 it's at least briskly paced (I expect later stuff is slower) & the cinematography & direction is really well done, but story-wise it's just a whodunnit w/ a killer who keeps killing hot chicks. It's very much NOT character-driven & this particular film has the extra problem of having way too many characters (only to increase suspects & victims). It was interesting to see Scream didn't invent that twist.

A pretty solid giallo, even if it suffers a bit from characters being idiots and dying as a consequence. It's gorgeously shot, which helps a lot for me.

Just a stunning achievement of visual design. Editing, cinematography and lighting in perfect harmony

Recommended for fans of the visible spectrum and murdered women. Actually, the depiction of the first murder gave quite a good sense of the violence necessary to overcome a struggling victim, so doubly recommended if you're into that.

The performances are solid, the music is enjoyable, & all of the visual elements like bright colors & intense lighting definitely help set the mood. Each kill is unique, which was appreciated, & the design of the killer is very effective for how simple it actually is. The plot is alright, if a little meandering, but it lost me a bit in the third act when things shifted from proto-slasher movie to strange romantic crime drama. All considered, it's worth a look for its historical value.

Boring.

Good Movie

Giallo with all the usual trimmings. Technically efficient but not terribly interesting.

In technical terms, Bava certainly knows his stuff: There's alot of tasty compositions, well-timed close-ups and some grandiose use of colour in this baby, just to mention a few things.

It's not Terms of Endearment but give this a watch. The colors! It's like the color red is one of the actors.

More or less defined giallo films, a subgenre I don't get much out of with a couple of exceptions.

polisiye olarak işlemiyor, suç hikayesi olaraksa meh. ama abartılı (tuhaf?) ışık, renk ve yetkin müzik (ki başlı başına harika tema müziği) kullanımıyla stilistik olarak çok iyi kurulup kamerayı konuşturan bir yönetmenle birleşince film perdede ne anlattığı ötesinde ilgi çekici olmayı başarıyor.

This is almost a silent movie, in the sense that the dialogue is largely unnecessary. The images do all the talking. But I didn't find it compelling viewing, for all the briliant technique.

The colors are gorgeous and the influence on slashers is apparent, but the story and acting is pretty clunky.

Fun lighting and direction and had just a pinch of Hitchcock.

(Viewed on 15/05/15): Blood and Black Lace wasn't the first giallo, but it set the standard, laying the foundation for others to follow. It's style over substance--the plot is a passable who done it about a masked killer killing beautiful models--but the use of colour is bold and dreamlike, and the tracking shots prowl across opulent floors with extreme menace. While Bava lacked Argento's neuroticism, his style was infinitely more elegant, so the ropey acting can be easily overlooked.

Starts well, has some great imagery, but slowly loses steam and after a certain point I really didn’t care anymore

Giallo is much better when it doesn't bother with plots. The killer looks like Rorschach without the ink blots

Lush and richly styled film, featuring wonderful mise-en-scene, lighting and camera-work. The story is as formulaic as it gets. Even though Bava can be credited largely with cementing the genre's tropes, if you've seen even a couple of giallo films in your time this is best appreciated for it's superficial qualities.

A typical rote slasher film except for its categorization as a giallo and it being an early entry in the genre. Mediocre at best.

Sei done per l'assassino: 9 // 7 // 7 // 8 // 10 // 9 // 8

1964 e a criação de dois subgêneros do terror.

The jazzy slasher

In candy-coated giallo, in lieu of a musical number it's an act of murder

76.375

1964 was the year Italians invented the color red.

It's well-shot but it's really, really formulaic. Gruesome murders, suspects, alibis, a generic and uninteresting twist ending...

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Giallo wheelhouse: Visual ravish, plot silliness, and a general atmosphere of sleeze. Somehow, indifference to production and spiritual values seem linked.

I focused so much of my energy marveling at the aesthetics that when the final act began, I realized I wasn't paying attention to the plot line. It reminded me of the first time I saw Suspiria. I am excited to see what else director Mario Bava created.

Super influential, obvs., but kind of shit, although the english dub was fairly amusing.

Following his Hitchcock inspired Girl Who Knew Too Much, director Mario Bava managed to set up most of the ingredients that Giallo genre is known for. It's beautifully filmed in primary colors, contains gorgeous women and shady men to keep you guessing who's going to be killed next and who is behind it all with the fashion house providing a perfect setting. Made in 1964, It's not as gory as the latter films by Argento & co., but still contains brutal and suspenseful scenes.