The Whip and the Body

source: The Whip and the Body

Trailer—La frusta e il corpo

La frusta e il corpo

Having seen a few of Mario Bava's movies, "La frusta e il corpo" (alternately called "What!?" and "The Whip and the Body" in English) was a bit of a disappointment just because much of the movie was kind of slow. It certainly has an interesting plot: Christopher Lee plays a disinherited member of a noble family who returns home, where he starts engaging in some nasty tactics. And it takes more than death to get rid of this guy! Apparently, the whipping scenes were a little extreme for the censors in 1963 (I wonder if that was for the violence or the sexual implications); nowadays it shouldn't be that intense. The mortuary scenes are the really cool ones. So anyway, this is far from my favorite Bava flick - "The House of Exorcism/Lisa and the Devil" takes that spot - but still worth seeing. Euro-horror will never get old! Also starring Daliah Lavi, Tony Kendall, Ida Galli, Harriet Medin, Gustavo De Nardo and Luciano Pigozzi.

This unrelentingly-creepy tale of obsession and perversion plays like a more-horrific version of _Wuthering Heights_: cobwebbed crypts, dark castles with secret passages, rotting bodies, muddy footprints, pale faces scowling through windows, love-hate relationships that continue beyond the grave, sea cliffs, turbulent ocean, sunsets, and a very haunting music score. The sets are rich and the direction is moody, with lots of brilliantly-composed photography and a convincingly-cruel performance by Christopher Lee. This one does require some patience, but it's one of Bava's greatest masterpieces and deserves to be saved from obscurity.

La Frusta E Il Corpo/The Whip & The Body(1963) is an excellent gothic masterpiece that was ahead of its time in 1963 due to the strong imagery of erotic violence. Christopher Lee plays his most evil and sadistic character up to date(I have not seen his film, The Bloody Judge(1969)). His performance proves that he had an awesome presence within him. One theme that regularly occurs in many of Bava's films is the notion of the double that is present in movies like The Mask of Satan(1960), Kill Baby Kill(1967), and The Hatchet for the Honeymoon(1969). This is a great film that is overlooked by many Mario Bava supporters as it is also his best. The best parts of the film was the use of color and how he utizied color in the beautiful film. This movie is one that hopefully in the near future will get the video treatment that it deserves.