Kill, Baby... Kill! by Mario Bava [1966]

Title: Kill, Baby... Kill!
Director: Mario Bava
Starring: Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Erica Blanc
Runtime: 85 minutes
Year: 1966
Source: Zip.ca

I've had this disc sitting on my computer desk for the last two weeks and everytime I popped it in, I was pulled away to do something else. Finally, I was able to sit back and finish it off start to finish, thankfully.

I'm not too familiar with Mario Bava's work, of course I've seen his name mentioned in multiple interviews and credited as a great influence. But I've yet to actually sit back and watch his movies back-to-back, such a shame. This being only the second Bava film I've seen [the first being Black Sabbath] but totally sucked me in. I feel kind of guilty for not hunting down his titles before.

This movie starts out with Dr. Paul Eswai [Giacomo Rossi-Stuart] being called in to a small town to perform an autopsy on a girl that had the misfortune to land on the sharp end of a pointy fence. After meeting one of the prettiest actresses ever, Monica [Erica Blanc], he starts the autopsy only to find a coin stuck in the womens heart. Slightly odd, don't you think?

Before long Eswai comes to realize the whole town is cracked and suspicious deaths isn't really all that rare in their end of the woods. This doctor likes to earn his paycheck, I suppose, and decides to toss on his investigator hat to find out just what all in going on in this little town. All signs point to this secluded estate where a young girl named Melissa was killed off some 20+ years ago. Creeep. The towns people seem to not like the Doctor getting all up in their business, but as he persists, well... I can't go ruining the movie for you, now can I?

The real winning aspect to this movie is all the attention to detail. Every shot is creepy, the sound effects rule and bring you into the moment, so even if nothing is actually happening on screen, your at the edge of your seat waiting for it. My attention is hard to hold at times, but Bava did so easily.

Highly recommended.

j.

ps. I just read the feature on The Girl Next Door in the latest issue of Rue Morgue magazine. I'm on a hunt tomorrow to find it in stores [came out on DVD Dec. 4th]. Sounds really good, initially I first thought it would be just another 'torture porn' attempt, but apparently that's the exact opposite of what the director was going for. Go check out the trailer.

Also, today I picked up the info and photo intensive book Horror Films by Alan Frank [first published in 1977] at a used book shop for $5. Sweet find.