Ultimately, Black Sunday succeeds because of Bava's vision. Visually (the sets, the costumes, the editing, etc.), everything looks fantastic. The entire film is saturated with atmosphere and one marvelous image after another - a ferociously nightmarish coach ride through fog and clutching tree branches; Asa, her face still scarred by the puncture wounds of the Mask of Satan and her bosom heaving, as though she were gasping for air in her new-found life; a corpse suddenly awakening, its eyes rolling about in a seize while he otherwise lies perfectly still; Andre Gorobec tearing open Asa's robe to reveal, to his horror, a corpse-like body of bones, not flesh.

Many of Bava's effect shots were also done entirely in-camera. For instance, there is a scene of Javutich's materialization out of nothingness through a real wall of flames in a chimney! Re-watching on slow forward, we can see how the trick (not a double exposure!) was accomplished, but the first time around, viewers are likely to be quite surprised at this sly-of-hand. In fact, Bava uses numerous such tricks throughout the film, and the cumulative effect is a film loaded with great tension, suspense, and uncertainty. We never quite know what else to expect!