La notte dei diavoli

A great, obscure Italian gem from the 70's, directed by Giorgio Ferroni, "Mill of the Stone Women". It's based on the same story as the "Wurdalack" segment of Mario Bava's "Black Sabbath", and I consider to be about on the same level of the latter. It's much more mean-spirited and darker than Bava's version, and while it may not be as elegant and subtly creepy, this one is quite frightening and suffocatingly atmospheric in it's own right, with some surprisingly haunting and disturbing set pieces. The characters and the story were much better developed, and unlike "Black Sabbath", I actually cared for them. The actors also did a pretty good job, with some solid performances. Still, I thought the violence and nudity came off as gratuitous and were not really necessary, and Carlo Rambaldi's special effects didn't age very well, specially compared to his other works. Nevertheless, Ferroni's stylish direction and Georgio Gaslini's eerie, melancholic score more than make up for it's flaws. I also loved how the film is slow paced, but never gets boring, always keeping the viewers on the edge of their seats.