Mario Bava - Maestro of the Macabre 2001 Horror Movie Review
Horror movies Review
Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre (Garry S. Grant, 2000)
I kind of hate to admit it, being the horror aficionado that I am, but despite the fact that I understand how incredibly influential the films of Mario Bava have been over the years, the ones I’ve seen (Bay of Blood, Danger! Diabolik, Black Sunday, and—depending on whom you believe—Shock) have left me cold, albeit amused. I just don’t get the Bava mystique, as much as I’d like to. How could I not be drawn to a documentary that attempts to explain it?
Man, a lot of people revere this guy, including some who really surprised me (Tim Burton is all over this movie gesticulating madly and talking about Bava’s genius). And I have to say that after seeing some of this, it’s got me willing to go back and give his other movies a chance, especially now that I know Alien was based on Planet of the Vampires. What gets me is that pretty much everyone here admitted, right out, that these were cheesy movies. The mastery accorded Bava is not that given to Hitchcock, for example, but to someone like Russ Meyer.
Do I recommend it? Absolutely. If it got me wanting to try Bava again, I imagine the established fans will love it. *** ½






