5 Dolls For an August Moon

(Mario Bava; 1970)

(Image)

A wealthy industrialist gathers a group of friends to his secluded island beach house in order to attempt to persuade a brilliant scientist to sell him and his partners a newly developed formula. The businessmen double cross each other by trying to make secret deals with the scientist to meet their own agendas. Tensions rise when the guests start turning up dead.

Mario Bava. Love him or hate him it’s hard to ignore how much he has single handedly contributed to the horror genre as a whole. Considered to only be appreciated by the hardcore Bava fans, 5 Dolls For an August Moon is hated by many and loved by few. True, the film does lack gore and it does subject the viewer to a 10+ minute party scene with little to no dialogue that makes the characters look downright imbecilic, but the film does have its charm. There’ plenty of nubile womanflesh to ogle, albeit not that much appreciable nudity, and there’s a sort of surreal black comedy ambiance… especially when the bodies start to pile up and they are forced to keep them in the estate’s walk in meat locker. The 70’s lounge music score is also great campy fun. Recommended for genre fans. 

Adequate sound quality. Dolby Digital Mono.

A fine transfer from the original vault negative materials, although slightly flawed. Widescreen 1.85:1 (enhanced for 16x9 TVs).

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Packaged in a cardboard gatefold case.

Sound: 5

Picture: 5

Special Features: 5

Packaging: 4

Film: 7

Overall Rating: 7

(Rating scale is out of 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 the best)