Blood and Black Lace

Blood and Black Lace is one of the first Giallo’s I ever watched. Giallo’s, by definition, are Italian mystery/thrillers/horror movies that are bloodier and gorier than traditional movies. I love the use of colors, like red and yellow, that are typically found in these kinds of movies. In Blood and Black Lace, red is the predominant color that you will find throughout the movie.

<img src="Bloodandblacklace.jpg" alt="Blood and Black Lace.">

Photo Credit: Emmepi Cinematografica

Released: Apr 7, 1965

Runtime: 88 mins

Director: Mario Bava

Writer: Mario Bava, Marcello Fondato, Giuseppe Barilla

Actors: Cameron Mitchell, Eva Bartok, Thomas Reiner

PLOT

A masked, shadowy killer brutally murders the models of a scandalous fashion house in Rome.

MY THOUGHTS

There’s about six deaths, all women except for Massimo in the end. The kills are not overly graphic, but there is blood for some of the deaths (not including the strangulation and the drowning of course). There is also a scene where a woman’s face is burned, and we’re supposed to think that killed her. For a sixties movie, I thought the effects were decent. 

As far as acting goes, I thought it was pretty decent. Just to be up front, I do like watching foreign films, but I will only watch with subtitles. I’m not a fan of dubbing for the most part. So I’m judging by the subtitle version. I will say, I was surprised when Peggy died.  I was convinced she would be the final girl, but alas no. 

At a famous fashion house, one of the models is murdered. As an inspector is trying to figure out who killed her, the fashion show must go on. During the show, the victim’s diary is found. The diary is filled with everyone’s dark secrets that they don’t want found out. As the movie unfolds, each person who gets the diary ends up dying. And just when you think you figure it out, an impossible situation comes up and you start doubting yourself. It ends with a good conclusion that no questions are left unanswered.

With most Giallo’s you have a mysterious killer ( a lot of times you see just gloves or a mask), beautiful women, a hidden secret or scandal that eventually comes to light, and a mystery that slowly unfolds. Giallo’s are a great mix of mystery and slasher. I think Mario Bava did a great job with this movie, and I really like his use of the color read throughout the movie. Whether it be with the red scarves or the red mannequins you find throughout the movie. Don’t get me started with the freaky mannequins! 

Another reason (besides they are slashers) I like Giallo’s, like Blood and Black Lace, is that I usually can’t guess who the killer is until the end. You get some clever red herring’s and then when the killer is revealed, you’re like “ahh…that make’s sense”. 

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I wanted to take a quick break to let you know I found these great deals on Amazon for Blood and Black Lace merchandise. I’ve applied to Amazon’s affiliate program and if I can get three purchases I will be accepted into the program. This will be of tremendous help with starting my small business.

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If you haven’t watched a Giallo movie, I highly recommend checking this out by Mario Bava. If you haven’t seen Blood and Black Lace, check it out.

And now for your Forever Final Girl Exclusive…Did you know?:

  • Due to the film's low budget Mario Bava mounted the camera on a child's wagon and used it for tracking shots.

  • A landmark film in Italian cinema because it began the giallo genre. The giallo genre remains Italy's longest running cinematic movement.

  • Actress Mary Arden wrote most of the English dialog for the film. The film was dubbed into English for overseas marketing.

  • While shooting the scene where Peggy's body falls out of the car trunk, a painful mishap occurred. Despite Bava's repeated warnings to Lea Lander in rehearsals that the trunk lid must be opened fully before she reacts to the dead body, In the first take the trunk lid wasn't opened far enough and the lid slammed back down striking Mary Arden painfully in the nose narrowly missing her eyes. She was in shock and sobbing uncontrollably. Bava immediately halted the filming and quickly carried Ms. Arden inside the house to comfort her while others tended to her injuries. It took a couple of hours for her to calm down. The mishap would leave a scar on Ms. Arden's nose. Years later she joked that doing the film almost literally killed her.

  • The burn makeup for Mary Arden's face would take four hours to apply. One evening after shooting Arden was too tired to have it removed from her face and went home wearing the grisly makeup. Arden's mother, who was living with her at the time, was very alarmed when she saw her daughter come in.

  • Most of the male characters were dubbed by Paul Frees for the American release of this film, including Cameron Mitchell. Evidently the Woolner Brothers couldn't be bothered to bring him in to loop his own lines.

Check out my other reviews here: Forever Final Girl

Let’s get into the rankings:

Kills/Blood/Gore: 4/5

Sex/Nudity: 0/5

Scare factor: 4/5

Enjoyment factor: 5/5

My Rank: 4/5

IMDB: 7.1/10

Rotten Tomatoes: critics:  8/10  audience:  7.6/10

Letterboxd: 3.7/5