Rating: 
Summary: Sacchetti did it!
Review: The most interesting aspect of the film is the bizarre screenplay by Dardano Sacchetti, the prolific writer who worked with Bava Jr. on several pictures, notably DEMONS and DEMONS2, and also created the main stories for a number of Lucio Fulci's successful films, including THE BEYOND (1981), CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD (1980) and ZOMBIE (1979).The screenplay is excellent (that is, if you like extremely twisted and creepy story lines with haunting if unnatural dialogue). Lamberto Bava's direction is quite good: the Gothic Southern atmosphere is played to the hilt. Acting is off-the-wall. Photography is also very good. Lots of interior shots. effective lighting. Good art direction. A MUST for any fan of the Italian "Horror" genre.
Rating: 
Summary: There Have Been Worse . . .
Review: This is a good movie to own-on VHS. I would not waste the money for a DVD version of this, because it just isn't good enough to where I would see it over again soon like, say, Tenebre or Cat O' Nine Tails. Also, there aren't enough extras on the DVD to tempt me to purchase it. That said, the movie still has redeeming qualities. For Giallos this one plays by the rules: the obvious culprits are sure-fired red herrings; the somewhat obvious/maybe whodunnits are also ruled out; finally, the most absurd, absolutely unbelievable scenerario is the veritable smoking gun (case and point: Tenebre) For me, the most fascinating element of the film was the violence against women. It almost seemed as though the death of the groundskeeper was an afterthought on director Bava's part when you consider the sophisticated choreography of the four women's deaths in the course of the film. These deaths are the truly great moments of the film. I can't say that it is the most suspenseful. Maybe this is because I've seen so many other Giallos from Argento, Fulci, and the other Bava and I just sorth of know what will come. Also, most of the scenes in the film take place under full light-either daylight or lamplight. There isn't that much darkness in the film. I guess the only darkness is the identity of the killer and that person's motivations.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best.
Review: This is one of Bava's best films as far as I'm concerned. The fact it takes place in the large villa is sweet because the villa is like a giant high-end maze. I saw this film when I was young and I am so glad it recieved the dvd treatment. This movie should be viewed in a full on whooknay, late at night with tight friends who share the same fondness for quality horror. Italy's finest!
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining Enough. 3.5
Review: This is the only Lamberto Bava movie I've seen, and it's pretty good. It's a giallo, and massively influenced by Dario Argento's work, particularly 'Tenebre'. (On which Bava was a assistant director, I believe) And no, it's not as good as that movie, or 'Deep Red' or 'Opera', but if you like all those films I think you'll at least find this to be quite watchable, and there's a good chance that you'll rather like it.
As with all giallo or slasher films, the quality of this film is primarily derived from how interesting the murder/horror scenes are. Fortunately, the ones here are quite good. Unfortunately, all the other aspects of this film are a bit sub par, but this doesn't effect the overall enjoyment level of this film much. 'A Blade in the Dark' was originally made with Italian television in mind, which likely hurt the film in a number of ways. First of all, it doesn't appear to have been made with an English audience in mind, so the dubbing isn't up to snuff, either in terms of performance or translation.(And the dubbing/dialogue never tends to be very good in this sorta film) It is never really incoherent, I guess, but it's pretty damn inelegant most of the time, and is occasionally laughably stilted and unrealistic. That, and there are some rather weird translations, such as when one character refers to another as 'cockroach', in a manner which suggests that this is a term of endearment. The basic plot is that there is a musician living out in a large, empty house, where there are a number of murders.(Or apparent murders. They don't find the bodies until late in the film.) Part of the reason it doesn't work as a mystery is because it's trying to hard to hide the killers identity. Virtually everyone is setup as a potential suspect, but no one really stands out, and the only way to figure out the killer's identity would be to be abundantly familiar with the genre's clichés. And there isn't really much of an investigation. The characters just sorta sit around and talk about who the killer might be, or whether there really is a killer at all.
