MC
Marco Castellini
•We are at the beginning of the 1980s, Dr. Chomos and his assistant, on their way to Moscow, find an old church near a forest, inside which they discover the tomb of the witch Asa, executed in that same place a century earlier. Accidentally, they bring her back to life and Asa thus has the opportunity to avenge herself on the descendants of her executioners… Alongside "The Vampires" by Freda, one of the first Italian horror films, "The Mask of the Demon" is considered the founder of our Gothic genre and constitutes a fundamental step for the entire genre, becoming a true cult. Inspired by Gogol's story "The Vij", Bava's film manages to be both horror and romantic, immersed in suggestive sets, characterized by an unmistakable pictorial and aesthetic taste that belongs to the entire filmography of Bava. Fundamental even in this first film, the theme of the female double (which will later become a constant of the entire Italian Gothic tradition) is embodied by the splendid Barbara Steele in the dual role of the wicked and sensual witch and the innocent Katia. Centuries-old curses, witches, vampirism, necrophilia, cursed dwellings, and unhealthy eroticism, as the first Italian horror film, one could not ask for more… Bava's masterpiece, unfortunately, is rarely broadcast on television but is available in the Shendene edition for the "Rosso Sangue" series by Nocturno.