Cuchillos en la oscuridad

Boasting a steady throttle of well-orchestrated suspense, some solid jump-scares, one whopper of a gore set-piece, and a fantastic musical score, this Lamberto Bava vehicle is an uneven but satisfying offering.

The film is centered around a composer who moves into an opulent villa to record the soundtrack for a horror film. He quickly finds himself living one when a series of strange events plunges him into a macabre mystery centered around the house's previous tenant, Linda. A series of female acquaintances of his predecessor begin showing up to provide him tantalizing clues, but then disappear just as suddenly when they are targeted and slayed by a deranged killer with a fondness for sharp objects. As he delves deeper into the cryptic saga of Linda's "secret," he learns that the movie he's working on may hold the key to discovering the dark, hidden truth.

The classic Giallo whodunnit formula is firmly in place, and Bava wisely provides enough suspects, both male and female, to keep things intriguing. We're left to puzzle over the potentiality of the lurking handyman who decorates his walls with pornographic pictures, the slightly batty film director who we imagine may be crafting her own real-life slasher movie, and the jealous girlfriend who bristles at the idea of other women setting foot anywhere near the house. This guessing game isn't stymied until the climax, when our possibilities start getting offed one by one, so the film maintains its mystique throughout.

The opening scene, in which two young boys dare their friend to descend into a creepy, shadow-strewn cellar and a grisly artifact plunges out of the darkness to announce his fate, gets the film off to a rousing start. From there, Bava sets a leisurely but effective pace, unfurling a piece at a time of the overarching enigma and punctuating each act with displays of the killer's prowess for carnage. Genre aficionados may find themselves disappointed by the meager body count leading into the finale, but the engrossing storyline renders this a minor complaint, and as the final act plays out, Bava makes up for lost time by whittling away his remaining cast in quick fashion.

The most gruesome and memorable scene in the film, a deliriously blood-soaked rendezvous in a bathroom, is constructed with a meticulous Hitchcock-ian flair for tension, and the end result is one of the most harrowing clips in the Giallo canon. Bava never quite reached the Grand Guignol via art-house heights of his brilliant countryman Dario Argento, but as evidenced by this particularly stunning segment of Blade, it wasn't because he didn't try.

Granted, there's plenty of silliness on display here, most of it a result of the dubbed dialogue, which at times clearly demonstrates some glaringly awkward translation ("Is it possible you're such a vacant nerd? Your satisfaction is to sit like a frog in the sun?"). Likewise, the concluding summation of the murderer's motivation is so rushed and dicey that the film ends on a fairly humorous note.

The final twist works well enough, but Bava falters a bit there by trying to keep the audience guessing for too long at a point when the solution to the riddle is plainly obvious. By the time we find out who's been holding the titular Blade, there are are only a couple of characters left, so knowing who the killer ISN'T strips the reveal of its big "a-ha" moment.

However, despite its flaws, A Blade In The Dark is an entertaining and cohesive thriller that delivers everything its premise promises. I'll let horror scholars debate whether this is Bava's best film or not; as for myself, I liked it a hell of a lot, and that's more than good enough for me.

Frequently vicious with some excellent set pieces, A Blade in the Dark must be one of the better non-Argento giallos from the 80's. The story follows a young horror film composer who becomes a target for a deranged serial killer who doesn't want this film to come out. This killer also finds time to hack up anyone who comes to the house where the composer is working on the music, so there's plenty of fresh blood to be spilled.

The pace ebbs and flows here and there and it's hard to judge the acting since it's been dubbed into English, but A Blade in the Dark is worth watching for it's insane murder set pieces, including one particularly grisly hairwashing sequence that involves a hand and a very sharp kitchen knife.

A Blade in the Dark exists somewhere between the giallos on the 70's and the slashers of the 80's, but manages to find its sweet spot more often than not. I think Lamberto's father, Mario, would be very proud of his work in this.

I do like a good Giallo film and this is one of those.

The writers, Dardano Sacchetti and Elisa Briganti, do a great job of weaving the elements of this story into an interesting and eerie dark thriller. There are a couple of supernatural factors thrown in so it just makes it into the horror genre also.

Though it's Lamberto Bava's direction which steers it in the horror genre route the most. What Bava brings to the table is the atmosphere. He is adept at using everything to build an uneasiness for the viewers. Lighting effects, musical interludes, and camera angles. These are the main ingredients he adds. Shame some of today's directors can't cook up a film so good.

It also helps to have the opening sequence where you should recognise one of the kids in the daring trio. Giovanni Frezza who has appeared in nine films of the genre from 1980 to 85. But you should know him from Lucio Fulci's classic horror, The House By The Cemetery. Though it's a very minor part he still does a good job.

I find with the foreign dubbed films it's difficult to fairly rate the acting ability as you're not hearing their voices. You can only go on what you see and hear. Sight-wise the acting isn't superb but it is above average. Sound-wise the vocals could have been a little better. I do wish that the vocal talent scouts would match the voices and characters better. As always this is where it falls - but only a little. There are a couple of translation mishaps and the voice actors and actresses could have studied the script a bit more, to get the emotional elements correct.

Though, if you're a watcher of dubbed films then you'll take this with a pinch of salt - you'll be used to these little niggles. They don't detract from the enjoyment of the story and film.

The special effects are incredible. The bathroom sequence is horrific and I still cannot figure out how they managed to make it look so realistic. This is one of my favourite effects scenes. I hope other filmmakers take note. If you're doing gruesome effects then wetwork is the only way to go. And remember to keep the atmosphere going.

Not an exact tour-de-force but both the writers and director should be happy to have this one in their portfolio - I would be.

The only thing letting the film down is the ending. It's been done a lot. Even when this came out it had started to become old hat. Since then it's become a staple twist of the genre and greatly overused.

If you like gruesome eerie mysteries, then this film is for you. I would even recommend watching the film if you have a passing interest in the genre or want to try something new. Check out my thriller and horror lists, The Game Is Afoot and Absolute Horror, to see where this film sits in my rankings.

Inspired a little more by the American slashers coming out at the time, A Blade in the Dark is a solid and sometimes intense slash fest about a film composer trapped in an isolated estate where everyone around him is being murdered. The murders themselves are grisly, especially one involving a bathroom, a hand, some shampoo, and a knife. There are a few lags in the pacing here and there, but it all leads to a memorably bizarre finale that makes up for it.

To begin with I was a real sap for liking all that commercial crap that the everyday world is being exposed to watching. That was until "A Blade In The Dark" caught my attention.

This was the first film that marked my entry towards Italian horror and what an entrance it was I might add.

The opening sequence is a real knockout not to mention dead scary (even the mere thought is enough to give me nightmares). The only con was the fact the acting was tad bit weak, but at the same time exceptional.

I won't spoil the ending though, but it could've been a slightly improved with a cat and mouse chase that concludes in a bit of a bloody showdown with hero and killer. The highlight in the film for me though was Lara Nazinsky, who plays Julia (the composer's girlfriend) what a firecracker she is.

Though not many would agree about this film being good, it was interesting to know that it was directed with little budget with many of the actors working for nothing and considering Lamberto Bava's credibility of being son of horror legend Mario Bava.

Worth a look.