Yeah, this film is far from plausible, but I don't really buy that it is any less plausible than your average Argento film. Sure, nobody calls the police, but no charred dummies are mistaken for corpses, nor are vengeful ravens used to identify the killer(Opera), no apartments are left unwatched by the police despite the fact that the killer is known to have dropped a note off there, in person, and will almost certainly do so again (Tenebre) and the entire investigation does not depend upon sheer luck and happenstance (Deep Red). (Well, actually it arguably does, but that only makes it equally implausible) Still, the whole murder-mystery is less interesting than in those films, for the aforementioned reasons. The film also has some pacing problems, which I suspect may have been created by it's intended medium.(It would need to fit into a time slot, on TV) Thus, the latter portions of the film are a bit too talky, with characters frequently just sorta rambling on without really discovering much.
This film isn't as stylish as lots of other Italian stuff, but it's nicely crafted, particularly during the murder scenes. It lacks any elaborate camera movements or surreal sets and lighting, but it is nicely shot, and the murder scenes have got a nice rhythm to them. Sadly, the first two death scenes are definitely the most interesting ones. The first one is the best, and it's really quite brilliant. It's a very extended scene, showing both the stalking and killing, juxtaposed with shots of our musician protagonist working on his music, and the following disposal of the body, and the near discovery of it by said protagonist.(I can't come up with his name right now. Sorry.) The most effective part is when the killer is dragging the body over a staircase, with the head brutally thumping itself against the steps again and again. The next, more famed scene, is less extensive, but still quite impressive. It is one of the most brutal murders I've seen in this sort of film, and it has a fairly nice, extended buildup, but there are a few basic execution flaws. Most notably, it involves smashing someone's head against a counter, repeatedly, but the attempt is less than convincing, as the killer sometimes lifts the head all of an inch of the counter before smashing it again, and it often doesn't seem to be being done with any real force. That, and I swear the sound isn't quite in synch some of the time, so that the smashing sound doesn't come at the right moment.(I haven't watched it carefully enough to know for sure, however). Still, it's a very effective scene, with a very cold and vicious finish. The rest of the murder scenes aren't as interesting or original, but they get the job done. The film isn't terribly gory, but it is very forthright and harsh with the violence, which probably works better overall, and is fairly typical of this sort of film.
The film looks and sounds pretty decent, as you'd expect for an Anchor Bay release. Lastly, in case you didn't notice, you ought not to buy this version of the film, as there is the 'A Blade in the Dark'/'Macabre' disc which is also available. I haven't actually watched 'Macabre' yet, so I can't vouch for it's quality, but that disc only costs half as much as this one, and I'm betting that `Macabre' is worth -15 dollars, at the very least.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting but at the same time not great!
Review: This was one of the first few Italian giallo films I decided to take a risk with. Incredibly bored I was becoming with the repetitive cliched [style] from the big budget mainstream Hollywood school. This seemed more of a blessing to start exploring ignored works from european filmmakers. A Blade in the Dark for me was more of a fluke as I'd never watched anything from Italy's finest. This really helped mark my entry towards many films I would begin to collect of Dario Argento. A Blade in the Dark for me was more of an Argento homage considering the strong relationship Lamberto Bava shares with his friend/mentor. Once more many of the scenes from this film bare similarities towards other classics such as Argento's Tenebre and Hithcock's Psycho. The other interesting aspect about this film was how it was made for little or no money at all since it centers within one location. What also makes this uneasy to view is the fact that the film gets a little sloppy in places with the anticipation of wanting to what happens next becoming slower and slower. And the plus side of the audio dubbing being a real annoyance since it's becoming more outdated and many arguing about the film remaining in it's native language (i.e. Italian). Though the film has it's average moments of suspense and thrills it does slow sown to the point where you being to wonder "what is reall going on?" I watched the film with alot of enthusiam in mind but couldn't help feel slightly disappointed at times. Nevertheless, it still deserves the average watchable treatment. You have to bare one thing in mind that despite the fact it was low buget it was shot on 16mm so the transfer isn't exactly 100% as there are a few noticable evidences of specks and grain, but what do you expect from a film frm 1983? If you're a film fan like myself I'd say it's reasonable buy, but oherwise rent beforehand. Lamberto's Demons is real treat since it was given a bigger and better budget since Argento collaborated as well. Consider A Blade in the Dark an initial starter.
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