Cameron Mitchell, Enzo Cerusico, Eva Bartok

Though the original Italian title translates to "Six Women for an Assassin," the American title, Blood and Black Lace, is far more evocative of the psychosexual nature of this elegant slasher p...( read more  read more... )icture. The thin plot concerns a respected Italian fashion house, a murdered model, cocaine, and a tell-all diary that seems to implicate just about everyone connected with the house of style. The disappearance of the diary initiates a wholesale slaughter of the remaining models. Mario Bava's stylish exercise in mayhem lovingly delivers every elaborate killing with dreamy assurance. As the stalker, a faceless figure wrapped up in a trench coat, makes a move for his next gorgeous victim, Bava's prowling camera snakes through sets, rushes down hallways, and generally takes off like a low-budget Hitchcock flick on speed. By contrast, Bava runs through the police investigations with a perfunctory air--the lifeless scenes, which aren't helped by the flat English dubbing, feel like he's marking time between the murders--and when the identity of the black-clad killer is revealed it almost seems beside the point. As the narrative melts into a near abstract display of choreography and color (with an often troubling misogynist edge), exposition and psychological explanations seem oddly out of place in this elaborate dance of death. As a traditional thriller it lacks any genuine thrill, but as a piece of cinematic spectacle it has moments of dreamy, disconnected beauty. --Sean Axmaker

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78% liked it

2,935 ratings

Unrated, 90 min.

Directed by: Mario Bava

Release Date: February 1, 1960

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DVD Release Date: November 8, 2005

Stats: 139 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (139)


  • July 25, 2008
    Blood and Black Lace is certainly a classic, easily being one of the best giallos out there. Expertly filmed, the kills are intense and the sets a stylish array of vibrant colour. Definitely a must-see for budding giallo fans, and highly recommended to slasher fans too!
  • June 29, 2008
    One of the most incredibly shot films of all time.

    Bava uses color to accent the beauty of the victims and the plainness of the murderer.

    However this is not one of Bava's most enjoyable fims to watch from a story sense, but then again story has never been the Italian films st...( read more)rongest point.
  • October 25, 2007
    I came to "Blood & Black Lace" fully expecting it to be Bava's best giallo but I found it surprisingly disappointing. It's certainly stylish and has some great grisly set-pieces, but it's pretty po-faced and much less fun than "The Girl Who Knew Too Much". Whereas the earlier fil...( read more)m had an appealing and plucky heroine, the cast here is completely charmless and we aren't really given a protagonist, male or female, to identify with.
  • August 19, 2007
    More overrated Bava artiness with no plot worth mentioning and very bad actors.
    Some of the killings are quite good though but this is really all just about lensing some nice looking scenes with pretty women in them.
  • April 27, 2007
    A really great slasher flick that doesn't get too ridiculous. You can't expect too much storywise, but still not bad. It's all glamour and classic beauty (especially Eva Bartok) but the real star is the movie itself, courtesy of Bava, who does a fantastic job lighting the whole t...( read more)hing up and creating frighteningly beautiful imagery. The red mannequin was haunting.
  • November 20, 2009
    A great slasher for its time. It feels like the quality of an old Hitchcock film, only with more gore. The faceless killer was extremely interesting and reminded me of an evil Question (DC Comics). The death scenes were really well orchestrated and revolutionary for their time an...( read more)d the story was extremely captivating.
  • August 11, 2009
    A classic giallo thriler from the father of the cinematic genre. Despite the hairstyles and fashions on display, the outlook is surprisingly modern, the twists are interesting and the camerawork beautiful, moving in unexpected ways.
  • June 2, 2009
    With this exercise in style and mayhem, Mario Bava managed to set the standards for a whole new sub-genre in horror, the "giallo". It is basically a very simple detective story with added violence and gore and, even if I admire this movie greatly, it is far from perfect.

    The ...( read more)acting ranges from amateurish to wooden (with Bartok and Mitchell as exceptions - they deliver their lines with some conviction even when what they are saying is absolutely ridiculous).

    Just take a look at one ham-actor having what must be one of the least credible (and most funny) epileptic attacks in movie history. Almost everyone is atrociously dubbed. The pace is erratic and, when the story concerns itself with the policework, close to non-existent.

    However, these are minor quibbles since the formula of the giallo is all about stylish murders committed (mostly) against females. And Bava, as a former cinematographer, had an eye for stylish visuals few others could measure up to. The sets are lighted with stark contrasts between light and darkness, where pools of color highlights certain details.

    It is as far removed from the danish Dogma concept as you'll ever get. Just look at the opening scene, shot with gaudy colors.

    You won't be able to take your eyes from the screen as long as Bava treats his locations and actors as a canvas to paint on. Unfortunately, the scenes were his approach would do enormous benefit, the police investigation scenes, are dreary both from a dramatic AND visual standpoint.

    But elsewhere this movie is a visual treat! And the violence is strong when you know that this movie was made in the early sixties. If "Psycho" seems relatively tame by todays standards, "Blood and black lace" still packs a punch with certain murder set-pieces.

    So do watch this if you want a piece of movie history.
  • February 20, 2009
    Certainly no "Planet Of The Vampires" (A brilliantly artistic sci-fi, & one of my favorite Bava films) But sexy 60's Italian cinema always wins me over, and in my opinion, is always worth a viewing! (ESPECIALLY sexy 60's Italian Horror!)
  • January 18, 2009
    Influential early Italian "giallo" horror film. Bava was a master of color and camera movement.

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