The Firelight Shocks DVD Review Section

Shock Distributor: Anchor Bay Region: 1 Ratio: 1:85:1 (Anamorphically enhanced) Sound: Dolby Digital Mono

The late great Mario Bava goes Freudian for his final film, which tells of a young creepy boy, his hysterical mother and his bewildered dad. The three of them live in a house with a secret, and in true giallo form, that secret is revealed to us in the final five minutes. The problem with Shock is not on any sort of aesthetic level. The camera glides, beautifully, across gardens and floors, the décor is typically attractive and colourful and Bava's camerawork is as inventive as always. Without wanting to go overboard on the details (I try and leave that for the fanzine), this is visually pleasing. Indeed, the ending, which features moving furniture and an evocative sense of claustrophobia, is very effective. However, in amongst all of this lies a muddled Freudian tale of potential incest that is, quite frankly, dull and a mystery that is cobbled straight from the pages of Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. Indeed, half way through this film you should be able to see where everything is going and although Daria Nicolodi enters a strong performance there is little else to break up the tedium of the proceedings - and one thing that Bava's films are surely not meant to be are tedious. Shock is quite possibly Bava's first attempt to try and create pure terror since 1963's excellent Blood and Black Lace (I'd argue that his similarly scripted Bay of Blood tries to evoke revulsion rather than fright). Sadly, it doesn't work, and you can telegraph the 'shocks' a mile away ­ sudden jumps are aimed for and floundered and the film as a whole is nothing brilliant. That said, this is not a dreadful film by any manner of means (sometimes it really hits the right spot in fact) and if you're looking to complete a collection on the Godfather of Italian horror cinema then this will be essential. It's just not quite the swan song that I was hoping for.

The Disc: Not too good in the extras department. The highlight is undoubtedly the interview with Assistant Director Lamberto Bava, who talks about making the film with his dad. Bava speaks in Italian, but you get English subs to help you out. Running for about ten minutes, this is far too short (couldn't he have done an audio commentary?). You also get some trailers ­ a couple of US TV spots are the most interesting, because the film was renamed Beyond the Door 2 and dumped on a double bill! There is also some talent biographies and you do get the chance to watch the film in Italian. My biggest complaint is that, as with their release of Torso, they fucking give away the ending on the inset card that they include with the disc! Anchor Bay does a strong job here as far as sound and picture quality goes and their dedication to digitally enhancing the pictures for widescreen televisions is admirable. This is not a disc which is full of extras though and at the price that some online companies are charging for this I'd advise you not to shell out for this disc. I know I felt cheated.