The Mario Bava fans amongst us continue to have more reasons for celebration, as VCI Home Video is going to release two more of the Maestro’s treasures to DVD this October.

First, we have the seminal Blood and Black Lace: Special Edition.

The plot is almost incidental: the black shadow of drug dealing falls upon a high-fashion salon when a beautiful model is brutally murdered. Her boyfriend, a known addict to whom the model was supplying dope, is suspected of the crime – but is he guilty? Bava’s style reigns supreme here: this is an extremely influential film, often cited as the first of the Italian ‘giallo’ films , and certainly the forerunner to American ‘body count’ movies, but with a great deal more technique than most.

VCI promises us the uncut, European version of the film. The print will be widescreen, letterboxed at the film’s original 1.66:1 aspect ratio, with a Dolby Digital Mono soundtrack in English, Italian, and French. Extras include a Photo Gallery, Original U.S. & French trailers, an interview with star Cameron Mitchell, commentary track by Bava expert Tim Lucas, English and Spanish subtitles, and bonus music tracks by composer Carlo Rustichelli.

The disc will have a suggested retail price of $29.99.

Next up is The Whip And The Body.

In the 19th century, a sadistic nobleman terrorizes the members of his family. He is found dead, but his ghost soon returns to haunt the residents of his castle.

VCI presents the uncut version of this film for the first time in the U.S. Banned in many countries because of its kinkier aspects, the film stars Christopher Lee, who personally considers this movie to be one of his best. Many of us have only seen the much-edited American version, What?, and the prospect of seeing the film as it was meant to be seen is very exciting.

The disc comes with a widescreen print, letterboxed in the film’s original 1.66:1 aspect ratio, with Dolby Digital Mono audio in English and Italian. Extras include a Photo Gallery and commentary track by Tim Lucas, as well as bonus music tracks by composer Carlo Rustichelli.

This disc will carry the suggested retail price of $24.99.

Both discs will be released on October 24th. Just in time for our Halloween lists…