A vengeful witch, Asa Vajda, and her fiendish servant, Igor Jauvitch, return from the grave and begin a bloody campaign to possess the body of the witch's beautiful look-alike descendant: Katia. Only a handsome doctor with the help of family members stand in her way.
This was just great. My first Bava experience--hopefully I'll eventually take in his entire oeuvre.
Black Sunday is a black and white gothic horror film focused on the revenge plot of an executed plot and the people trying to stop her.
The plot itself is fine. It's nothing extra special, but it facilitates the movie well enough. The characters and many of the other general building blocks of the film are also fine. So why is this movie worth watching?
Well, the director, Mario Bava, does a stellar job of setting the scene. The soundtrack to the movie is spectacular. The black and white really aides to the atmosphere, as does the cinematography. The cinematography, in particular, is outstanding. The film relies on a wonderful selection of long shots. There are many shots where the length doesn't particularly add to the story, but it certainly adds to the atmosphere and overall creepiness of the movie. The film also includes some fairly gruesome scenes, nothing quite like a splatter film, though. The scenes are well placed and add to the experience rather than become the focus themselves.
All in all, if you're after a great atmospheric horror film and don't care much about a plot or characters, you may find yourself enjoying Black Sunday.