The Art of Murder: Blood and Black Lace

Although Mario Bava’s 1964 film Blood and Black Lace was not his first foray into what would become known as the Giallo genre (that honor goes to his 1963 film The Girl Who Knew Too Much), it’s the one that everyone name checks. The reasons for this should be obvious when watching the film’s opening credits. Each member of the cast is introduced by name, framed in a sumptuous tableau, and looking directly at the screen. By breaking the fourth wall in such a lurid manner, Bava lets us know immediately that this isn’t real.

It doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of the movie, however, which much like Refn’s recent The Neon Demon, deals with beauty, fashion, and murder, reinforcing the idea that, in the right hands, death can be elevated to high art (see also: Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal).

The plot is stolen straight from film noir fantasy - drugs, double-crossing, a secret diary – and at times only seems to exist to serve the stunning visuals. It’s a film that’s also notable for actually making sense. As Giallo evolved, narrative concerns became less important than creating something that was both ghastly and gorgeous. This also means that with a few notable exceptions – for example, Argento’s Suspiria - Gialli films were not all that scary. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Blood and Black Lace sets the tone for the next two decades (and beyond) with its elegant transformation of terror tropes.

Blood and Black Lace’s influence on future Gialli is inestimable even if you just consider the aesthetic perspective; the black gloved killer, the straight razor, vivid colors, beautiful women, foreboding mirrors, violent rainstorms, crazy zooms, and elaborate set pieces are all here, and these visual conceits would continue to thrive in future installments of the genre.

While Bava’s unparalleled use of color is what first grabs your attention, his masterful lighting and framing cannot be ignored. Much like Suspiria, Blood and Black Lace exists in some surreal universe that looks like a comic book come to life; even the killer seems to prefigure Watchmen’s Rorschach. Reds are redder, greens are greener, and blacks are blacker, a technique whose influence reaches as far as Michael Mann’s Manhunter in 1986, not to mention The Neon Demon.

Granted, when compared to Gialli from the 1970s, Blood and Black Lace feels almost tame from a narrative perspective. There are more than a few slow parts in this film, which may seem at odds with the almost hysterical visuals. Yet at its heart, the Giallo is a crime drama, and Blood and Black Lace is on par with any of the films noir of the 1940s and ‘50s.

If you’ve only seen Blood and Black Lace on DVD or VHS, this new reissue from Arrow Video is essential, displaying the film in its original glory via a new 2K restoration.

The disc is also packed with an incredible array of extras: audio commentary from Bava biographer Tim Lucas; a visual essay called “Gender and Giallo;” a featurette with neo-Giallo filmmakers Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani; “Psycho Analysis,” a 55-minute documentary on the origins of the Giallo genre with Dario Argento, Lamberto Bava, screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi, critics Roberto Curti and Steve Della Casa, crime novelist Carlo Lucarelli and more; a panel discussion on Bava with Argento, Lamberto Bava, and Della Casa from 2014; the 26-minute neo Giallo film Yellow, by Ryan Hansom and Jon Britt; and a two-part episode of David Del Valle’s TV series The Sinister Image that focuses on Blood and Black Lace’s star, Cameron Mitchell.

There’s also the original theatrical trailer and the alternate US opening titles sourced from Joe Dante’s own print, not to mention new artwork and essays in the enclosed booklet.

All in all, this is a must-own release for hardcore Giallo fans or those just dipping their toes into it for the first time.