3. The Mask Of Satan (1960)
In Moldavia in 1630, a witch called Asa and her lover Javuto are put to death for sorcery by Asa's brother. Asa curses his descendants before she is burnt at the stake and they hammer a mask onto her face. A couple of centuries later, Thomas and Andre - two doctors are travelling through Moldavia when their carriage breaks down. Wandering around the area, they come across Asa's tomb. They manage to reanimate Asa through spilling blood upon her when one of them cuts his hand on the coffin glass. Asa telepathically raises Javuto from the dead and they set about causing mayhem - vampirising people. Asa wants to drain a beautiful young girl called Katia of her blood but she is foiled by a mob of irate villagers who torch her to death. An auspicious start for director Mario Bava's career, The Mask of Satan is wonderfully atmospheric and gothic. Gothic horror films were very popular around this time in Italy with some brilliant films released including Mill of the Stone Women. The Mask of Satan is one of the ultimate gothic horror films ever made. Matters are helped by the presence of gothic horror queen - Barbara Steele, who is fantastic in a dual role as Asa/Katia. With Asa, she is the embodiment of evil, and with Katia she is the embodiment of innocence. The film was very strong in its themes for a 1960s audience and the British censors banned the film for a number of years. It is a chilling movie which is intelligent and absorbing. Bava would expound on the themes and motifs of the film in his later movies.