1963 would prove to be an instrumental year for the Master of Macabre, Mario Bava. Having kick started with the giallo flick The Girl Who Knew Too Much, before teaming up with Boris Karloff for the horror anthology Black Sabbath, he would round things off with the stylised and sadomasochistic film starring Christopher Lee called The Whip and the Body.

A somewhat convoluted tale, Lee stars as Kurt Menliff, a man who has been kicked off the family will because of his relationship with a servant girl, who committed suicide. When Menliff returns to reclaim his title, he is later found murdered, but mysterious sightings lead locals to believe that he has returned as a ghost to seek vengeance. 

The Whip and the Body is probably most known for its sadomasochistic themes that dominate through the middle period of the film, causing Italian censors to slap an 18 rating on it, only for it to be seized for charges of obscenity. The movie would be heavily cut down for American and British audiences along with being heavily dubbed by none of the original actors, which then demolished any clear narrative, reducing it to a complex mess.

There are some genuinely interesting scenes on show, but due to the nature of its release, the film is pale in comparison to the other two movies that Bava released that year, despite being at the peak of his filmmaking. 

Despite all this, Bava still manages to capture his visual style, working alongside cinematographer Ubaldo Terzano once more having previously combined for Black Sunday. Lee too provides a magnanimous presence on screen that proves he was born to be a leading man.  

• Saul Muerte