Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Whipping the body, 3 Feb 2007
One of Christopher Lee's darker films -- and Mario Bava's more gothic ones -- is "The Whip and the Body," a sort of ghostly-mystery with a perverse twist. It suffers from a slack midsection, but it's still loaded with wonderful direction and tons of atmosphere.
Kurt (Christopher Lee) has just returned after years in disgraced exile, and immediately grates on his sickly father and mild brother Christian (Tony Kendall). Also it turns out that Kurt's ex-girlfriend Nevenka (Daliah Lavi) has married Kurt, but she can't deny her feelings after a Kurt whips and seduces her.
Then Kurt is found dead. Everyone -- from Christian to the servants -- has a reason to want Kurt dead, but no one knows who did it. And Nevenka is acting strangely, as she is visited and whipped by Kurt when no one is around. Is she the victim of a ghost, or something far more terrible?
Mario Bava knew how to make creepy gothic movies (a la "Kill Baby Kill"), but he gives it a perverse twist here. "Thhe Whip and the Body" is gleefully split between ghost story, murder mystery, and dark erotic story of S&M and personal obsession. This is not cheerful, family-oriented fare.
As with his other gothic movies, this one is set in a creepy, crumbling estate, full of dark corners, grimy walls, torches and weird coloured lights. It does suffer from an uninspired middle section, between Kurt's death and the coffin's unearthing, which is mostly Nevenka wandering around hallucinatng.
And the direction is very solid -- disturbed, stormy, slightly off-kilter, and peppered with perversely erotic love scenes. The sight of Lee whipping the clothes off a moaning Lavi borders on campy, but it just stays on this side, and remains darkly intense right to the creepy finale.
Lee seems to relish his juicy, devilish role as a whip-wielding nasty who doesn't care that he drove a girl to suicide. Even dead, he's the most powerful presence in here. And Lavi does a solid enough job as his ex-lover, who can't cope with her obsessive, unhealthy adoration for him and thinks that he's risen from the grave to torment her.
"The Whip and the Body" lives up to its name, taking the sexual edge of gothic horror and running with it. Not Bava's best, but an excellent movie nonetheless
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4.0 out of 5 stars
A Whipping Good Ghost Story, 15 Oct 2009
A good Mario Bava gothic ghost story set in a creepy old castle with Christopher Lee as an evil brother returning to cause havoc on his brother & new bride-very good print-this version is uncut-for years the whipping scenes were banned in most countries. Great theme. If you like Hammer horror you'll love this but be warned-the whipping scenes are quite violent.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
One of Bava's best., 21 Jul 2009
Great film by the master of Italian horror Mario Bava, The Whip and the Body has irresistible and genuine Gothic scares, combined with atmospheric camera-work and breath-taking scenery. The Whip and the Body is a unique film in many ways, but particularly because of the controversial substance it dared to bring forward. Don't forget that the year of release was 1963 and Mario Bava unscrupulously introduces characters with taboo-fetishes like S & M. The story is terrifically set in the 19th century, where Kurt Menliff returns to his eminent family after being banished for several years. The family's hate towards Kurt's vile behavior is only surpassed by their fear and only the gorgeous Nevenka has a secret desire towards his wicked sexual preferences. In a particularly astonishing sequence, he whips her repeatedly (and roughly...) before continuing with making love. Terror overcomes the Menliff family when Kurt is found murdered in his room and when the tormented Nevenka begins to see his appearance in nearly every chamber of the castle. One of things that Mario Bava is often highly praised for is his use of lighting, and this film features what is probably the best use of lighting ever seen in a Bava film. The lights give flair to the scenery, and help to give the film that picturesque cinematography that the former cinematographer creates so well. Yes the story was quite bizarre but it was different from the usually 60's Gothic horror films mainly because of it's twisted finale. Christopher Lee as usual was superb as the sadistic and recently deceased Kurt who may or may not be haunting his relatives. Actress Daliah Lavi was also fabulous and complex as the anti-heroine. Music, sets and costumes, all contribute to make the movie a very satisfying (and bizarre) viewing experience. Plus, who could dislike a movie with such an enticing title?
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