HALLOWEENTOWN, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Every day this month, resident horror movie enthusiast and 828newsNOW staff reporter Pruett Norris is recommending a Halloween film for your macabre amusement.
Whether they be monster movies or fearsome family films, demonic possessions or slasher sensations, this exercise hopes to encourage spooky seasonal “scream”ings at home or in cinemas.
As the old saying goes, “trick or treat, trick or treat, give me something good to…watch.”
Day 18: BLACK SUNDAY (1960, 86 min., directed by Mario Bava)
How about another Italian horror movie, this time from genre maestro and progenitor Mario Bava? It’s another witch movie, too, as well as a moody black and white Gothic flick. Despite the resemblance “Black Sunday” bears to other films, it’s more of an innovator than it appears, much like the director from whom it came.
“Black Sunday” is drenched in atmosphere. Its dark shadows and spooky crypts are the standard for excellence in the genre, and the dual performance by Barbara Steele as a witch and her descendant is stupendous. Much like “Psycho,” another 1960 horror classic, cinematic flourishes in “Black Sunday” have reverberated down through generations of filmmakers since.
Unsure if an Italian witch movie over 60 years old is your thing? Try the first scene. Its haunting hammer and mask are heavenly for horror fans, despite the Italian title: “La maschera del demonio,” or “The Mask of Satan.”
“Black Sunday” is streaming on Prime Video, Tubi and The Criterion Channel.
Looking for more October movie recommendations? Read the rest of the 828boosNOW archive:
DAY 1: BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
DAY 3: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS
DAY 5: SCOOBY-DOO! AND THE WITCH’S GHOST
DAY 7: THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT
DAY 8: THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
DAY 14: KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE