I tre volti della paura (1963)

Directed by Mario Bava [Other horror film: I vampiri (1957), Caltiki il mostro immortale (1959), La maschera del demonio (1960), Ercole al centro della Terra (1961), La ragazza che sapeva troppo (1963), La frusta e il corpo (1963), 6 donne per l’assassino (1964), Terrore nello spazio (1965), Operazione paura (1966), 5 bambole per la luna d’agosto (1970), Il rosso segno della follia (1970), Ecologia del delitto (1971), Gli orrori del castello di Norimberga (1972), Lisa e il diavolo (1973), The House of Exorcism (1975), Schock (1977)]

Infinitely better known under the title Black Sabbath, this Italian anthology has never really impressed me. Of course, I’ve only seen it twice now, so that may change with future viewings, but right now, it just doesn’t seem that great a movie.

What possibly might impact that conclusion is that I’ve seen only the American print. Both versions contain the three same stories – ‘The Telephone’, ‘The Wurdulak’, and ‘The Drop of Water’ – but the stories are in a different order in the American copy, along with edits being made to the stories, most prevalent in ‘The Telephone.’

I don’t know if I’d like the movie anymore with the original print, but I can say that as I believe ‘The Telephone’ is by far the weakest segment here, I’d definitely be open to seeing the story done differently. ‘The Wurdulak’, which is the final story in the American print, isn’t that bad, but it does run on a bit long, and possesses a bunch of annoying character mistakes that make it quite hard for me to sympathize with them, not to mention having somewhat melodramatic dialogue (“All I know is that I love you”).

The true winner of this film, as far as the segments go, is ‘The Drop of Water’, which is unfortunate, as it’s the segment that opens the American copy, meaning that after the story is done, there’s little to look forward to. ‘The Drop of Water’ is sweet and simple, and is a masterclass in suspense. From the moment we first see the dead body of the medium to the final scene, it’s a very thrilling story, and a pleasure to watch.

It’s also a pleasure to see Boris Karloff introduce the stories (though I would have liked it if he also had some closing dialogue), and not only that, but he was also in ‘The Wurdulak,’ playing a beautifully threatening role (though that one piece of dialogue – “Can’t I fondle my own grandson?” – was dated terribly). Jacqueline Pierreux was amazing in ‘The Drop of Water,’ and while some of his choices bothered me, I thought Mark Damon did decently in the final story. It may partially just be the story, but Michèle Mercier didn’t really impress me in ‘The Telephone.’

Obviously, Black Sabbath isn’t without it’s strengths, which is evident by the amount of people who call the film a classic. No doubt that it looks nice – the color is rather fresh for an early 1960’s movie, and the portions of the film that it gets right, it really gets right. It’s just that it doesn’t happen often, and though the film might be better in the original Italian print, I can’t imagine my views changing significantly.

In short, despite it’s classic status, it’s not really a film I enjoy save for ‘The Drop of Water,’ and there are so many other horror films from the 1960’s that I’d rather watch.

6/10