Black Sunday is about a witch who was put to death with her lover in the 1500s. She has the Mask of Satan nailed into her face and they then try to burn her alive (but a sudden storm prevents it). We then move forward to the 1700s where two doctors traveling to a conference stop at a ruined chapel and find the witch's grave. Thanks to a giant bat, they disturb the grave and even leave some fresh blood on it. This starts a whole thing. The witch resurrects her lover, turns one of the doctors into a vampire and begins a campaign of vengeance against her descendants (who still keep a full portrait of her and her lover in their living room for some reason). Anyway, bad things happen.
The atmosphere of the movie is very classic in that it reminds me of Browning's Dracula. This was Mario Bava's first real movie and it kicked off the Italian horror genre in earnest. The action moves along at a nice clip and the evil seems to stack up pretty high before the good guys get even a chance of turning the tables. Barbara Steele brings her freaky beauty to the dual parts of Asa the Witch and Katia, her own descendant. The hero is kind of dull but there are plenty of colorful characters to offset him.
This is just a solid, meat and potatoes horror film. I like it better than some of the Hammer movies that also tried to catch that Universal classic feel. Prepare for some gruesome effects that I imagine were scandalous for the time.
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