1977 – Daria Nicolodi – Shock

More often than not overlooked as a mere schlock movie (often known in North America under the incredibly boring and misleading title Beyond the Door II), this remains maestro’s Mario Bava final masterpiece. Distancing herself from then-partner Dario Argento’s body of work, Daria Nicolodi stands on her own to deliver an haunting portrayal of a woman slowly driven to the point of madness. As Dora Baldini, a young wife psychologically tormented by the suicide of her ex-husband, Daria goes off the deep end in a most provocative manner. Just watch the unfortunate progression of behavior her character suffers through: from sweet mother to hysterical harpy. But what’s really the matter with her young son (played with clunky creepiness by David Colin Jr., star of Beyond the Door, a 1974 Italian horror film about possession… hence the bad Beyond the Door II title)? Why does he fool around with razorblades and cuts up his mom’s panties while she’s in the shower? Is Dora having genuine hallucinations about evil forces or is she just disturbed in her own cranium?

This film has not many characters and is surely not a globe-trotting visual experience. Of course, it adds value to our feelings of claustrophobia, shared with the unfortunate Dora. After the success of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, the early 70s saw some other works dealing with possession and/or demonic children. Shock follows that route, but with its director’s typical flair. This is without a doubt Daria Nicolodi’s best performance of her entire career, she who had more often than not been a supporting player in other pictures. Here, she carries the whole project on her shoulders, a feat that in the hands of a less capable actress would’ve sink the entire production. Oddly, it would be back to mainly secondary roles in her subsequent parts.

This remains Bava’s last directorial project; he would supply some special effects and photograpy work for a couple of later movies (notably Dario Argento’s Inferno), then pass away in 1980. For Shock, there remains the old master’s magic touch, particularly an effective jump scene at the end that does justice to the film’s title. His son Lamberto Bava also directed many scenes, as the father felt that it was time to pass the torch. Oh, and watch out for that bit when Dora’s hair moves by itself!

Next: They say that beauty is only skin deep… but what if you have no skin? Ask this actress.