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Welcome back, friends, to the introverted obelisk, the horror movie podcast where we continue to prove that opening an ancient coffin is almost never going to improve your afternoon.
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Tonight, we're heading to the 17th century Moldavia, for a movie filled with witches, vampires, ruined castles, suspiciously attractive doctors, and then there's Barbara Steele, who is so ridiculously good-looking in this movie that I'm fully aware her character would probably kill me, but I'm still thinking a few seconds of her undivided attention might be worth it.
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So, folks, tonight we're talking about Black Sunday, Mario Baba's 1960 Gothic Horror Classic.
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And I'm going to butcher these absolute Italian names, and I apologize, I promise you I'm doing my best.
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So, the film was originally released in Italy as La Mascicera del Demonio, or The Mask of Satan.
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And if you've ever wondered what would happen if you took a traditional gothic vampire story, added a little Italian film-making flair, and then opened the movie by hammering a spiked metal mask directly into somebody's face?
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Well, Mario Bava would like to introduce himself.
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Our movie opens in 17th century Moldavia, where Princess Asa Vida has been condemned for witchcraft and vampirism.
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She's brought before the local authorities along with Yavudic, who serves as her devoted companion.
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And Asa is sentenced to death by her own brother, the Grand Inquisitor himself.
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Asa isn't particularly interested in accepting her punishment quietly, however.
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And before she's executed, she places a curse on her brother and his entire descendants, promising that she will return from the grave and take revenge on the entire Vada bloodline.
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Now, normally when someone says they're going to return from the dead and curse your descendants, you might dismiss it as, you know, an emotional outburst from someone who is currently being sentenced to death.
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Problem here is Asa is an actual witch.
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So there's a reasonably good chance that she's gonna make good on a promise.
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Well, the executioners bind Asa and Yavutic to stakes and place elaborate metal masks over their faces.
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And these aren't decorative masks either.
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They have sharp spikes on the inside that are gonna be driven into their flesh when the executioner strikes them with a sledgehammer.
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It is one of the most brutal openings you're likely to find in a gothic horror movie.
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And Bava wastes no time establishing that this isn't gonna be one of those polite old horror pictures, you know, where the violence conveniently happens off-screen while the camera studies a vase.
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They hammer the mask directly into Asa's face, driving the spikes into her flesh and leaving her to die, giving Black Sunday one hell of an opening statement.
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Her coffin is then placed in the family crypt, with a cross positioned above her, you know, because surviving members of the Vaja family apparently know enough about witches to realize that simply putting someone in a box and burying them isn't going to solve the problem necessarily.
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So, fast forward 200 years, and we meet Dr.
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Thomas Kruvayan and his younger colleague, Dr.
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Andrei Gorbeck, who are traveling through Moldavia on their way to a medical conference when their carriage decides it has other plans and breaks a wheel.
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While the driver stays behind to make repairs, the two doctors notice a ruined chapel nearby, and decide this is the perfect opportunity to do a little sightseeing.
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You know, because when you're stranded in the middle of a nowhere and snow across an abandoned, crumbly chapel that looks like it hasn't seen a living congregation in centuries, the smart thing to do is obviously go inside and start touching stuff.
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You know, what could possibly go wrong?
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Well, this is one of those decisions that makes perfect sense in a normal movie and immediately becomes questionable once you realize what movie you're actually watching.
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Inside the ruined chapel, our two sightseeing doctors discover an ancient crypt containing the tomb of, you guessed it, Asa Vaja, and this is where Thomas's curiosity begins doing considerably more damage than that broken carriage wheel ever did.
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You see, he peers through a small glass covered opening in the coffin and sees Asa's face beneath the metal mask, only for a bat to suddenly come at it.
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Thomas swings his cane at it, which would have been perfectly reasonable if he managed to hit literally anything he was aiming at.
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Instead, he smashes the cross above Ace's coffin and shatters the glass covering the opening.
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Meaning that whole, you know, protective arrangement that has kept this witch safely dead for 200 years is now lying around him in pieces.
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Now, this would be an excellent time for Thomas to recognize that, you know, perhaps the universe is sending him a message and back away slowly.
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Nope.
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Our boy goes full stupid curious and goes so far as to remove the metal mask from Ace's face, revealing the partially preserved corpse underneath.
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So that's strike two.
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Put the mask back on.
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So that's strike two, Doc.
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You need to put the mask back, apologize to whatever god is listening, and go wait by the carriage.
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But Thomas is on a roll now, so rummaging around in the centuries-old witch's coffin, he manages to cut his hand on the broken glass.
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Even then, Do could still walk away, without making things substantially worse, but of course, a few drops of his blood fall directly onto Asa's corpse.
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And guys, at that point, it's all downhill, because that's all she needs.
