This Blu-ray from Severin Films is currently available for purchase.
You wouldn’t believe how much horror product was available to youngsters growing up in the 1980s. I grew up in this era and remember there being genre films arriving at theaters almost weekly, as well as even more titles arriving on VHS for rental. For a time, it seemed as if there was never a shortage of features to watch. But, if you were as taken with creepy movies as I was, you eventually did find yourself overly familiar with American slashers. For me, that meant checking out international efforts and being introduced to the likes of Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, as well as Mario Bava and his son, Lamberto Bava.
The Demons movies, which were produced by Argento and directed by Lamberto Bava, were VHS rentals that I revisited numerous times. Truth be told, I liked them so much they became permanently ingrained in my young brain. Still, despite seeing numerous films from this part of the world, some Italian titles didn’t reach North American audiences.
This week, Severin Films has released something of an obscurity from Europe in the late 1980s. Until now it has pretty much been impossible to find in this part of the world. It’s an Italian horror TV-movie from Lamberto Bava called The Mask of Satan aka Demons 5: The Devil’s Veil aka Sabbath “Episode 4” (as it originally aired) which was a very loose remake of the Mario Bava classic Black Sunday. It seems that the producer asked a bunch of filmmakers to film TV-movies, with all the stories using a witch as the centerpiece.
Of course, The Mask of Satan redo doesn’t top the original masterpiece, but it’s a surprisingly slick (and graphic) effort, and one that will certainly amuse 80s horror addicts. The disc itself is also top notch, sporting a 2K picture restoration from the original camera negative. In fact, the image quality is really impressive and the disc contains some fun bonuses as well.
This tale follows a group of young skiers in the alps. They’re warned by a helicopter pilot that the area is dangerous, but the 20-something kids ignore the warning. By the end of the opening credits, they’ve all fallen deep down an icy crevice. The injured skiers attempt to find a way out, only to discover a masked figure frozen in the ice, and an entryway into an incredible, abandoned building mostly buried under snow.
Naturally, one of the group members takes the mask, releasing the spirit of a witch named Anibas (Eva Grimaldi), who immediately tries to influence the youngsters, make them sin and turn them into her servants. Most go bad, but one pure skier named Davide (Giovanni Guidelli) resists the witch’s influence. Soon, Davide’s girlfriend Sabina (Debora Kinski) starts trying to seduce him, making the protagonist wonder if she might be possessed. He receives some assistance from a priest (Stanko Molnar) who gives him advice about warding off the evil force.
As mentioned, this is an incredibly 80s movie, from the snow outfits and hair, to the bright neon lighting. It’s all very silly, with Davide being tempted and resisting his girlfriend’s charms, only to be chased around by his maniacal compatriots… and then have the very same thing occur again. There are definitely some chuckles to be had and the movie lacks the chills of the original film.
However, there is a lot to like. The sets and camerawork are spectacular. The snow crevice is a couple of stories tall and looks fantastic. Often, the camera whooshes around, moving up the icy walls and through the entire snowbound building. The make-up effects from Sergio Stivaletti are amazing. This includes a series of paintings that move and stretch as evil forces burst from the walls (not unlike a gag or two from the Demons series). There is also an effective impaling via shard of ice, a severed limb that moves on its own, and creative witch effects. On several occasions, the lovely Sabina attempts to woo Davide. This results in some heavy petting, only for the young woman to transform into a monstrous beast (with insect-like features). The climactic appearance of Anibas is also memorable and reminiscent of the Greek creature Medusa.
It’s certainly hard to take seriously as a terrifying monster movie and the big twist involving the names of two characters is fairly obvious from the outset, but the young cast (which also includes Cemetery Man director Michele Soavi) are more charismatic than you would expect to see in this type of a film. And there’s plenty of gore and nudity that you wouldn’t see in a TV-movie of the era in this part of the world. It’s a fun, visually dynamic feature that is a technical delight to watch. I was surprised at how much the film amused me.
This Blu-ray from Severin Films looks astonishing. The film is presented in a widescreen 1.78:1 aspect ratio with incredible clarity that really makes an impression. Outdoor locations look spectacular (often featuring snow falling from the sky), the sets really pop and the picture is excellent overall. It’s hard to believe that this title was originally produced for television.
The extras are also incredibly informative. There is a very long discussion (over an hour) with the genial Lamberto Bava in which he goes over the origins of the project. First off, he admits that he hates remakes and almost never finds them to be a worthwhile viewing experience. When the producer of the Sabbath TV-series asked him to redo his dad’s famous feature, he wasn’t excited until the final concept was pitched to him. He liked the idea of setting this take in the present day, as well as in the snow. Knowing that, besides the mask itself, there weren’t many similarities between this story and the original Black Sunday, he ultimately agreed.
Bava is very fond of this picture because the producers gave him a lot of freedom and more resources than he was usually given. He also talks about how amazed he was with the unique locations in Switzerland, the elaborate sets, incredible effects and moving camera rigs. Additionally, Bava notes that the young cast were quite strong. While the director admits he didn’t think Guidelli was really leading-man material, he liked the actor’s work and loved the other performances of the cast. He notes that even though Michele Soavi was making a name for himself as a director and had just finished production on his first movie, StageFright, the filmmaker agreed to take an acting role in the picture as a favor. Additionally, Bava goes into the make-up effects, how some of the practical gags were achieved and correctly notes that these gruesome bits really hold up and look better than effects in most modern movies. He clearly has a fondness for the final product and the overall look of the film.
There are two cast member interviews as well. The first is with co-star Mary Sellers, who describes her experiences working on the movie. She admits that it must have been a frustrating experience for Bava corralling the cast, remembering that most of the young cast were having a great time goofing around during the shoot. Sellers admits that she doesn’t like horror movies and suggests the director was likely saddened by the reaction during festival screenings when the producers were hoping for worldwide distribution for these TV-movies.
The interview with Debora Capriogilo aka Debora Kinski is a little more upbeat. She gives an overview of her career, talking about some of her most famous parts in European pictures, as well as her time with then-partner Klaus Kinski (who suggested she use his name in credits). The actress talks about the time spent in the make-up chair and how arduous it was, but seems to have had a good time onset and enjoyed working with Lamberto Bava and other cast members (compared to some other shoots she participated in). It’s an interesting discussion.
I had never heard of The Mask of Satan, but it certainly was fun catching up with this feature. It isn’t in the same league as Black Sunday or as propulsively enjoyable as the filmmaker’s Demons movies, but it isn’t boring and is far more stylish than expected. In fact, it is a generally entertaining Italian genre film. The disc looks great and the content will impress anyone who enjoys the work of Bava or over-the-top but slick and stylish Italian horror pictures.