Mario Bava’s Black Sabbath (titled I tre
volti della paura in his native Italian) is a trilogy of short horror
films, presented as a single feature. There is nothing to tie the three films
together aside from being bookended by a rather funny and tongue in cheek Boris
Karloff who also appears in the middle film. Like much of Bava’s work the
film’s original Italian version differs greatly from the more widely seen
American release and there’s a fantastic comparison feature on DVD releases which
highlights the differences in score, props, dialogue and even ordering of the
film. Personally I chose the Italian version to watch.
The Italian version is a little
gorier and features a lesbian subplot which is absent from the American
release. Bava’s choice to package the films in one feature at first feels
strange but to be honest, I don’t think any of the stories could have been
successfully stretched to make a feature in their own right and it gives a
chance for some terrific tales to get a release.