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The blood begins restoring Asa.
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Because, you know, when you're a centuries-old witch who spent the last 200 years waiting for revenge, you don't necessarily need a whole blood bank.
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Sometimes all you need is one board doctor with absolutely no respect for other people's property.
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So having successfully vandalized a crypt, desecrated a corpse, and provided said corpse with a complimentary blood donation, Thomas and Andre decide that their work here is done and leave the chapel without the slightest idea on what they've unleashed.
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Outside they encounter Princess Katya Vada, a descendant of Asa, who bears a remarkable resemblance to the exact same woman they just left lying beneath the chapel, which probably should have prompted at least one follow-up question.
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Andre, however, is absolutely taken with Katya.
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And honestly, that is straight up understandable because Barbara Steele is also playing her.
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Still, before becoming romantically interested in the mysterious woman.
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Now, still, I have to say, before becoming romantically interested in this, you know, mysterious woman standing outside the crypt that you managed to just trash, it might be worth asking a few questions about the family history.
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So Kachya explains that she lives nearby in the family castle with her father, Prince Vadia, and her brother Constantine.
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Well, eventually the doctors say their goodbyes, and continue on to an end, presumably satisfied that they have had themselves a perfectly normal afternoon.
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Meanwhile, back at the chapel that they just left in shambles, Asa has finished putting that complimentary blood donation to work, and turns her attention to her old partner in witchcraft, Yavutic.
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She calls him back from the grave, and Yavutic rises to answer her because apparently Thomas didn't just resurrect one ancient servant of darkness today.
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No, old boy started an entire franchise.
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Well, with Asa awake and her undead accomplice back on his feet, Yavutic heads towards the Vida Castle, where Prince Vida is sleeping peacefully, and has absolutely no idea that two board doctors have just made his family's 200-year-old problem everybody's problem yet again.
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The Prince understandably loses his mind, but unfortunately he has a crucifix around his neck and raises it toward Gavudic, forcing his great, great, great, great, however many greats we need Ancestor to retreat.
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So for the moment, the prince manages to survive what has got to be the worst Ancestry.com notification imaginable.
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Well, Thomas arrives at the crypt and makes the rather alarming discovery that the mysterious woman whose tomb he vandalized earlier is now no longer quite as dead as he left her.
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Asa explains that his blood is responsible for bringing her back, and since the good doctor was generous enough to make one donation already, she decides to go ahead and take some more.
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This time, though, she takes enough to put Thomas completely under her control.
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So congratulations, Doc.
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You've officially been promoted from unwitting accomplice to supernatural employee.
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And unfortunately, your first assignment is going to involve killing your own patient.
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Well, back at the castle, Prince Vida is still understandably shaken by the fact that his, now again, several great's grandfather just paid him a bedside visit, and when Yavudic returns, the Prince once again reaches for the crucifix that saved him the first time.
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Unfortunately, Thomas arrives in his new capacity, as Doctor definitely not working for the witch, and advises the family that the crucifix is upsetting the prince and should be removed.
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This is excellent medical advice, provided your treatment plan is to make the patient considerably easier for a vampire to murder.
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So naturally, the family listens, the crucifix comes off, and Yavuduk returns to finish the job.
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So, with Prince Vita dead, and Thomas mysteriously missing after, you know, supposedly coming to treat him, Andre finally starts realizing that maybe something isn't adding up.
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So he starts asking questions around the village and gets stories about Yavuduk, eventually finding a young girl named Sonia who has actually seen him.
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When she's able to identify Yavudik from a painting, Andre finally has something concrete to work with.
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And the local priest, who knows the old stories surrounding Asa and Yavuduk, agree to help him investigate.
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So together they go to Yavuduk's grave and discover that the coffin has been disturbed.
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But instead of finding Yavuduk inside, they find Thomas, and old boy is dead again.
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Well, undead technically, because apparently Thomas' terrible day still isn't over.
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The priest immediately recognizes what has happened and knows exactly what needs to be done.
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Which, unfortunately for Thomas, because the prescribed treatment involves driving, you know, a nail directly through his eye.
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It's unpleasant, certainly, but considering the man has already been murdered, resurrected as one of the undead, and used to help kill his own patient, the priest isn't so much killing Thomas as, you know, closing out the paperwork on an existing problem.
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So while Andre and the priest have been dealing with that mess, Yavuduk has been keeping himself busy back at the castle.
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He manages to kill Ivan, the family's servant, and then goes after Constantine, who at least manages to put up a fight before Yavuduk gets the better of him and throws him into a pit filled with wooden stakes.
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And this is where I'd like to pause for a moment and acknowledge that, you know, the Vita family apparently owns a castle with a stake-filled death pit built directly into the floor.
