Mario Bava is a great horror film director, but this is not one of his best works.
The plot of this movie is along similar lines to that of one of his masterpiece's, "Bay of Blood", in that it revolves around money and a murderer. It follows the story of a wealthy industrialist that invites some of his friends to his remote Mediterranean island for a weekend of relaxation. It later transpires that one of the friends has a formula that has the potential to make a lot of money. What follows is a crescendo of murders as one by one the friends start turning up dead and the remaining survivors then don't know who amongst is the killer and therefore who to trust.
Unlike a lot of Bava's other work; this film features little in the way of suspense or atmosphere, and the music isn't always as good as Bava's fans have come to expect. It also doesn't have a lot in the way of ideas; Mario Bava is known for being creative, his movies usually bear this trademark and he is responsible for influencing many great horror movies, but this one doesn't cut it in that respect. The only really creepy part that this movie does have, in fact, is the spectacle of seeing the film's characters strung up in a meant freezer, but other than that it's pretty routine. By the time the film reaches it's climax, it doesn't really matter who the murderer is, as the intent is obvious from the start and the characters are largely samey and therefore uninteresting, and that's not a good way for a movie to keep the viewer's interest.
This film isn't especially bad, but it's very average and doesn't meet the high standards that Bava has set for himself with his earlier (and later) works. A year later, Bava would create Bay of Blood; I recommend seeing that instead if you're not a Bava fan, this one is for completists.
The plot of this movie is along similar lines to that of one of his masterpiece's, "Bay of Blood", in that it revolves around money and a murderer. It follows the story of a wealthy industrialist that invites some of his friends to his remote Mediterranean island for a weekend of relaxation. It later transpires that one of the friends has a formula that has the potential to make a lot of money. What follows is a crescendo of murders as one by one the friends start turning up dead and the remaining survivors then don't know who amongst is the killer and therefore who to trust.
Unlike a lot of Bava's other work; this film features little in the way of suspense or atmosphere, and the music isn't always as good as Bava's fans have come to expect. It also doesn't have a lot in the way of ideas; Mario Bava is known for being creative, his movies usually bear this trademark and he is responsible for influencing many great horror movies, but this one doesn't cut it in that respect. The only really creepy part that this movie does have, in fact, is the spectacle of seeing the film's characters strung up in a meant freezer, but other than that it's pretty routine. By the time the film reaches it's climax, it doesn't really matter who the murderer is, as the intent is obvious from the start and the characters are largely samey and therefore uninteresting, and that's not a good way for a movie to keep the viewer's interest.
This film isn't especially bad, but it's very average and doesn't meet the high standards that Bava has set for himself with his earlier (and later) works. A year later, Bava would create Bay of Blood; I recommend seeing that instead if you're not a Bava fan, this one is for completists.