English Title: The Three Faces of Fear
Also Known As: Black Sabbath
Emmepi Cinematografica
Starring: Boris Karloff, Jacqueline Pierreux
Directed by: Mario Bava
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!
Synopsis: A trio of terror-filled tales involving a woman being stalked over the phone, a Russian count who comes across a vampire and a woman who makes the mistake of stealing from the wrong corpse.
Cat Cattle Call: Our interest is in the last segment (or the first segment if you’re watching the American version) entitled La goccia d’acqua (The Drop of Water). A nurse named Helen (Jacqueline Pierreux) receives a frantic phone call from a maid asking her to come. Helen arrives at the mansion in question which is occupied by a large number of cats that show up throughout these scenes.
The most frequently seen cat is a tuxedo patterned one which seems to be shoved through a doorway from outside the set several times.
Helen has been called to help prepare the body of the owner of the home, an older woman who has a reputation for being a witch. While doing this Helen takes something from the old woman’s body. When she returns home she is plagued by the sounds of cats crying and water dripping. Eventually the dead woman shows up, rocking in a chair with the tuxedo cat in her lap.
Final Mewsings: Don’t steal from dead crazy cat ladies.
Relevant Links:
To discuss this film and other cats in movies and on television, join us on
Facebook and Twitter.