"Black Sabbath" was a commercial failure upon release in Italy, and performed below expectations in America. A spiritual sequel to the film, based on "The Dunwich Horror" and provisionally titled "Scarlet Friday", was set to reunite Bava with Karloff and co-star Christopher Lee, but AIP distanced themselves from Bava following the failure of "Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs" and eventually produced the film without Bava, Karloff or Lee's involvement. Plans for a remake were announced in 2004 with Jonathan Hensleigh attached to write the script. Since its original release, "Black Sabbath" has received positive reviews from critics, and was placed at number 73 on a "Time Out" poll of the best horror films.