A Bay of Blood

Twitch of the Death Nerve (1971)

**** (out of 4)

Mario Bava's landmark film can now be considered one of the very first slashers and of course a major influence on Friday THE 13TH. The film takes place at a lake-side resort where a variety of people are brutally slaughtered by an unknown maniac. Also known as A BAY OF BLOOD and a dozen other titles, this Bava film mixes the giallo with what would become known as the slasher and the end result is certainly something special and ground- breaking. To say the film was a major influence on the genre to come would be an understatement because there's simply so much going on here that other filmmakers would steal from. Obviously there's the graphic violence, which is scattered throughout the film and this is what got the movie its original reputation. The effects are quite ghastly for their time and especially a couple throat slashings, a memorable beheading and of course a sex scene where two victims are offed at the same time (and later stolen in Friday THE 13TH PART 2). The film is also quite sleazy with not only the gore but a fair amount of nudity and sex. This certainly wasn't the first film to use sex and violence but Bava really puts his own spin on it because the movie just feels so dirty. I say that in a good way because the director adds a certain poetry to the death scenes and he also lingers on them for long periods after the victims are stabbed or whatever else their fate is. Instead of cutting to the next scene Bava just keeps the camera on the victims as they take their last few breathes and this here is quite effective and at times ugly. The film is certainly far from flawless as some of the performances aren't all that impressive and the director goes for way too many zoom shots. With that said, there are enough twists in the story for ten movies and it's constantly catching you off guard. No matter what you call the film there's no question about its importance to the genre and it ranks as one of the best in Bava's career.

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.

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.

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.

At a bay on the remote coast of central Italy, corpses mount up as several people contest over the valuable property rights. Some of those involved are four party-minded youths in a yellow dune buggy.

Mario Bava's "A Bay of Blood" (1971) is called "Ecology of Crime" in Italian (translated) and is known by a few other names, like "Twitch of the Death Nerve" ("A Bay of Blood" is easily the best title).

With one foot firmly in giallo territory, it is hailed as the progenitor and blueprint for the kitschy slasher craze that would soon emerge with "Halloween" (1978) and "Friday the 13th" (1980). But let's not forget about the influential films that led up to this one, like "Psycho" (1960), "Dementia 13" (1963) and Bava's own "Blood and Black Lace" (1964), not to mention "Silent Night, Bloody Night," which was shot at the same time as "A Bay of Blood." These paved the way for early 70's slashers like "Home for the Holidays" (1972), "Torso (1973), "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974) and "Black Christmas" (1974).

While this is superior to "Dementia 13," the somewhat convoluted story is not as compelling as "Psycho," "Silent Night, Bloody Night" and "Friday the 13th." Speaking of the latter, devotees of "A Bay of Blood" suggest that it heavily influenced the first two "Friday" films, but this would mostly apply to the four youths visiting the desolate bay and a couple of death scenes, which amount to a fraction of the runtime. There's nothing in "Bay" about camp counselors staying at a summer camp and the dynamics thereof.

Brigitte Skay is a highlight on the female front as Louise, but there are a few other notables, like Paola Montenero (Sylvie), Anna Maria Rosati (Laura) and the joyless Claudine Auger (Renata). On the other side of the gender spectrum, Claudio Volonté is reminiscent of Oliver Reed as solemn fisherman outcast Simon.

The movie runs 1 hour, 24 minutes, and was shot about an hour's drive south of Rome in Sabaudia, Italy, at the producer's beach house, along with some bits shot at Fogliano, which is 12 miles north.

GRADE: B-