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I'm sure that looks fantastic on the real estate listing.
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Just wouldn't point that out.
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Back to the film.
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So, with Constantine disposed of, Yovudik takes Katcha to Asa.
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And now we finally learn exactly what Asa's been working toward.
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She doesn't simply want Katcha dead, she wants the whole darn package.
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Because Katcha is her descendant and looks almost exactly like her.
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Asa intends to drain away Katcha's life and use her body to restore herself completely.
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It's basically a supernatural identity theft, except instead of someone opening a credit card in your name, they steal your youth, your face, your body, and presumably, you know, you're placed at the next family reunion.
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Asa begins draining Katcha's life, leaving her weaker and weaker, but unfortunately, Kacha is wearing a crucifix.
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When Asa tries to continue feeding from her, the holy symbol stops her buying Katcha a little time.
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And I do mean a little, because while having a crucifix is certainly better than not having one, Katcha is still trapped underground with a 200-year-old undead witch who has spent the entire movie working towards stealing her body.
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So I wouldn't call this situation a win so much as a temporary stay of execution.
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Well, Andre finally returns to the castle and runs straight into Yavuduk.
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And this time, we're settling things without witchcraft, blood rituals, or even medical malpractice.
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These two guys straight up fight, and Andre eventually manages to turn the tables, sending Yavuduk tumbling into the same stake-filled pit where he left Constantine.
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Now, unfortunately, Yavuduk isn't quite finished and tries to climb his way back out, but Constantine is still alive down there and has just enough strength left for one final act.
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He grabs Yavuduk and directs him back down in the pit and makes darn sure his several great-grandfather is not getting out a second time.
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Constantine naturally dies from his injuries, but his sacrifice clears the way for Andre to reach the crypt and hopefully finally deal with the problem that you know started because, again, two doctors got bored waiting for someone to fix a carriage wheel and decide to go vandalize a tomb.
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Andre finally reaches the crypt and finds Katcha unconscious with Asa nearby.
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And this is where Asa realizes that looking exactly like the woman whose body you're trying to steal comes with one hell of a practical advantage.
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She tells Andre that she's Katcha, and that the pale, lifeless woman lying nearby is actually Asa.
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And considering the real Kacha has had most life drink out of her, Andre initially buys it.
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He's standing there preparing to kill the woman he believes is the witch, which would be a particularly unfortunate way to end a rescue mission, when something about Asa's story finally stops adding up.
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And that would be the crucifix.
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You see, the woman Asa claims is the witch is wearing one, and it isn't bothering her in the slightest.
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So Andre manages to put two and two together, and realizes that perhaps taking identification advice from, you know, the 200-year-old body snatching witch was not his strongest decision of the evening.
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He turns his attention back to Asa, and that's when the illusion really starts falling apart.
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Her face may be young and beautiful again, but underneath her clothing, the restoration job didn't quite make it to the ground floor.
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Her body is still horribly decayed, with flesh missing and bones exposed.
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The beautiful woman standing in front of Andre is basically a supernatural renovation where somebody fixed the exterior, slapped on a fresh coat of paint, and basically hoped no one would bother with a home inspection.
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And at that point, the jig is up.
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The priest arrives with a group of torch-carrying villagers, and Asa is seized and dragged outside, where they tie her to a stake.
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And just like that, Black Sunday comes full circle.
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Two hundred years ago, Assa was tied to a stake and condemned for witchcraft.
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And after two centuries of waiting, plotting, and resurrecting the dead, murdering her descendants, and trying to steal somebody else's body, she has somehow ended up right back where she started.
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You gotta admire the commitment required to spend 200 years planning your revenge, only to wind up getting the exact same ending twice.
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The villagers set the stake ablaze, and this time, Asa is finally destroyed.
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As the witch burns, the life she stole from Kacha returns, restoring her youth and appearance until she awakens with Andre beside her.
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And with that, the Vita family curse is finally broken.
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The 200-year nightmare comes to an end, and Andre gets the girl.
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Which is nice and all, but I would still like the record to show that none of this would have happened if two doctors have simply sat by the carriage and minded their own friggin' business.
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Now, for me, what makes Black Sunday work so well is that Mario Bava understands that gothic horror is really about atmosphere as much as anything else.
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The story itself is wonderfully pulpy, with like an ancient witch returning from a grave, an undead servant murdering people around a haunted castle, a family curse stretching across generations.
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And if that's not already enough, you get a gorgeous young woman being targeted because she happens to look exactly like the witch who wants to steal her body.
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But Baba presents all of it with an incredible sense of visual control.
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The movie is filled with enormous shadows, ruined architecture, foggy cemeteries, candlelit rooms, decaying crypts, and faces emerging from darkness.
