Lamberto Bava's second feature - after the head-in-a-fridge hijinks of MACABRE - is this passable giallo which manages to get most elements right. The main problem with the film in my opinion is that Bava borrows too hard from his predecessors, with elements and stylistic touches from Hitchcock/Mario Bava/Brian de Palma popping up all the while. His biggest inspiration is obviously Dario Argento, and stylistically this film is very close to the feel of classics such as DEEP RED and TENEBRAE. There's the same suspenseful music, the same hero who must unravel the clues on his own, the same explicit murders to beef up the plot.

The plot is a sound one, making use of a small cast and an isolated location. The villa in the film is full of seemingly endless corridors for plenty of stalking to take place in. The film succeeds in being quiet atmospheric and even a little frightening, even if the thrills are second-rate. The acting is also all right, although the film lacks the presence of a big-name star to give it that extra edge. Andrea Occhipinti (also appearing in CONQUEST, the same year's lame fantasy flick from Fulci) is fine as the hero of the piece, although he is given little emoting to do, appearing more of a robot instead. The identity of the females in the film confused me as to their relationship with Bruno; a lot of girls just pop up out of nowhere to get murdered. Also lurking about is the familiar face of Michele Soavi, a staple of the Italian horror scene in this period before he went into directing.

Italian horror fans will automatically expect the slow-moving nature of the story, the plot holes, the sometimes dodgy editing and cheesy dialogue (one bimbo character is called a "vacant nerd" by our hero) although these may make the film harder to take seriously for your average viewer. Thankfully, we have a great score here with lots of suspenseful music which made things a lot easier to take for me (the film cuts down on money by having Bruno as a composer of horror movies - that way we get to listen to his music as the film goes on).

The all important gore is quite impressive, and surprisingly explicit in some cases (although the UK version shows some evidence of cutting in the second murder). Nasty! I especially liked the little stylistic touch of having the craft knife click from notch to notch loudly as the killer extended it. A BLADE IN THE DARK breaks no new boundaries and by following on from what has come before (unlike Bava's spectacular DEMONS) will never be very noticeable, but it's an interesting enough film for genre fans to sit through. My only complaint is the identity of the killer - it was far too easy to guess, even for me!

A young musician (Andrea Occhipinti) moves in to a house for the summer, and soon he is surrounded by a series of murders. Evidence trickles in that the killer might be the previous tenant, but nobody knows for sure and some people refuse to talk. And what is in the locked room in the basement?

Lamberto Bava came out of his father's shadow to make "Macabre", one of the finest Italian horror films of its day. Often overlooked, it is slick and original, and well worth seeking out. He followed it up with "A Blade in the Dark", co-written by the legendary writer Dardano Sacchetti, which likely gave the film a boost. It, too, has superior picture and sound, far surpassing Fulci's films of the same era.

Bava protests that the film is "not really a horror film", and some have classified it as a mystery or thriller. This is warranted, but the intense blood, gore and chills make it firmly a horror story in my mind.

Luca Palmerini calls the film "morbid" and "misogynistic" with "claustrophobic overtones". I may agree on the last part, but the misogyny is a stretch. The women here do take a back seat (and the film does start out by calling Giovanni Frezza's character a "female" as an insult) but compared to horror as a whole I think it comes across as normal.

The English dubbing on the Anchor Bay DVD is a bit strange to me, mostly because the characters say "ciao" while otherwise speaking English. Maybe it is just me. But overall, I cannot complain -- a lot of terror comes from a very small blade, and this may be Michele Soavi's best work as an actor. Coupled with a haunting score, the film is gripping, though the music does tend to get a bit overplayed and old, especially after the first kill.

While the film is not as good as "Macabre", it deserves recognition. Bava threw it together rather quickly with a low budget and unknown actors, with minimal equipment (even the set was actually just the producer's house). Adapting it from a television script where the goal was to kill someone every thirty minutes, he did pretty well with it. Clearly, he was successful enough that he was able to keep directing and give us the now-classic "Demons".

Handsome young music composer Bruno (amiable Andrea Occhipinti) secludes himself in an isolated villa so he can devise the score for an upcoming horror film. A vicious psycho starts brutally butchering assorted lovely young women in the immediate area. Bruno investigates the savage homicides in order to find out if the killings have something to do with the movie he's working on. Director Lamberto Bava creates a reasonable amount of tension, maintains a grim, brooding tone throughout and stages the shockingly gory and sadistic murder set pieces with effectively ferocious go-for-it flair (the bathroom kill in particular is positively gut-wrenching). Moreover, there's a downright delectable bevy of beauteous ladies who are real easy on the eyes: Lara Naszinsky as Bruno's fetching blonde girlfriend Julia, Anny Papa as perky horror director Sandra, Valeria Cavalli as alluring neighbor Katia, and Fabiola Toledo as enticing brunette fox Angela (Toledo has a much-appreciated gratuitous topless scene). Occhipinti makes for an engaging lead, with solid support from Michele Soavi as friendly real estate agent Tony and Stanko Molnar as creepy sleazeball handyman Giovanni. Both Gianlorenzo Battaglia's slick cinematography and the elegantly eerie score by Guida and Maurizo De Angelis likewise hit the satisfying spot. The killer's true identity is both genuinely surprising and admirably perverse. Good, gruesome fun.