A Blade in the Dark () is a 1983 Italian giallo film directed by Lamberto Bava. Originally planned for television, the film was made as a nearly two hour piece split into four parts each of which would end with a murder scene. After the film was found to be too gruesome for Italian television censors, it was re-edited into a feature film. Plot The film begins with three boys entering an old house, two pushing the third boy inside, where he's to take a dare. The pair gang up on gim by throwing a tennis ball into the basement, saying he's a "girl" if he doesn't retrieve it and chanting he's a "female" when he hesitates. The boy slowly shuffles down in fear and suspense, and a scream is heard when he's out of sight. The ball is thrown back, stained with blood, causing the two other boys to flee out of their own terror. Musician Bruno is hired to compose soundtrack for an upcoming horror film, renting the villa where the movie is set for a few weeks to help his inspiration. Property owner Tony Rendina, who's off to his father's rig in Kuwait, is delighted that Bruno accepts his request for some of his music, which Bruno promises to arrange for recording on a cassette. Giovanni lives in the basement as the groundskeeper, and Bruno's girlfriend Giulia is an actress off to another city for a stage play. Director Sarah is trying to capture the fear of the dark in the film, reels of scenes revealing it's inspired by the circumstances of the opening scene. She refuses anyone seeing the ending to not spoil the production for its complete artistic effect. Bruno is told before Tony owned the property, a woman named Linda leased out the villa, but she's since disappeared after moving out and never been heard from again. An unseen figure steals an extendable box cutter from Bruno's studio, finding a naked woman in a magazine image to leave cuts in for Bruno to find. Bruno meets Katia, one of the neighbors, who comes in unannounced and is scared by an arachnid in a cabinet. She doesn't tell him why she's there, but she flirts with him before leaving. Bruno finds Katia left her diary, which says she found out Linda's "secret". Katia is attacked outside by the figure, chased into the basement, where she