A Blade in the Dark

Boasting a steady throttle of well-orchestrated suspense, some solid jump-scares, one whopper of a gore set-piece, and a fantastic musical score, this Lamberto Bava vehicle is an uneven but satisfying offering.

The film is centered around a composer who moves into an opulent villa to record the soundtrack for a horror film. He quickly finds himself living one when a series of strange events plunges him into a macabre mystery centered around the house's previous tenant, Linda. A series of female acquaintances of his predecessor begin showing up to provide him tantalizing clues, but then disappear just as suddenly when they are targeted and slayed by a deranged killer with a fondness for sharp objects. As he delves deeper into the cryptic saga of Linda's "secret," he learns that the movie he's working on may hold the key to discovering the dark, hidden truth.

The classic Giallo whodunnit formula is firmly in place, and Bava wisely provides enough suspects, both male and female, to keep things intriguing. We're left to puzzle over the potentiality of the lurking handyman who decorates his walls with pornographic pictures, the slightly batty film director who we imagine may be crafting her own real-life slasher movie, and the jealous girlfriend who bristles at the idea of other women setting foot anywhere near the house. This guessing game isn't stymied until the climax, when our possibilities start getting offed one by one, so the film maintains its mystique throughout.

The opening scene, in which two young boys dare their friend to descend into a creepy, shadow-strewn cellar and a grisly artifact plunges out of the darkness to announce his fate, gets the film off to a rousing start. From there, Bava sets a leisurely but effective pace, unfurling a piece at a time of the overarching enigma and punctuating each act with displays of the killer's prowess for carnage. Genre aficionados may find themselves disappointed by the meager body count leading into the finale, but the engrossing storyline renders this a minor complaint, and as the final act plays out, Bava makes up for lost time by whittling away his remaining cast in quick fashion.

The most gruesome and memorable scene in the film, a deliriously blood-soaked rendezvous in a bathroom, is constructed with a meticulous Hitchcock-ian flair for tension, and the end result is one of the most harrowing clips in the Giallo canon. Bava never quite reached the Grand Guignol via art-house heights of his brilliant countryman Dario Argento, but as evidenced by this particularly stunning segment of Blade, it wasn't because he didn't try.

Granted, there's plenty of silliness on display here, most of it a result of the dubbed dialogue, which at times clearly demonstrates some glaringly awkward translation ("Is it possible you're such a vacant nerd? Your satisfaction is to sit like a frog in the sun?"). Likewise, the concluding summation of the murderer's motivation is so rushed and dicey that the film ends on a fairly humorous note.

The final twist works well enough, but Bava falters a bit there by trying to keep the audience guessing for too long at a point when the solution to the riddle is plainly obvious. By the time we find out who's been holding the titular Blade, there are are only a couple of characters left, so knowing who the killer ISN'T strips the reveal of its big "a-ha" moment.

However, despite its flaws, A Blade In The Dark is an entertaining and cohesive thriller that delivers everything its premise promises. I'll let horror scholars debate whether this is Bava's best film or not; as for myself, I liked it a hell of a lot, and that's more than good enough for me.

Frequently vicious with some excellent set pieces, A Blade in the Dark must be one of the better non-Argento giallos from the 80's. The story follows a young horror film composer who becomes a target for a deranged serial killer who doesn't want this film to come out. This killer also finds time to hack up anyone who comes to the house where the composer is working on the music, so there's plenty of fresh blood to be spilled.

The pace ebbs and flows here and there and it's hard to judge the acting since it's been dubbed into English, but A Blade in the Dark is worth watching for it's insane murder set pieces, including one particularly grisly hairwashing sequence that involves a hand and a very sharp kitchen knife.

A Blade in the Dark exists somewhere between the giallos on the 70's and the slashers of the 80's, but manages to find its sweet spot more often than not. I think Lamberto's father, Mario, would be very proud of his work in this.

A young musician (Andrea Occhipinti) moves in to a house for the summer, and soon he is surrounded by a series of murders. Evidence trickles in that the killer might be the previous tenant, but nobody knows for sure and some people refuse to talk. And what is in the locked room in the basement?

Lamberto Bava came out of his father's shadow to make "Macabre", one of the finest Italian horror films of its day. Often overlooked, it is slick and original, and well worth seeking out. He followed it up with "A Blade in the Dark", co-written by the legendary writer Dardano Sacchetti, which likely gave the film a boost. It, too, has superior picture and sound, far surpassing Fulci's films of the same era.

Bava protests that the film is "not really a horror film", and some have classified it as a mystery or thriller. This is warranted, but the intense blood, gore and chills make it firmly a horror story in my mind.

Luca Palmerini calls the film "morbid" and "misogynistic" with "claustrophobic overtones". I may agree on the last part, but the misogyny is a stretch. The women here do take a back seat (and the film does start out by calling Giovanni Frezza's character a "female" as an insult) but compared to horror as a whole I think it comes across as normal.

The English dubbing on the Anchor Bay DVD is a bit strange to me, mostly because the characters say "ciao" while otherwise speaking English. Maybe it is just me. But overall, I cannot complain -- a lot of terror comes from a very small blade, and this may be Michele Soavi's best work as an actor. Coupled with a haunting score, the film is gripping, though the music does tend to get a bit overplayed and old, especially after the first kill.

While the film is not as good as "Macabre", it deserves recognition. Bava threw it together rather quickly with a low budget and unknown actors, with minimal equipment (even the set was actually just the producer's house). Adapting it from a television script where the goal was to kill someone every thirty minutes, he did pretty well with it. Clearly, he was successful enough that he was able to keep directing and give us the now-classic "Demons".

To begin with I was a real sap for liking all that commercial crap that the everyday world is being exposed to watching. That was until "A Blade In The Dark" caught my attention.

This was the first film that marked my entry towards Italian horror and what an entrance it was I might add.

The opening sequence is a real knockout not to mention dead scary (even the mere thought is enough to give me nightmares). The only con was the fact the acting was tad bit weak, but at the same time exceptional.

I won't spoil the ending though, but it could've been a slightly improved with a cat and mouse chase that concludes in a bit of a bloody showdown with hero and killer. The highlight in the film for me though was Lara Nazinsky, who plays Julia (the composer's girlfriend) what a firecracker she is.

Though not many would agree about this film being good, it was interesting to know that it was directed with little budget with many of the actors working for nothing and considering Lamberto Bava's credibility of being son of horror legend Mario Bava.

Worth a look.

"A Blade in the Dark" is a mediocre horror film.People comparing it to Argento's classics are completely missing the point.Obviously Lamberto Bava does not have the talent of his brilliant father Mario Bava-"A Blade in the Dark" is nothing in comparison to "Blood and Black Lace","A Bay of Blood" or "The Girl Who Knew Too Much".Still "A Blade in the Dark" is quite enjoyable,if you're a fan of Italian horror.Bruno,a music composer is offered a job by a female director to write the music for her newest horror film.He takes on the job and rents a small villa.As soon as he starts his work a series of brutal murders is set in motion.The film is not as scary as some people claim-in fact it's pretty dull.There are some vicious and really bloody murders,particularly the bathroom killing,but there is not enough gore for my liking.The script is sometimes too idiotic and the dubbing is horrible.So if you have enough time to waste give this one a look-just don't expect a masterpiece.