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Or to sum it up easier, it is Gothic AF.
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Everything looks like it has been sitting untouched for centuries.
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Which is, you know, appropriate considering that half the cast is basically doing exactly that.
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And then there's Barbara Steele, who gets to play both sides of the central conflict.
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As Kacha, she's sympathetic and vulnerable, while Asa is cold, seductive, and completely consumed by revenge.
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The fact that Steele plays both characters gives the movie an especially effective visual trick.
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Because every time Kacha appears on the screen, there's always the reminder that she looks exactly like the woman who Asa wants to destroy her.
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I feel that gives the movie central conflict something more interesting than, you know, simply having a monster chasing the heroine around the castle.
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Asa doesn't want Kacha dead because she hates her personally.
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She wants her because she's useful.
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And Kacha's body represents everything Asa lost when she died.
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And also sees her descendant as a way to reclaim youth, beauty, and life.
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Which, you know, is a fairly extreme reaction to getting old.
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But I suppose when you've already been dead for 200 years, you know, traditional anti-aging treatments are probably gonna feel a little inadequate.
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So, Black Sunday was Mario Bava's first solo feature as a director, and it became one of the defining Italian gothic horror films of the period.
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The movie was loosely inspired by the Nikolai Gogol's short story Vi, although the finished film takes the source material in a very different direction.
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Bava himself later joked that essentially nothing remained of Gogol's original story beyond some names and you know general elements.
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The movie was also released in a different version, which I feel is worth mentioning because the American release was altered from the Italian version.
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American International Pictures removed some of the more uh graphic material, and some dialogue was changed in the English version, including changes involving the relationship between Asa and Yavudu.
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Because of those differences, you'll occasionally find conflicting descriptions of certain characters' relationships, depending on you know which version you're watching.
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And honestly, I you don't need any of that to appreciate what Bava has accomplished here.
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The movie's greatest strength is its atmosphere.
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It feels old, and not simply because it was made in 1960, but because Bava makes the world of the movie feel like it has existed for centuries before the camera has even arrived.
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The castle feels haunted before anything supernatural actually happens there.
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The crypt feels like a place where something should have been left alone, and Osa's tomb looks exactly like the sort of place where a curious doctor could ruin everybody's week by touching the wrong piece of stone.
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So there you have it.
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Black Sunday, a movie about witches, vampires, family curses, ancient grudges, and the importance of leaving suspiciously old corpses exactly where you found them.
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And with that, we've reached the end of our September season of the witch.
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We've spent the month dealing with curses, covens, black magic, satanic rituals, demons, and more than a few people who probably would have lived considerably longer if they'd simply stopped messing around with things they didn't understand.
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Hopefully, we have all learned something from this.
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So until next time, this has been the Introvert Doplisk, and I've been your host, Obi-Knox.
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Do remember, if your family's been cursed by a witch, maybe don't make her grave the centerpiece of the family crypt.
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Good night.
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And roll credits.
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Welcome back, friends, to the introverted obelisk, the horror movie podcast where we continue to prove that opening an ancient coffin is almost never going to improve your afternoon.
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Tonight, we're heading to the 17th century Moldavia, for a movie filled with witches, vampires, ruined castles, suspiciously attractive doctors, and then there's Barbara Steele, who is so ridiculously good-looking in this movie that I'm fully aware her character would probably kill me, but I'm still thinking a few seconds of her undivided attention might be worth it.
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So, folks, tonight we're talking about Black Sunday, Mario Baba's 1960 Gothic Horror Classic.
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And I'm going to butcher these absolute Italian names, and I apologize, I promise you I'm doing my best.
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So, the film was originally released in Italy as La Mascicera del Demonio, or The Mask of Satan.
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And if you've ever wondered what would happen if you took a traditional gothic vampire story, added a little Italian film-making flair, and then opened the movie by hammering a spiked metal mask directly into somebody's face?
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Well, Mario Bava would like to introduce himself.
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Our movie opens in 17th century Moldavia, where Princess Asa Vida has been condemned for witchcraft and vampirism.
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She's brought before the local authorities along with Yavudic, who serves as her devoted companion.
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And Asa is sentenced to death by her own brother, the Grand Inquisitor himself.
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Asa isn't particularly interested in accepting her punishment quietly, however.
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And before she's executed, she places a curse on her brother and his entire descendants, promising that she will return from the grave and take revenge on the entire Vada bloodline.
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Now, normally when someone says they're going to return from the dead and curse your descendants, you might dismiss it as, you know, an emotional outburst from someone who is currently being sentenced to death.
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Problem here is Asa is an actual witch.
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So there's a reasonably good chance that she's gonna make good on a promise.
