Amazon.com video review:
The hungry, haunted eyes of the voluptuous Daliah Lavi dominate
Mario Bava's kinky little ghost story. Set in a cavernous castle on a
lonely coast, it looks like something out of Roger Corman's Edgar Allen
Poe thrillers, at least at first. Christopher Lee is the bad sheep prodigal
son who returns to the family manor. A sexual sadist whose proclivities
brought about the death of a young girl and sent him into exile, he
immediately lures his brother's wife (Lavi) into his sadistic games upon
his return. There's no shortage of suspects when he's found dead, a dagger
plunged into his neck (the same one his former lover killed herself with),
but when he returns as a gray-faced ghost Bava pushes the gothic
conventions and repressed sexual desires into delirious territory. It's one
of the most psychologically compelling scripts in Bava's filmography, wracked
with mad passions and haunted with guilt, and he pushes the emotional
hysteria to the limits with lush style, surreal color, and gorgeous, often
perverse imagery. The film was drastically cut and renamed What! for
its U.S. release. VCI's edition is not only completely uncut but mastered
from a gorgeous, color drenched print, restoring Bava's rich play of
crimson red and cerulean blue.
The DVD features both English and Italian language soundtracks (neither of
which feature Lee's voice, though the English track better matches the
images) with optional subtitles, a sharp, informative commentary track by
Bava historian Tim Lucas, and two cut scenes hidden as "Easter Eggs." To
access these, go to the Special Features menu, move the cursor to "Play
American Titles," and push the left arrow button. --Sean Axmaker
