10 Hidden Gem Vampire Horror Movies

3. Black Sunday

Kiss of the Damned
American International Pictures

For a spell, Barbara Steele was not only one of the go-to horror names, but she was someone so often associated with playing sultry seductresses with a dark underbelly. In that regard, that meant she was utterly perfect for vampire pictures.

With the Steele-headlined Black Sunday, Mario Bava crafted a stunning piece of gothic horror that holds up remarkably well to this day; 61 years since its initial 1960 release.

There's small villages, spooky castles, torch-wielding townsfolk, and of course a vampire witch at the centre of this terror. That vampire witch is Asa Vajda, who was killed and entombed back in 1630. Jumping ahead 200 years from Aja's demise, we find her descendant Katia Vajda targeted by a partially-resurrected Asa who is desperate to be reincarnated in Katia's body.

Barbara Steele marvellously plays both Vajda roles, bringing totally different performances to these characters. And with such a rich, classic setting, Black Sunday serves as an ideal time capsule of how great the horror of the time could be.

Added to that, Black Sunday also made its lead actress a megastar in Italy, with the film likewise being credited as a major influence on the giallo boom that was waiting around the corner throughout the '60s and 1970s.

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