The Daily Dig: Arabella Black Angel (1989)

Over-the-top scenes of nudity threatened to make this laughable, but the plot of “Arabella” attracted me enough to keep it interesting.

A writer uses his wife’s insatiable libido to stage scenarios for his stories. Let’s dig into 1989’s ARABELLA BLACK ANGEL, directed by Stelvio Massi!

As I See It

Director Stelvio Massi had a successful career as a camera operator and cinematographer, working on films like Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars before he started directing films himself. He continued his work as a cinematographer after, but this late-era giallo has to be a standout for its overt sexuality.

I have to admit how much I like the premise.

It has a bit of soap opera flair to the drama, a disabled man who is a successful writer discovers his wife is cheating on him and makes her continue her escapades and gaslights her into believing she kills the men she sleeps with all for fodder for his stories. If the sex scenes weren’t so cheesy, Skinemax-level faux passion, I might have enjoyed the execution as much as I did the plot.

The subplots made the whole thing a bit messy, and the twist in the story wasn’t unexpected. Still, I enjoyed it enough for a film filled with an overwhelming amount of gratuitous one-sided nudity and violence.

Famous Faces

Evelyn Stewart (Marta) was in Lucio Fulci’s Murder to the Tune of the Seven Black Notes, aka The Psychic.

Of Gratuitous Nature

Wall-to-wall nudity and sex scenes go beyond the heavy petting of those early nineties Cinemax sex thrillers. The weapon of choice, a pair of steel scissors, isn’t an original choice, but it is distinct, and the repetitive threat of using them to cut off the nipples of the victims made me squeamish enough to be effective.

Heartthrob

Tinì Cansino (Arabella) has the makings of a goth queen. She’s got a bit of a Vampirella thing going, especially with those bangs. And if this were a contemporary film, she definitely would be covered in line work tattoos.

Ripe for a Remake

I’m intrigued by the premise of exploiting for the sake of content. Easily could be turned into a modern-era tale with the technological advancements, such as social media and the desire to become viral coming into play.

Spawns

No progeny to report.

Where to Watch

Vinegar Syndrome released it on Blu-Ray as part of their “Forgotten Gialli: Volume 4” along with The Killer is Still Among Us and The Sister of Ursula. You can stream it on Shudder or Tubi.