Sci Fi London 8: All Nighter - The Italian Horror May 2, 2009

DANTE'S INFERNO ALL-NIGHTER - an evening of hot Italian hellraisers!

In anticipation of Electronic Arts' new title, DANTE'S INFERNO, which is based on Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy, we present the work of four other nasty Italians.

THE MASK OF SATAN
(Dir. Mario Bava, 87mins,1960)

Mario Bava's directorial debut is a classic and extremely influential piece of Gothic horror that really showed his talent for creating haunting and stylishly shot film.

A witch and her servant return from the grave and begin a bloody campaign to possess the body of the witch's beautiful look-alike descendant. Only the girl's brother and a handsome doctor stand in her way.

SLEEPLESS
(Dir. Dario Argento, 117mins, 2001)

A police detective comes out of retirement to try and solve the case of a serial killer who makes an unwelcome return to society. This is the stuff of nightmares. Argento has the ability to turn the ordinary things like a commuter train into a sinister lair for a serial killer. Disturbing.

MACABRE
(Dir. Lamberto Bava, 89mins, 1980)

Lamberto Bava, son of Mario, made his stunning debut as a director in his own right with a film that is still ranked by many as his best and closest in style to his late father's. In Macabre a woman devastated by the death of her lover moves into a boarding house where the blind landlord soon begins to suspect that she's resuming her affair with her dead lover!

BLACK SABBATH
(Dir. Mario Bava and Salvatore Billitteri, 92mins, 1963)

Nothing to do with the Birmingham band of the same name, this Mario Bava movie is another exercise in style and atmosphere from the uniquely gifted auteur. This is old school Gothic horror with a unique visual flair, a penchant for atmosphere and the great Boris Karloff.

Official Website: http://www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2009/programme/