| KILL, BABY, KILL (1966) aka. Curse of the Dead, aka. Curse of the Living Dead Directed by Mario Bava I live in a small hamlet around 30km from an only slightly larger town that has the dubious honour of having per-capita the highest suicide rate in Australia. There have been a number of half-baked theories bandied around. Everything from the amount of iron-ore in the surrounding mountains, to conspiracy theorist fantasies revolving around government mind control. Perhaps the fact that Bundanoon is simply a depressing as f**k place is the only explanation required. There is a point to this seemingly off-subject Fortean anecdote. That being that mentally unsound Bundanooner�s (for want of a better term), and the simple townsfolk in Mario Bava�s Kill Baby Kill seemingly have a lot in common. The residents of a tiny 19th century Balkan village have taken to nicking themselves on a regular basis. Usually in bloodthirsty, gruesome, and of course stylish ways. The fact that it�s the 19th century makes the unusually high suicide rate even more of an anomaly. No 20% interest rates, no cut-throat corporate pressure or fear of downsizing, no feelings of inadequacy from townsfolk standing in line at their local supermarket gazing at magazines and lamenting the fact that they�re working minimum wage dish-pigging while Ben Asslick gets paid seven million a pop for impersonating an actor. No, these are simple people whose lives may be crummy in a 19th century working in servitude way, but other than that, it�s all good. So why exactly is the suicide rate higher than Jonestown? Well, there�s the minor issue of a curse involving the ghost of a spooky-looking little girl. And we all know that the only thing creepier than the ghost of an old lady is an anemic looking little tyke ghost. The Shining, The Sixth Sense, The Amityville Horror� they all knew it. And Mario Bava knows it too. Kill, Baby, Kill is a suitably stylish example of gothic horror from Italian icon Mario Bava. I�ll probably be lynched for this by Argento-philes, but I�ve always preferred Bava�s movies (not to mention his son Lamberto) to those of Dario; who has style, but often not enough in the way of substance. Although Kill, Baby, Kill may not be a Twitch of the Death Nerve or Black Sunday, but it's still a good way to kill 85 minutes. If you�re partial to gothic horror at all, then there�s a good time to be had here. All the pre-requisites are in place. Highly superstitious locals who are about as hospitable to tourists as Ivan Milat, the resident clairvoyant who always seems to do more harm than good, and the educated local official who was once a sceptic, but now orders bottles of holy water in bulk. This one�s just been released in Australia by Stomp Entertainment, who once again deserve a pat on the back for releasing this great obscure stuff as opposed to say� season seven of �The Simple Life� (as their competitors are want to do). If you have a little patience and appreciate atmosphere along with a few good chills, Kill, Baby, Kill is a pretty good option. Entertainment : 3 out of 4 Watchability : 2 out of 4 Overall : 2.5 out of 4 Reviewed by Blake |