Dir. Mario Bava
1977, Italy, 93 min
Italian with English subtitles
Rated 18A
The final feature from gothic horror legend Mario Bava, Shock eschews grand guignol excess for a more intimate portrait of mental breakdown in which true horror comes from within. Dora (Daria Nicolodi, Deep Red) moves to her old family home with her husband Bruno (John Steiner, Tenebrae), and son Marco (David Colin Jr., Beyond The Door). But domestic bliss proves elusive as Dora is haunted by nightmares and hallucinations, many of them involving her dead former husband. Originally released in the U.S. as a sequel to Beyond The Door, the finest Exorcist rip-off ever filmed, Shock more than lives up to its name. Newly restored for the first time ever!
Content warning: This film contains scenes of violence and gore.
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“Bay of Blood may be gorier, Black Sunday may be more influential, and Blood and Black Lace may be more beautiful, but Mario Bava never made a more purely frightening film than Shock.” – Nathaniel Thompson, Mondo Digital
