Review #168: 'A Bay of Blood' (1971)

After the Countess Federica (Isa Miranda) is murdered in her mansion by her husband, the beautiful surrounding bay area is up for grabs. The Countess' husband is murdered himself straight after committing the act and the body is hidden, and family members and a real estate agent conspire with their own murderous aspirations to claim their inheritance. The Countess' daughter Renata (Claudine Auger) and her husband Albert (Luigi Pistilli) arrive at the bay and start investigating the goings-on themselves, only to discover the possibility that everyone could somehow be involved in trying to claim the bay for themselves.

As a horror fan, the work of Mario Bava has somehow alluded me through the years. This is the first horror film of his that I've seen, having only seen his comic-book masterpiece Danger: Diabolik (1968), which I consider to be the greatest comic-book film ever made alongside The Dark Knight (2008). Yet knowing he is held is such regard by horror fans, I refuse to form an opinion of him based on this film, as it is as silly and pornographic as the majority of giallo films of the time. The plot and the focus on humanity's greed is directed with such an amateur grasp of subtlety that the film loses all weight. And the segment of the film devoted to the murder of four horny teenagers seems to serve no purpose other than to fill half an hour of film and play with some gore.

Yet if there's one thing I know about Bava, it is that the man knows how to shoot a film. If Argento oozes style, Bava certainly has class. For such a low-budget movie, he makes the most of reportedly using a children's buggie as a steadicam, to build up tension and atmosphere, especially in the opening scene, where the Countess is kicked off her wheelchair and is left hanging mid-fall by a noose. The murders in the film, however, certainly lack class. Special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi (who most famously developed E.T. (1982) and Alien (1979) - which he won an Oscar for) creates some truly gruesome gore effects that come at the right time when you're just waiting, an eventually looking forward to, the demise of the four visiting youngsters. Special mention must also go to a close up of an octopus sliding across a rotting cadaver's face. The film was influential, perhaps, but relatively average in its own right.


Directed by: Mario Bava
Starring: Claudine Auger, Luigi Pistilli, Claudio Camaso, Isa Miranda
Country: Italy

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie