Boris Karloff, Glauco Onorato, Lidia Alfonsi

A trio of atmospheric horror tales about: A woman terrorized in her apartment by phone calls from an escaped prisoner from her past; a Russian count in the early 1800s who stumbles upon a family in th...( read more  read more... )e countryside trying to destroy a particularly vicious line of vampires; and a 1900-era nurse who makes a fateful decision while preparing the corpse of one of her patients - an elderly medium who died during a seance.

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75% liked it

4,475 ratings

Unrated, 92 min.

Directed by: Mario Bava, Salvatore Billitteri

Release Date: May 6, 1963

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DVD Release Date: August 1, 2000

Stats: 189 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (189)


  • October 26, 2009
    Mario Bava is considered by many the Godfather of several genres and filming techniques. His extensive work is regarded as highly influential for, among others, the gothic horror, giallo, atmospheric suspense, J-Horror (yes, J-Horror) and slasher styles. Popular directors such as...( read more) Scorsese, Tarantino, Dario Argento, Joe Dante, Tim Burton, Coppola and Guillermo del Toro paid Bava an artistic tribute by adopting some of his techniques and sense of style (sometimes even an exact reproduction of a particular scene) in several of their works.

    I tre volti della paura - Black Sabbath - is part of his Unholy Trinity, if you will, along with La Maschera del demonio - Black Sunday - and Reazione a catena - A Bay of Blood (although some may argue that movies like Operazione paura - Kill Baby, Kill - or Sei donne per l'assassino - Blood and Black Lace - also deserve a place in the podium. It's not as visually gothic as the first nor as gory as the latter, but it wasn't intended to be. And whilst the three stories comprised in it are quite simple and not incredibly original (with the exception, perhaps, of the twist in the first segment "Il telefono"), and I'm considering 1960's standards, the way they are presented is more than enough to lock one's attention throughout the entire film. The disturbing display of colours and picture stylization, which is one of the most distinguishable traits in Bava's cinematography, is particularly well worked and balanced in I tre volte della paura, especially in the middle segment, "I Wurdalak". Although it's not the best story of the three, the gloomy and darkened landscapes are able to drag one's mind right into it.

    This movie benefits from an extended contribution from the horror icon Boris Karloff himself, who opens the festivities with an introduction, plays a role in "I Wurdalak" and ends the movie with a message to the viewers. And while he lives up to his acting standards in the tale he stars in, and his introduction is more than welcome, his final commentary (note that he is obviously not the one to blame for this) is completely unnecessary and a painful mood killer, particularly after such a macabre tale as "La goccia d'acqua". This happened simply because Bava ended up giving in to the pressure of his American distribution company, who feared the last segment was too strong and visually nightmarish to end the movie with, making him add a comic final comment and ultimately a visual joke, personified in Karloff. This moment alone makes it very difficult for me to consider the film as a top notch achievement, or as Bava's finest hour. It's just that bad, and unnervingly out of context. Such a movie should not have any humurous moment, otherwise it risks ruining everything it built before. And with this particular scene, it nearly did.
    Yet, luckily, it didn't.

    So all things considered, I tre volti della paura stands, by its own right, as one of the most influential horror movies of its decade, along with titles like Hitchcock's Psycho or The Birds, Peeping Tom, Polanski's Repulsion or Rosemary's Baby, The Haunting, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, The Innocents, the Hammer horror productions, Night of the Living Dead or Bava's very own La Maschera del Demonio.
    And for that reason alone, it should be considered compulsory viewing for any self-proclaimed true horror aficionado.
  • November 4, 2008
    An uneven trilogy of horror frm the master Mario Bava. At worst, it is good, and at it's best, it is absolutely first fate, especially the segment with Boris Karloff in one of his most chilling performances ever! And it's Boris who raises this to 4 1/2 stars, along with Bava's ee...( read more)rie and imaginatively colorful cinematography
  • November 10, 2007
    somewhat campy but still cool italian 'trilogy of terror.' beautiful atmospheric lighting
  • October 10, 2007
    A magnificent trio of short horror tales by Mario Bava. Curiously, although it has the highest production values, a strong literary source and a big star, the central Boris Karloff segment, "The Wurdulak", is my least favourite, though it's still excellent and is beautifully shot...( read more). "The Telephone" is a perfect little giallo, and the final part, "The Drop of Water", is a very creepy variation on Poe's "Tell-Tale Heart".
  • August 26, 2007
    Good, not great. Extra marks for Karloff's eyebrows.

    Drop of Water is by far the best segment. If you want to see a feature length film on par with it's creepy scale, Check out Roman Polanski's the Tenant
  • October 19, 2009
    This is a 3 short film collection (about 30 Min Each) from Mario Bava, and who better to narrate the beginning but Boris Karloff. These having been filmed in the 1960 time frame I can see where a lot of the short story TV Films came from ie Tales of the Crypt just to name one. Th...( read more)ese 3 are far better and my belief that a number of Directors got ideas from Bava to be successful in America. The first movie the Phone about a Lesbian affair that went bad, and even worst for both as the film went on. The second The Wurdalak stars Boris Karloff (The only one he's in) and Mark Damon, the interview with Mark Damon opened my eyes to someone who slip through the cracks. This is about vampires and a pretty cool film at that. The Last was The Drop of Water, something I would have expected to have been written my Edgar Allen Poe, I can't pick out the best one, all 3 were 4 1/2 star films and some of the Best I've seen to date by Bava.
  • June 28, 2009
    Finally watched this! I think 'The Telephone' is my favourite segment, I really enjoyed the whole trio though. Awesome imagery!
  • April 26, 2009
    but only the vampire one sounds particuarily interesting.
  • February 14, 2009
    Italian horror master Mario Bava directs this cool horror anthology. It's very striking to watch,and at times very unnerving and affective. Back in the day,this must have scared Italian audiences silly. The first story ' The Telephone' is a nice little slice of suspense with a t...( read more)wist. I can only imagine how affective it was back in the early 60s,it's a little too familiar for today. The second tale is ' The Wurdulak ',and is great fun.Boris Karloff is suburb as a head of a family who may or may not be a Vampire. It's a very chilling and eerie half hour thats beautiful to watch. Finally,we have ' The drop of Water',and this is my favorite of the three. The look of the corpse's face in the bed still haunts me to this day.It's very affective and bloody scary. A great mix of stories that ends on a real high.
  • February 13, 2009
    With the exception of the telephone segment, I thought that this was an excellent movie. The cinematography was much better than I thought this was going to be. Heck, this whole movie was much better than I thought it was going to be. The ghost story was pretty creepy, but the la...( read more)st story with the little boy saying outside, "Mama, I'm cold." was extremely creepy. If kids are handled right in a horror movie, they are very creepy.

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