BLACK SUNDAY (1960) d. Mario Bava (Italy)

Tonight we're discussing Mario Bava's Black Sunday (aka The Mask of Satan) (1960), one of the most atmosphere-drenched cinematic forays into the supernatural. Marrying the feel of the Universal classics with the darkness of a Grimm fairy tale, and adding in the gorier and sexier feel of the rising Hammer color Gothics, this tour-de-force directorial debut introduced the world to Italian DP Mario Bava and scream queen in the making Barbara Steele, both becoming genre superstars overnight.

The breathtaking opening sequence, featuring a spike-studded iron mask, shocked audiences around the world, passing instantly into horror film iconography. The following 85 minutes see Bava weaving an elaborate tapestry of atmosphere and gloom over this tale of vengeance visited upon the family that burned the witch Aja and her lover at the stake two hundred years before.

While there are few elements of the fantastic story (very loosely based on Nikolai Gogol's story) that break new ground, this is an unabashedly gorgeous exercise in style and stunning black-and-white cinematography. Steele is outstanding as Aja and her modern-day descendant, Katia, both of whom share screen time with upcoming Hammer star John Richardson.

This masterpiece of Gothic mood will linger in the mind long after the lights come up, and is absolutely required viewing for any horror fan. Plus, Bava's pioneering work here paved the way for fellow auteurs Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci, and gave rise to an entirely new subgenre: The Italian horror film.

Join AC and his awesome panel of guests (Nile Arena, Craig J. Clark, Ian Simmons, Alan Tromp, Cullen Wade) as we celebrate 65 years of BLACK SUNDAY!!
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NILE ARENA has created cinema collectives, worked the film festival circuit, and lent his voice to podcasts dedicated to the silver screen. His literary/weird fiction journal, Success Stories, is available now at some of the places books are sold.

CRAIG J. CLARK watches a lot of movies. He started watching them in New Jersey, where he was born and raised, and continues to watch them in Indiana. He is a frequent contributor to Crooked Marquee (https://crookedmarquee.com/author/cra...) and writes the monthly Full Moon Features column for Werewolf News (https://werewolf-news.com/category/fu.... He is not a werewolf himself (or so he says)

IAN SIMMONS runs the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, where he posts movie reviews, interviews, and critics round tables. He is also a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, and feels conflicted about referring to himself in the third person. https://kickseat.com/

ALAN TROMP is a golden age Monster Kid, who has published articles in Filmfax, Twilight Zone Magazine, and We Belong Dead publications in the UK. He was scriptwriter for the shot-on-video nightmare, The Soul Eaters.

CULLEN WADE is the author of S(p)lasher Flicks: The Swimming Pool in Horror Cinema, out in 2025 from McFarland Books. Follow him on letterboxd @tobe_whooper and Bluesky @cullenwade.bsky.social
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