00:02:46.479 --> 00:02:53.919
Well, the executioners bind Asa and Yavutic to stakes and place elaborate metal masks over their faces.
00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:56.319
And these aren't decorative masks either.
00:02:56.479 --> 00:03:03.759
They have sharp spikes on the inside that are gonna be driven into their flesh when the executioner strikes them with a sledgehammer.
00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:10.240
It is one of the most brutal openings you're likely to find in a gothic horror movie.
00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:21.439
And Bava wastes no time establishing that this isn't gonna be one of those polite old horror pictures, you know, where the violence conveniently happens off-screen while the camera studies a vase.
00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:32.800
They hammer the mask directly into Asa's face, driving the spikes into her flesh and leaving her to die, giving Black Sunday one hell of an opening statement.
00:03:33.039 --> 00:03:46.960
Her coffin is then placed in the family crypt, with a cross positioned above her, you know, because surviving members of the Vaja family apparently know enough about witches to realize that simply putting someone in a box and burying them isn't going to solve the problem necessarily.
00:03:47.199 --> 00:03:50.719
So, fast forward 200 years, and we meet Dr.
00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:54.960
Thomas Kruvayan and his younger colleague, Dr.
00:03:55.120 --> 00:04:03.520
Andrei Gorbeck, who are traveling through Moldavia on their way to a medical conference when their carriage decides it has other plans and breaks a wheel.
00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:12.000
While the driver stays behind to make repairs, the two doctors notice a ruined chapel nearby, and decide this is the perfect opportunity to do a little sightseeing.
00:04:12.159 --> 00:04:24.639
You know, because when you're stranded in the middle of a nowhere and snow across an abandoned, crumbly chapel that looks like it hasn't seen a living congregation in centuries, the smart thing to do is obviously go inside and start touching stuff.
00:04:24.959 --> 00:04:27.279
You know, what could possibly go wrong?
00:04:27.519 --> 00:04:35.920
Well, this is one of those decisions that makes perfect sense in a normal movie and immediately becomes questionable once you realize what movie you're actually watching.
00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:51.040
Inside the ruined chapel, our two sightseeing doctors discover an ancient crypt containing the tomb of, you guessed it, Asa Vaja, and this is where Thomas's curiosity begins doing considerably more damage than that broken carriage wheel ever did.
00:04:51.680 --> 00:05:01.920
You see, he peers through a small glass covered opening in the coffin and sees Asa's face beneath the metal mask, only for a bat to suddenly come at it.
00:05:02.160 --> 00:05:08.720
Thomas swings his cane at it, which would have been perfectly reasonable if he managed to hit literally anything he was aiming at.
00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:14.720
Instead, he smashes the cross above Ace's coffin and shatters the glass covering the opening.
00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:23.279
Meaning that whole, you know, protective arrangement that has kept this witch safely dead for 200 years is now lying around him in pieces.
00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:30.879
Now, this would be an excellent time for Thomas to recognize that, you know, perhaps the universe is sending him a message and back away slowly.
00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:31.759
Nope.
00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:43.199
Our boy goes full stupid curious and goes so far as to remove the metal mask from Ace's face, revealing the partially preserved corpse underneath.
00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:44.399
So that's strike two.
00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:46.480
Put the mask back on.
00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:48.399
So that's strike two, Doc.
00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:53.839
You need to put the mask back, apologize to whatever god is listening, and go wait by the carriage.
00:05:54.000 --> 00:06:03.040
But Thomas is on a roll now, so rummaging around in the centuries-old witch's coffin, he manages to cut his hand on the broken glass.
00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:14.000
Even then, Do could still walk away, without making things substantially worse, but of course, a few drops of his blood fall directly onto Asa's corpse.
00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:18.240
And guys, at that point, it's all downhill, because that's all she needs.
00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:20.639
The blood begins restoring Asa.
00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:28.800
Because, you know, when you're a centuries-old witch who spent the last 200 years waiting for revenge, you don't necessarily need a whole blood bank.
00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:33.600
Sometimes all you need is one board doctor with absolutely no respect for other people's property.
00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:49.439
So having successfully vandalized a crypt, desecrated a corpse, and provided said corpse with a complimentary blood donation, Thomas and Andre decide that their work here is done and leave the chapel without the slightest idea on what they've unleashed.
00:06:49.680 --> 00:07:04.160
Outside they encounter Princess Katya Vada, a descendant of Asa, who bears a remarkable resemblance to the exact same woman they just left lying beneath the chapel, which probably should have prompted at least one follow-up question.
00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:07.839
Andre, however, is absolutely taken with Katya.
00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:13.439
And honestly, that is straight up understandable because Barbara Steele is also playing her.
00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:17.360
Still, before becoming romantically interested in the mysterious woman.
