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Wurdalak, The
Episode from "I Tre Volti Della Paura"
Episode from "I Tre Volti Della Paura"
| AKA's: | Black Christmas / Black Sabbath / Drei Gesichter Der Furcht, Die / I Skräckens Klor / Ring Der Verdammten, Der / Three Faces Of Fear, The / Three Faces Of Terror, The / Tres Caras Del Miedo, Las / Tres Mascaras Do Terror, As / Tre Volti Della Paura, I / Trois Visages De La Peur, Les |
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| Release date: | 1963 Italy/France | Running time: | 41' (Episode length) - Source: VHS PAL | Rating: | Germ.: 16; UK: 18; US: NR | ||||
| Main Crew: |
Director: Mario Bava (Operazione Paura 1966, I Vampiri 1956) Producer: Emmepi Cinematografica / Galatea Score: Roberto Nicolosi Writer: Mario Bava (based on Aleksei Tolstoy's novel "Sem'ya Vurdalaka") Director of photography: Ubaldo Terzano / Mario Bava |
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Cast: |
| Summary: |
Count Vladimir d' Urfe (Mark Damon), traveling across the Russian steppes, seeks refuge with a family. But they are concerned about their father (Boris Karloff) who went hunting Alibeq, a Turkish criminal suspected to be a vampire, known as "The Wurdulak", and warned them if he should not return within five days then he must be killed. The father returns just after the five days expire and the family is uncertain what to do, even as he starts to drink their blood. | Note: |
- The order of the segments was rearranged by AIP for the US release (the original ordering was: "The Telephone", "The Wurdalak", and "The Drop of Water"), and one segment ("The Telephone")was completely rewritten in the dubbing and slightly re-cut by Bava at AIP's request to disguise the lesbian overtones of the story. Furthermore, it was rescored (by Les Baxter), and renamed (into "Black Sabbath" - which inspired the name of Ozzy Ozbourne's band) in order to cash in on the success of Black Sunday. |
- This movie was Bava's personal favorite of all his films, and Boris Karloff 's only turn as a vampire. - The cast consisted of Italian, French, and American actors, who spoke their own language during the shooting. Karloff and Mark Damon, the only English speaking actors, were dubbed with Italian voices for the original movie. - The "Wurdalak" episode is known for having more than one ending. In the Italian version, Bava showed Karloff riding a wooden horse as extras ran around shaking tree branches, to create the impression of movement among a forrest. This scene was used for the ending of the entire picture. The American version ended with Karloff and his family in a chapel surrounding his surviving niece, Sdenka (Susy Andersen). - Existing still photographs show that Bava shot footage of Karloff 's encounter with Alibeq, with a wound from a lance in his chest, that was not used for the film.
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short review: Aaah, it's a Mario Bava movie! That's always a guarantee for visual pleasure. And that's exactly the way with this film. "The Wurdalak" is one of three stories from his well-known film "Three Faces Of Fear" aka "Black Sabbath". The two other episodes aren't of any interest by vampiric means, but this one is great!! Featuring horror legend Boris Karloff (Frankenstein), dimmed in blue colors, it tells a tragic tale about love beyond the grave. Very stimulating snack for more!  |
