Runtime: 93 minutes
Directed by: Mario Bava
Starring: Boris Karloff, Michele Mercier, Lidia Alfonsi, Jacqueline Pierraux, Mark Damon
From: Several different companies that spanned a few different countries
Co-starring the fly that landed on Mike Pence's head.
Note that while this played last night on Turner Classic Movies, that is NOT the version I am reviewing here. This is because what TCM presented was the American International Pictures edit of the film, which made some changes. The intro/outro is different, one segment was edited into something else because of content concerns, and the order of these stories was even changed. I found the original Italian version, subtitled in English. How I did this... that will remain a mystery.
A trio of tales is told and all are pretty spooky. One involves a lady receiving telephone calls; that has reminded some of Scream's legendary opening. The biggest changes were made here for the United States release as edits were made due to people being concerned about American audiences seeing a tale involving prostitutes and lesbian overtones. The second concerns a wurdulak; if you are like me then you would not have heard of that Slavic folklore creature before and that is a shame as it (a bloodsucker which needs the claret of family/friends to survive) is rather fascinating. The last involves a corpse and the torments that befall upon someone who thinks it a good idea to steal something from the corpse's body. Also in this parable was a housefly that was a constant pest.
Of course, this being a Mario Bava product, the movie was literally colorful and was a delight visually. All the tales were different and in their own ways offered up plenty of chilling moments & scares. My personal favorite was the wurdulak segment and not just because it featured Boris Karloff; it also had the best mood & atmosphere although the three stories were effective. This movie is much more than just the inspiration for the name of a legendary heavy metal act... notwithstanding, that is still an awesome bit of trivia.
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