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Black Sunday is one of the great masterpieces of gothic cinema. The film marked Mario Bava's formal debut as a director, after years of uncredited work helming other filmmakers' productions. He seized the opportunity to drape the screen in shadows and mist, conjuring a palpably caliginous atmosphere for his eerie bone-chiller.

At the time of its release, Black Sunday was the cause of great controversy and faced censorship on both sides of the Atlantic due to its violence and disturbing imagery. The film opens in the 17th Century, as Princess Asa Vajda and her lover are being sentenced to death, having been accused of witchcraft by her brother. As the villagers enact her torturous execution, she places a curse on her brother for his betrayal. More than two centuries pass, at which point two doctors travelling through the place of her death inadvertently resurrect the Princess to startling consequences.

Alternative titles: The Mask of Satan; Revenge of the Vampire