Bava is the highstrung Italian version of Howard Hawks. Although his name is most closely associated with giallo or supernatural horror, his films cross all genre boundaries. B&BL is a sterling example of giallo at its glossiest ... and goriest.
A fashion house's gliitzy routine is disrupted by a creeping masked killer who seems hellbent on obtaining a mysterious diary written by a top mannequin. His choice of weapon? a nasty medeival looking hook type prosthesis that rearranges his victim's face and anatomy.
Under cover of near darkness ( these fashionistas all live in posh houses or flats that are, oddly, very poorly lit) the masked reader drops in on several models before the detention of the five most likely suspects. Out of pure spite, he murders again just to befuddle the police.
Like many Italian horror thrillers, B&BL is at heart an oldfashioned whodunit. While pretentious directors in the States or Canada bore us citing Kafka and Lovecraft as influences, the secret inspirer of giallistos is more likely Agatha Christie. As for the look of this film, think disoriented Country Life. Before Kubrick discovered horror with The Shining, Bava, Dario Argento and company had made decor a character in their bloodred wet dreams.
Further viewing: Black Sabbath, Planet of the Vampires
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