There is a huge following for director Mario Bava. The
director was one of the major players in the Italian film industry when it was
first beginning to be noticed in the 50s and 60s. What many note him for though
was his status in the world of horror films, creating some of the most amazing
images in the genre that can still make your skin crawl to this day. If you
don’t believe me try watching his anthology film BLACK SABBATH. Scenes from
that still scare me.
But Bava was also a director who made more than horror
films. He also directed drams, sword and sandal move and has been called the
father of the giallo film. The giallo film is an Italian genre that deals with
thriller that generally involve some sort of crime fiction or mystery. Perhaps
the most well-known director of this genre is Dario Argento, but Bava is
considered the one who began it all. And while it is disputed as to which movie
he made that began it all, many credit this film EVIL EYE (or as it was known
in Europe THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH) as the first.
The film opens with a young woman named Nora Davis (Leticia
Roman) flying to Italy to stay with her aunt. She arrives safe and sound and
finds her aunt being tended to by Dr. Marcello Bassi (John Saxon). On her first
night there she wakes to find that her aunt has died during the night and runs
to find help. On the street she is mugged and knocked unconscious. In a
stuporous state she wakes to witness a young woman struggle to the nearby steps
only to fall with a knife plunged into her back. As Nora watches, she sees a
man come up behind the girl, remove the knife and retreat as Nora passes out.
The next morning a stranger whose face we never see
approaches Nora to help only to run off when the police arrive. Taken to the
hospital the doctors there think she is an alcoholic due to the brandy the
mysterious stranger poured down her throat and it is only the appearance of
Marcello that saves her. Reporting the crime to the police they find no body or
evidence of foul play having taken place.
As Nora buries her aunt with Marcello by her side, she meets
Lora (Valentina Cortese) at the cemetery. Feeling pity for the young girl, Lora
tells her she was friends with her aunt. Rather than have the girl stay in the
huge house where her aunt just passed away, she invites Nora to stay at her
home nearby. She explains this will help her as well since she is about to
leave town and it means someone will be there to watch over the house.
As Nora begins to look deeper into the whole problem of the
murdered woman she saw, she finds out that there was a rash of deaths
attributed to a serial killer that ended ten years prior. Called the Alphabet
murders, they ended with the third victim whose last name began with a C.
Putting together the pieces of the puzzle Nora now fears for her own life as
her last name begins with a D. With Marcello’s help the couple try and find out
who the serial killer was with little or no help from the police. But as they
get closer to discovering who it might have been will it also mean that Nora
will die at the hands of the dormant killer who seems to have returned?
As with any movie that is made overseas it seems that there
is something lost in translation. But in this film it’s not near as noticeable
as with many others. Made in 1963 this was Bava’s last film to be shot in black
and white and he makes the most of it. His use of shadows and light here create
so much mystery on their own. Not only that he uses them to expand some
locations and to shrink others, an interesting method I’ve not seen put to use
before.
While some of the mystery involved here might seem quaint by
today’s standards the movie does offer clues slowly and surely rather than
pouring them all out at once in the end. Coupled with the growing love story
between Nora and Marcello it makes the film hold your interest from start to
finish. The performances by the two main leads also flows naturally which is a
credit to their acting abilities.
As with any film made longer than 40 years ago I highly
recommend that the viewer take the time to place themselves into the theater
experience of that time. Forget that we’ve had Michael Myers and Jason Vorhees
to haunt our nightmares since the release of this film. Instead just sit back
and enjoy the movie as it unfolds, take the time to discover the mystery and
the clues that are presented and just have a good time.
This new blu-ray release of the film from Kino Classics
offers two versions of the film. The first is as the US release EVIL EYE. This
version runs 92 minutes long and offers a soundtrack composed by Les Baxter.
The other version is the European version known as THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH,
featuring a soundtrack by Roberto Nicolosi, and runs 85 minutes. The quality of
the blu-ray is excellent and lends itself to the sharp contrasts in the black
and white photography that I mentioned earlier.
If you’re wondering what the classic horror or mystery
giallo films is all about then this is a good place to begin. It entertains and
holds your interest from start to finish and keeps you guessing throughout.
Once you watch this one you may find yourself seeking out more films by Mario
Bava. I would suggest the aforementioned BLACK SABBATH as well as BLACK SUNDAY.
Or you might want to check out the films of Dario Argento. In any event start
with this one and you may discover that you enjoy it enough to seek the others
out.
Click here to order.
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