00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:29.680
Now, still, I have to say, before becoming romantically interested in this, you know, mysterious woman standing outside the crypt that you managed to just trash, it might be worth asking a few questions about the family history.
00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:36.480
So Kachya explains that she lives nearby in the family castle with her father, Prince Vadia, and her brother Constantine.
00:07:36.560 --> 00:07:45.360
Well, eventually the doctors say their goodbyes, and continue on to an end, presumably satisfied that they have had themselves a perfectly normal afternoon.
00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:57.199
Meanwhile, back at the chapel that they just left in shambles, Asa has finished putting that complimentary blood donation to work, and turns her attention to her old partner in witchcraft, Yavutic.
00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:05.439
She calls him back from the grave, and Yavutic rises to answer her because apparently Thomas didn't just resurrect one ancient servant of darkness today.
00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:09.279
No, old boy started an entire franchise.
00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:27.839
Well, with Asa awake and her undead accomplice back on his feet, Yavutic heads towards the Vida Castle, where Prince Vida is sleeping peacefully, and has absolutely no idea that two board doctors have just made his family's 200-year-old problem everybody's problem yet again.
00:08:28.079 --> 00:08:41.039
The Prince understandably loses his mind, but unfortunately he has a crucifix around his neck and raises it toward Gavudic, forcing his great, great, great, great, however many greats we need Ancestor to retreat.
00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:48.480
So for the moment, the prince manages to survive what has got to be the worst Ancestry.com notification imaginable.
00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:58.960
Well, Thomas arrives at the crypt and makes the rather alarming discovery that the mysterious woman whose tomb he vandalized earlier is now no longer quite as dead as he left her.
00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:09.519
Asa explains that his blood is responsible for bringing her back, and since the good doctor was generous enough to make one donation already, she decides to go ahead and take some more.
00:09:09.759 --> 00:09:14.080
This time, though, she takes enough to put Thomas completely under her control.
00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:15.759
So congratulations, Doc.
00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:21.600
You've officially been promoted from unwitting accomplice to supernatural employee.
00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:25.200
And unfortunately, your first assignment is going to involve killing your own patient.
00:09:25.440 --> 00:09:39.679
Well, back at the castle, Prince Vida is still understandably shaken by the fact that his, now again, several great's grandfather just paid him a bedside visit, and when Yavudic returns, the Prince once again reaches for the crucifix that saved him the first time.
00:09:39.919 --> 00:09:50.480
Unfortunately, Thomas arrives in his new capacity, as Doctor definitely not working for the witch, and advises the family that the crucifix is upsetting the prince and should be removed.
00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:57.039
This is excellent medical advice, provided your treatment plan is to make the patient considerably easier for a vampire to murder.
00:09:57.200 --> 00:10:02.480
So naturally, the family listens, the crucifix comes off, and Yavuduk returns to finish the job.
00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:13.840
So, with Prince Vita dead, and Thomas mysteriously missing after, you know, supposedly coming to treat him, Andre finally starts realizing that maybe something isn't adding up.
00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:22.399
So he starts asking questions around the village and gets stories about Yavuduk, eventually finding a young girl named Sonia who has actually seen him.
00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:28.639
When she's able to identify Yavudik from a painting, Andre finally has something concrete to work with.
00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:34.639
And the local priest, who knows the old stories surrounding Asa and Yavuduk, agree to help him investigate.
00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:39.360
So together they go to Yavuduk's grave and discover that the coffin has been disturbed.
00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:47.039
But instead of finding Yavuduk inside, they find Thomas, and old boy is dead again.
00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:53.120
Well, undead technically, because apparently Thomas' terrible day still isn't over.
00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:58.240
The priest immediately recognizes what has happened and knows exactly what needs to be done.
00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:05.440
Which, unfortunately for Thomas, because the prescribed treatment involves driving, you know, a nail directly through his eye.
00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:18.399
It's unpleasant, certainly, but considering the man has already been murdered, resurrected as one of the undead, and used to help kill his own patient, the priest isn't so much killing Thomas as, you know, closing out the paperwork on an existing problem.
00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:25.679
So while Andre and the priest have been dealing with that mess, Yavuduk has been keeping himself busy back at the castle.
00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:36.799
He manages to kill Ivan, the family's servant, and then goes after Constantine, who at least manages to put up a fight before Yavuduk gets the better of him and throws him into a pit filled with wooden stakes.
00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:47.360
And this is where I'd like to pause for a moment and acknowledge that, you know, the Vita family apparently owns a castle with a stake-filled death pit built directly into the floor.
00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:51.200
I'm sure that looks fantastic on the real estate listing.
00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:53.519
Just wouldn't point that out.
00:11:54.080 --> 00:11:55.200
Back to the film.
