Finally, we have Shock on Blu-ray, so now I can start asking about Shock and the filmography of Bava on 4K UHD! Shock is the final film directed by the legendary Italian maestro of the macabre Mario Bava. It was made in 1977, and has a tonally different feel than his prior horror films, though Twitch of the Death Nerve, and Rabid Dogs do help bridge the gap to this entry nicely. The film was quietly co-directed by Mario’s son Lamberto who had worked with his Dad on prior features as an assistant director, and was looking to become a filmmaker in his own right in the next few years. From a personal point of view, I’ve always viewed Shock as a transitional film that would make a companion piece to the younger Bava’s debut feature.

Shock stars Dario Nicolodi (Deep Red, Inferno) as Dora, a woman who suffered the tragic suicide of her husband, and Father of her child Marco many years earlier. She is now moving back to their old house with Marco and her new husband Bruno (John Steiner). Not long after settling in Dora begins to experience delusions related to her tragic past, and Marco begins to act out in bizarre, and creepy ways. Dora begins to believe that there is a presence in the house rejecting them, and wants to get out, but Bruno will only medicate her, and not let her leave…

This film is basically the Dario Nicolodi show. Her performance is central to the whole piece, and is absolutely dynamic and engaging throughout. The rest of the film blends aspects of the possession film (the film after all was marketed as Beyond the Door 2 in the U.S.), and a haunted house thriller, and at times uses the tropes of both genres. Of course, this being a film by Mario Bava, he manages to make those tropes come to effective life here. Also, at the center of the film is the house itself, which while at first apperance doesn’t have a lot going on, ends up taking on a creepy other life, especially the basement.

Shock is presented by Arrow Video in a 1:85:1 1080p transfer from a new 2k scan from the negative. I haven’t watched Shock in close to 20 years, and when I did it was off the back of the old Anchor Bay DVD, at the time that looked good enough, but what we have here is a true revelation. The film, is not the most colorful film in Bava’s filmography, and looks more like Rabid Dogs than anything before it, and also as mentioned earlier a bit like Lamberto Bava’s Macabre. Still the natural colors and tones come through nicely, the whole film has a nice organic film like sheen to it. Textures and details are excellent. Extras are OVER THE TOP and very welcome. We get a commentary by Tim Lucas (of course), a new video interview with Lamberto Bava, an interview with Dardano Sacchetti, a video essay by Alexander Heller-Nicholas, a video appreciation by Stephen Thrower, an interview with film critic Alberto Farina, TV spots, a gallery, a trailer. This is insane, this is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!