To begin with I was a real sap for liking all that commercial crap that the everyday world is being exposed to watching. That was until "A Blade In The Dark" caught my attention.

This was the first film that marked my entry towards Italian horror and what an entrance it was I might add.

The opening sequence is a real knockout not to mention dead scary (even the mere thought is enough to give me nightmares). The only con was the fact the acting was tad bit weak, but at the same time exceptional.

I won't spoil the ending though, but it could've been a slightly improved with a cat and mouse chase that concludes in a bit of a bloody showdown with hero and killer. The highlight in the film for me though was Lara Nazinsky, who plays Julia (the composer's girlfriend) what a firecracker she is.

Though not many would agree about this film being good, it was interesting to know that it was directed with little budget with many of the actors working for nothing and considering Lamberto Bava's credibility of being son of horror legend Mario Bava.

Worth a look.

The Italians made some great thrillers in the 1970s and 1980s, but occasionally they would stumble badly in their efforts. This includes "A Blade in the Dark", directed by Lamberto Bava. I will admit that it's not a completely bad movie. Despite being made on a low budget, Bava uses the limited locations well so the audience is not bothered by the lack of settings. There are some striking images and occasional eye-catching direction. But all this good stuff doesn't help much against the sad fact that the movie is incredibly slow. It doesn't take long to realize that not much is happening, and the thin story is stretched out from the breaking point. Had the screenplay been more quickly paced and with a lot more happening, we might have had a nifty giallo thriller despite a few additional problems with the movie (like pretty wretched dubbing.) I would only recommend the movie to die hard fans of the Italian giallo genre.