A Bay of Blood (1971)


There are numerous movies that almost fit the slasher genre way before Halloween hit the theater.  Often Black Christmas is cited as one of the earliest and most influential, while The Abominable Dr. Phibes and its sequel have many elements of this style of film.  The true granddaddy of all slasher films, though, would be Mario Bava's 1971 A Bay of Blood.

Countess Federica Donati (Isa Miranda) is murdered one night by her husband (Giovanni Nuvoletti), who tries to make it look like suicide.  However, just as he is putting the finishing touches on his work, he is dispatched by an unknown killer.  With the count's body nowhere to be found and everything looking like suicide the property is set to pass on to an heir, and Renata Donati (Claudine Auger), the daughter of the Count, expects that to be her.  She arrives at the property with her husband Alberto (Luigi Pistilli) and their children to stake their claim.

Problem is, they learn from fortune teller Anna Fosatti (Laura Betti) that there is another claim to the property.  Simone (Claudio Camaso) is the illegitimate son of the Countess and is living in a cab in on the property.  Since he is the rightful heir architect Franco Ventura (Chris Avram) is eager to make a deal with him for the property so he can develop it as a resort.  That doesn't sit well with Anna's husband Paolo (Leopoldo Trieste), who likes things the way they are.  What none of them know is that whoever killed the Count is still on the property and has begun a round of further killings, beginning with a group of young people who are trespassing. 

This has some giallo elements, including the black-gloved killer.  However, that turns out to be the Count at the beginning.  From there forward things go in a different direction.  Two of the kills - one dealing with a spear - were lifted wholesale for the first couple of Friday the 13th movies, and the beginning with the young people being dispatched in an abandoned resort near a lake feels quite familiar. 

A Bay of Blood, also known as Twitch of the Death Nerve among about a dozen other titles, departs from the slasher formula early.  I can see where this influenced later films like Blood Simple and A Simple Plan as much as it did the horror industry, as everyone seems to be trying to get one up on the other with a few innocents caught in the crossfire.  It demands the attention of the viewer, but it also rewards the viewer with an intelligently wrought story with an hilarious surprise ending that comes out of nowhere. 

As far as I can tell from watching the English dub the acting is pretty much okay.  At least the voice actors doing the dubbing did a good job at translating the script so that it doesn't sound robotic.  The movie had a microscopic budget but it is hard to tell, as Bava made sure the makeup effects were well done and used his and several crew members' property for filming locations.  

A Bay of Blood certainly stands apart from many similar movies at the time because there is a lot less wandering around or exposition.  When it comes time for the latter it is mainly through flashbacks.  As for the former, that is mainly with the two young couples that show up, but part of that is a long skinny-dipping scene with Brigitte Skay that makes up for the initial lack of action with some gratuitous nudity and, in a big surprise, figures in with the greater plot. 

If one is going into it expecting a modern horror film they will be disappointed.  However, this is where many of the current conventions started, and it is one of Bava's best films as well as his personal favorite.  I don't know about that, but I do think it is one of his best from both a technical and story standpoint.  It is also one of his more modern films proving that, unlike a lot of directors at the time, he had no problem adapting to the changing times.

A Bay of Blood (1971)
Time: 84 minutes
Starring: Claudine Auger, Luigi Pistilli, Claudio Camaso, Chris Avram, Leopoldo Trieste, Laura Betti
Director: Mario Bava

 

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