Shock(aka Beyond The Door 2) (1977)

I distinctly remember seeing this, Mario Bava's last film at the Drive-In when I was a child. In the States it was released as Beyond The Door II, although it has nothing at all to do with the first film. I guess that American distributors thought that it would be an easier sell that way, even though the original was far from a hit here. I also remember this slow-burn, creepy little film, scaring the shit out of me! It is heavy on atmosphere, just the way I like them, but doesn't always make a lot of sense, but then again, when did Italian horror ever make sense?

Dora and her husband Bruno move back into the sprawling house that she used to share with her now deceased ex-husband. She has an eight year old son called Bruno, who is the most entertaining part of the film. He doesn't know that his father is dead, and apparently committed suicide. Soon after arriving in the house, Marco begins to exhibit some very strange behavior. He feigns copulating his mother, puts razors between the keys of her piano, and becomes possessed by the spirit of his dead father. As I said earlier, the film is quite slow and can become "talky", but it's Bava, and the man knows how to create a tense atmosphere. By the films end, we find out that Dora had become a bit crazy after the death of her husband, and had to be committed for a while. We also learn that his body has been walled in the wall of the basement by someone? I can only recommend this to people who prefer substance, style, and atmosphere over gore and action. If that is you, definitely check this one out!