Bahía de sangre

Having been a fan of 80's slasher movies since I was a teenager and embracing Friday the 13th (1980), Halloween (1978) and all the other low budget rip-offs that followed A Bay of Blood is a revelation after finally catching up with it some 50 years after it's initial release.

Mario Bava's controversial and ground breaking classic is often cited as the beginning of the modern slasher with unflinching graphic imagery, violence and blood letting however I hadn't appreciated just how much the Friday the 13th franchise owes to this cult film. Sean S Cunningham was obviously greatly influenced by the Italian filmmaker and even recreates some of Bava's scenes in the first couple of Friday the 13th movies, notably the spear going through a couple making love on the bed, the girl getting undressed and going for a skinny dip in the lake only to be watched and hunted down by the killer, the beheading of a woman and a machete embedded into a victim's face.

Having established himself as a horror filmmaker, firstly with Hammer style Gothic horror movies in the early 1960's then creating the much lauded Italian 'giallo' genre that combined film noir, murder mystery, eroticism and graphic imagery that inspired the likes of Dario Argento, Bava made a further shift in the horror genre with a totally unrestrained, uncompromising and visceral approach to shock audiences with extreme violence, gore and realism that set the template for the American slasher that followed having influenced the likes of John Carpenter, Wes Craven and many others.

The opening murder of a Countess sparks a number of unscrupulous characters, including her daughter played by Bond girl Claudine Auger, to go after her large estate on the bay with a series of brutal killings. People get slashed and slaughtered, including four unsuspecting teenagers (sound familiar), and it's Carlo Rambaldi's impressive makeup effects that help Bava achieve the level of realism not seen before with such brutal killings.

A Bay of Blood is a stylish, intense, visceral, nicely paced and well made film that influenced several generations of filmmakers and although prosecuted by the DPP under the Video Recordings Act of 1984 by people who didn't know what they were talking about, this is nowhere near as amateurish, exploitative or low rent as some of the titles that made it onto the list.

AKA Twitch Of The Death Nerve, and distributed in the USA under the title The Last House On The Left Part 2 despite having nothing whatsoever to do with Wes Cravens film, this 1971 effort is considered to be Mario Bava's most violent film and is the spouting artery from which all future slasher films would flow. When crippled Countess Federica is murdered at her isolated mansion, a gruesome battle ensues to secure the rights to her valuable property around an isolated bay. Everyone, from illegitimate children to shady real estate agents, stakes a claim, only to be killed in increasingly bizarre ways, from simple shootings to a couple impaled by a fishing spear whilst having sex. The gruesome makeup effects are by Carlo Rambaldi, who would later earn Oscars for his work in Alien (1979) and E.T. (1982). Total Film magazine named it one of the 50 greatest horror films of all time.

A Countess (Isa Miranda) is murdered by her husband who in turn is also murdered. What follows is a series of grisly murders around the former Countess's lake.

Released in Italy with the original Italian title of ECOLOGIA DEL DELITTO and in the US with the colourful title of TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE, this classic gruesome Mario Bava giallo thriller set the precedent for a new style of grisly horror films, but would later be recognised as one of the main influences of the slasher genre, most especially the FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH films, despite Sean S. Cunnigham's denials to the contrary.

A personal favourite of Bava's, the film found itself on the so-called video nasty list in the early 1980s, but is a good fun piece of macabre gruesomeness.

You don't go to a Mario Bava picture expecting an Antonioni picture or a Fellini picture. Bava does exactly what it says on the tin and what it says on the tin here is "A Bay of Blood" so basically you know what you're likely to get and what you're letting yourself in for but Bava is as much an auteur as any Italian maestro and the killing that opens this film proves it. Working almost exclusively within the genre of the horror picture Bava was, above all, a great visual stylist, (as well as directing "A Bay of Blood" he was also the DoP), and unlike most films that might be termed slashers this could almost be called art, albeit of a very kitsch kind.

Budget-wise Bava had to achieve his effects with very little, other than sheer imagination. "A Bay of Blood" may be a fairly basic giallo in terms of plot but it is also creepy and clever and thankfully tongue-in-cheek, (with a laugh-out-loud pay-off), and Bava knew that by including a few 'cult' names in his cast, (Isa Miranda, Laura Betti), he could draw in the cineastes. It may not be in the same class as some of his better known works but it's still worth seeking out.

I recently watched Mario Bava's Italian giallo classic, A Bay of Blood (1971), on Tubi. The film revolves around a small town by a lake where the land is in dispute following the death of the countess who owned it. As individuals arrive at the countess's home, they are systematically murdered. The stakes rise as the quest for the house becomes deadlier.

Directed by the iconic Mario Bava, known for Lisa and the Devil, and starring Claudine Auger (Thunderball), Luisi Pistilli (The Good, The Bad and the Ugly), Claudio Camaso (Vengeance) and Anna Maria Rosati.

This movie embodies the essence of a classic slasher, with an engaging plot, unique circumstances, clear motives, and a captivating "whodunit" element. The cast excels, and the female actors are stunning as always. The film features a classic soundtrack from its era, and the kills become increasingly gruesome as the story unfolds. There's ample gore, blood splatter, and an entertaining decapitation scene. It uses the iconic red paint for blood and incorporates amusing use of an octopus 🐙 . The final revelation is worthwhile, leading to a rewarding conclusion.

In summary, A Bay of Blood is an entertaining Italian giallo, not without its flaws, but certainly worth watching. I would rate this a 7/10 and highly recommend it.