IFF25 Blood & Black Lace

Set upon audiences in 1964 Mario Bava’s Blood & Black Lace is a landmark film in the evolution of the giallo genre and a major influence on later slasher cinema. Set in a glamorous Italian fashion house, the story begins when a model is brutally murdered on the premises. Soon, other models and staff members find themselves stalked by a mysterious masked killer. The murders appear connected to a diary that contains scandalous secrets, with suspicion falling on various members of the haute couture circle as the body count rises. What sets Blood & Black Lace apart is Bava’s masterful use of colour, lighting, and camera movement, with a visual style that is often described as painterly. Unlike traditional whodunits of the time, the violence here is shockingly graphic for its era, with elements that would become staples of giallo and later American slasher films. The film also features a haunting score by Carlo Rustichelli, blending jazz and suspenseful melodies that amplify the tension. While it was controversial at the time for its stylised violence, Blood & Black Lace is now celebrated as a pioneering work of Italian horror cinema, laying the groundwork for directors like Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci. Its combination of elegance, mystery, and brutality continues to influence horror aesthetics, making it one of the genre’s most enduring classics.