Directed by Mario Bava
This outstanding triptych of horror tales is an exciting collaboration between the great Boris Karloff and Italian maestro Mario Bava.
In the first episode "The Telephone" a woman receives a series of ever-more threatening phone calls from her criminal ex-boyfriend . It's the weakest of the three, but it's still a pretty effective suspense thriller in the giallo tradition.
The second episode is on a whole other level, an elegantly crafted Gothic tale of vampirism called "The Wurdelak". Karloff plays the patriarch of a Russian family who returns home after several days spent hunting down and killing a notorious local bandit. At first they're happy to see him home safely but it quickly becomes apparent that he has somehow.....changed.
Wonderfully chilling and atmospheric and featuring one of Kaloff's most menacing performances, this chapter alone would make this film worth a look but honestly, they saved the best scares for last.
Episode three is "A Single Drop of Water" and even after 50 (!) years it remains a small masterpiece of slow burn terror. A mean, miserly old woman dies and the her bitter young caretaker steals a ring from her cold, dead finger. I think we all know that will not end well.
All of these are directed with style by Bava one of the all time masters of the genre. If you have any interest in horror at all he is a name you should seek out and get to know. You will not regret it.
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