00:11:55.519 --> 00:12:00.480
So, with Constantine disposed of, Yovudik takes Katcha to Asa.
00:12:00.879 --> 00:12:04.240
And now we finally learn exactly what Asa's been working toward.
00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:09.600
She doesn't simply want Katcha dead, she wants the whole darn package.
00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:13.519
Because Katcha is her descendant and looks almost exactly like her.
00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:20.159
Asa intends to drain away Katcha's life and use her body to restore herself completely.
00:12:20.639 --> 00:12:33.120
It's basically a supernatural identity theft, except instead of someone opening a credit card in your name, they steal your youth, your face, your body, and presumably, you know, you're placed at the next family reunion.
00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:40.159
Asa begins draining Katcha's life, leaving her weaker and weaker, but unfortunately, Kacha is wearing a crucifix.
00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:46.159
When Asa tries to continue feeding from her, the holy symbol stops her buying Katcha a little time.
00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:57.759
And I do mean a little, because while having a crucifix is certainly better than not having one, Katcha is still trapped underground with a 200-year-old undead witch who has spent the entire movie working towards stealing her body.
00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:02.639
So I wouldn't call this situation a win so much as a temporary stay of execution.
00:13:02.879 --> 00:13:07.519
Well, Andre finally returns to the castle and runs straight into Yavuduk.
00:13:07.840 --> 00:13:13.600
And this time, we're settling things without witchcraft, blood rituals, or even medical malpractice.
00:13:13.840 --> 00:13:23.600
These two guys straight up fight, and Andre eventually manages to turn the tables, sending Yavuduk tumbling into the same stake-filled pit where he left Constantine.
00:13:23.759 --> 00:13:34.960
Now, unfortunately, Yavuduk isn't quite finished and tries to climb his way back out, but Constantine is still alive down there and has just enough strength left for one final act.
00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:44.960
He grabs Yavuduk and directs him back down in the pit and makes darn sure his several great-grandfather is not getting out a second time.
00:13:45.279 --> 00:14:01.840
Constantine naturally dies from his injuries, but his sacrifice clears the way for Andre to reach the crypt and hopefully finally deal with the problem that you know started because, again, two doctors got bored waiting for someone to fix a carriage wheel and decide to go vandalize a tomb.
00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:07.279
Andre finally reaches the crypt and finds Katcha unconscious with Asa nearby.
00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:14.799
And this is where Asa realizes that looking exactly like the woman whose body you're trying to steal comes with one hell of a practical advantage.
00:14:15.039 --> 00:14:22.320
She tells Andre that she's Katcha, and that the pale, lifeless woman lying nearby is actually Asa.
00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:28.720
And considering the real Kacha has had most life drink out of her, Andre initially buys it.
00:14:29.039 --> 00:14:40.399
He's standing there preparing to kill the woman he believes is the witch, which would be a particularly unfortunate way to end a rescue mission, when something about Asa's story finally stops adding up.
00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:43.519
And that would be the crucifix.
00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:50.399
You see, the woman Asa claims is the witch is wearing one, and it isn't bothering her in the slightest.
00:14:50.639 --> 00:15:02.799
So Andre manages to put two and two together, and realizes that perhaps taking identification advice from, you know, the 200-year-old body snatching witch was not his strongest decision of the evening.
00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:07.919
He turns his attention back to Asa, and that's when the illusion really starts falling apart.
00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:15.919
Her face may be young and beautiful again, but underneath her clothing, the restoration job didn't quite make it to the ground floor.
00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:21.360
Her body is still horribly decayed, with flesh missing and bones exposed.
00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:34.000
The beautiful woman standing in front of Andre is basically a supernatural renovation where somebody fixed the exterior, slapped on a fresh coat of paint, and basically hoped no one would bother with a home inspection.
00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:37.759
And at that point, the jig is up.
00:15:38.320 --> 00:15:46.159
The priest arrives with a group of torch-carrying villagers, and Asa is seized and dragged outside, where they tie her to a stake.
00:15:46.320 --> 00:15:49.919
And just like that, Black Sunday comes full circle.
00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:54.559
Two hundred years ago, Assa was tied to a stake and condemned for witchcraft.
00:15:54.720 --> 00:16:06.799
And after two centuries of waiting, plotting, and resurrecting the dead, murdering her descendants, and trying to steal somebody else's body, she has somehow ended up right back where she started.
00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:15.200
You gotta admire the commitment required to spend 200 years planning your revenge, only to wind up getting the exact same ending twice.
00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:20.720
The villagers set the stake ablaze, and this time, Asa is finally destroyed.
00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:28.559
As the witch burns, the life she stole from Kacha returns, restoring her youth and appearance until she awakens with Andre beside her.
