I just watched (finally! Yay!) The Whip And The Body from Midnight Choir period melodrama double bill disk of The Whip And The Body/Conspiracy Of Torture.
One of the few Bava flicks to escape me over the years, I was glad to finally get to watch it. I love the Italian Gothics and this must rank as one of the finest. It's sumptuously shot with glorious use of colour and shadow throughout. Bava and Ubaldo Terzano make good use of the widesreen frame to capture the spooky ambience too. The decent transfer helps here too, it's a good version.
One the one hand I was delighted by this film with its atmosphere and tone and wonderfully succinct story...but on the other there was a pang of disappointment that it doesn't live up to the standards of Mask Of Satan or Kill Baby Kill. Compared to these classics its a bit lacking in enthusiasm and energy and the actors (even Christopher Lee) seem to sleepwalk through their parts as if they don't especially care about the material.
That's not to say its bad - it most certainly is not. It's a great film and a fine example of its kind.
I really enjoyed it and am glad to own it at last!
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