A Blade in the Dark
A Blade in the Dark () is a 1983 Italian "giallo" slasher film directed by Lamberto Bava. Originally planned for television, the film was made as a nearly two hour piece split into four parts each of which would end with a murder scene. After the film was found to be too gruesome for Italian television censors, it was re-edited into a feature film. Plot. Bruno, a composer, is hired to do the soundtrack for an upcoming horror film, and to help him concentrate, he moves into a rented villa for a few weeks. Several  of the tenants and neighbors are murdered by a razor-wielding slasher, and there is a weird next-door neighbor who is a key suspect. Production. Lamberto Bava was offered to direct "A Blade in the Dark" while he was assisting Dario Argento on "Tenebrae" (1982). The film was written by the husband and wife writing team of Dardano Sacchetti and Elisa Briganti. Bava and Sacchetti recalled that their collaboration was difficult, with the two being more friendly during the production of "A Bay of Blood" (1971), but their approach to this film was at odds with each other. The  film was initially commissioned to be made for Italian television by producer Mino Loy and have been aired in four 30 minute segments. Bava explained that his initial goal was to have a shocking murder at the end of each segment. Producer Luciano Martino offered Bava his villa as a location for filming. Release. When the film was presented to the television censors, it was found to be too gory to be aired. Rather than edit the film, the producers instructed Bava to cut the film into a theatrical feature. This led to the 16mm print being blown up  to 35mm for theatrical distribution The film was released in Italy on August 6, 1983. Troy Howarth in his book on "giallo" films described the English dubbing of the film as "some of the worst to be inflicted upon any "giallo"". The film was released three times on DVD in the United States. The first time in 2001 by Anchor Bay Entertainment. The company subsequently re-released it in 2003 on a double feature DVD with Lamberto Bava's "Macabre". Both these versions are out of print. The third DVD release came from Blue Underground in 2007. On Blu -ray, the film was released for the first time by 88 Films on August 23, 2015. Critical reception. AllMovie gave the film a mixed review, writing, "Lamberto Bava eschews complex mystery in favor of elaborate stalk-and-slash sequences, with only partial success".