00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:32.399
And with that, the Vita family curse is finally broken.
00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:36.960
The 200-year nightmare comes to an end, and Andre gets the girl.
00:16:37.200 --> 00:16:46.399
Which is nice and all, but I would still like the record to show that none of this would have happened if two doctors have simply sat by the carriage and minded their own friggin' business.
00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:57.039
Now, for me, what makes Black Sunday work so well is that Mario Bava understands that gothic horror is really about atmosphere as much as anything else.
00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:09.279
The story itself is wonderfully pulpy, with like an ancient witch returning from a grave, an undead servant murdering people around a haunted castle, a family curse stretching across generations.
00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:20.240
And if that's not already enough, you get a gorgeous young woman being targeted because she happens to look exactly like the witch who wants to steal her body.
00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:24.720
But Baba presents all of it with an incredible sense of visual control.
00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:37.039
The movie is filled with enormous shadows, ruined architecture, foggy cemeteries, candlelit rooms, decaying crypts, and faces emerging from darkness.
00:17:37.359 --> 00:17:40.880
Or to sum it up easier, it is Gothic AF.
00:17:41.599 --> 00:17:45.200
Everything looks like it has been sitting untouched for centuries.
00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:51.039
Which is, you know, appropriate considering that half the cast is basically doing exactly that.
00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:56.319
And then there's Barbara Steele, who gets to play both sides of the central conflict.
00:17:56.480 --> 00:18:05.359
As Kacha, she's sympathetic and vulnerable, while Asa is cold, seductive, and completely consumed by revenge.
00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:11.440
The fact that Steele plays both characters gives the movie an especially effective visual trick.
00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:19.279
Because every time Kacha appears on the screen, there's always the reminder that she looks exactly like the woman who Asa wants to destroy her.
00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:26.480
I feel that gives the movie central conflict something more interesting than, you know, simply having a monster chasing the heroine around the castle.
00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:29.680
Asa doesn't want Kacha dead because she hates her personally.
00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:31.920
She wants her because she's useful.
00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:36.400
And Kacha's body represents everything Asa lost when she died.
00:18:36.559 --> 00:18:41.440
And also sees her descendant as a way to reclaim youth, beauty, and life.
00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:45.920
Which, you know, is a fairly extreme reaction to getting old.
00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:54.400
But I suppose when you've already been dead for 200 years, you know, traditional anti-aging treatments are probably gonna feel a little inadequate.
00:18:54.640 --> 00:19:04.079
So, Black Sunday was Mario Bava's first solo feature as a director, and it became one of the defining Italian gothic horror films of the period.
00:19:04.319 --> 00:19:14.000
The movie was loosely inspired by the Nikolai Gogol's short story Vi, although the finished film takes the source material in a very different direction.
00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:21.599
Bava himself later joked that essentially nothing remained of Gogol's original story beyond some names and you know general elements.
00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:30.559
The movie was also released in a different version, which I feel is worth mentioning because the American release was altered from the Italian version.
00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:43.039
American International Pictures removed some of the more uh graphic material, and some dialogue was changed in the English version, including changes involving the relationship between Asa and Yavudu.
00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:51.119
Because of those differences, you'll occasionally find conflicting descriptions of certain characters' relationships, depending on you know which version you're watching.
00:19:51.279 --> 00:19:55.839
And honestly, I you don't need any of that to appreciate what Bava has accomplished here.
00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:59.039
The movie's greatest strength is its atmosphere.
00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:11.839
It feels old, and not simply because it was made in 1960, but because Bava makes the world of the movie feel like it has existed for centuries before the camera has even arrived.
00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:15.839
The castle feels haunted before anything supernatural actually happens there.
00:20:16.079 --> 00:20:26.640
The crypt feels like a place where something should have been left alone, and Osa's tomb looks exactly like the sort of place where a curious doctor could ruin everybody's week by touching the wrong piece of stone.
00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:27.920
So there you have it.
00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:39.680
Black Sunday, a movie about witches, vampires, family curses, ancient grudges, and the importance of leaving suspiciously old corpses exactly where you found them.
00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:44.079
And with that, we've reached the end of our September season of the witch.
00:20:44.319 --> 00:20:57.759
We've spent the month dealing with curses, covens, black magic, satanic rituals, demons, and more than a few people who probably would have lived considerably longer if they'd simply stopped messing around with things they didn't understand.
00:20:58.079 --> 00:21:01.200
Hopefully, we have all learned something from this.
00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:07.279
So until next time, this has been the Introvert Doplisk, and I've been your host, Obi-Knox.
00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:15.039
Do remember, if your family's been cursed by a witch, maybe don't make her grave the centerpiece of the family crypt.
00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:17.599
Good night.
00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:19.680
And roll credits.
