1971 ‘Ecologia del delitto’ Directed by Mario Bava
An elderly heiress is killed by her husband who wants control of her fortunes. What ensues is an all-out murder spree as relatives and friends attempt to reduce the inheritance playing field, complicated by some teenagers who decide to camp out in a dilapidated building on the estate.
Twitch of the Death Nerve, Carnage, Zátoka krve, Reazione a catena, Banho de Sangue, O Sexo na Sua Forma Mais Violenta
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I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve seen this, but each viewing makes me like it more and more.
An heiress commits suicide and sets off a sequence of murderous events as her family and acquaintances all try to get a piece of her estate. There’s a bit of debate as to what movie was the “first slasher”, but this one will always hold that title for me. There were certainly movies that came out prior to this that influenced the genre, but this one just really feels like the one that built the framework for all the slasher movies to come.
The Kills are super violent and extremely well done. My favorite would have to be that…
A Bay of Blood aka Twitch of the Death Nerve is not Bava’s most polished entry in his filmography, but it’s STILL nice to look at with its bay setting and memorable setpiece kills (13!)… it’s also a damn classic
When I was younger I wasn’t really a big Bava guy (that’s changed over the years in a big way) but this was always an exception—Carlo Rambaldi’s gore goes a long way here and so does that incredible stinger of an ending that gets me every time! A definite precursor of slashery goodness that would emerge towards the end of the 70’s and dominate the 80’s.
I’m at this weird stage in life where even I’d rather pop in Baron Blood or Shock over this… but honestly any Bava banger is a perfect way to start a day.
The Bay will have an itty-bitty bit more Blood in it after a psycho fuckin' killer terrorizes some unsuspecting fuckers in Mario Bava's granddaddy of Slasher films. Rollin' in a wheelchair. The Noose of You're Fucked. Killers sure do love black gloves. Ha! Ha! Ha! Motherfucker! Pillow-talk. High-def binoculars. The Exterminator. A disco. Tarot cards never lie. EYE see YOU! A birthday-suit swim. Floating cadaver. Hook, Hack, Die. Semi-erotic simulated fornication. Slice, Dice, Bye-Bye Face. The last time you will ever fuck. A Mercedes Benz. A bastard not named Snow. Decomposing daddy. Tick, Tock, Clock. The headless widow. Simon says you're fuckin' dead. Trickeration. Who turned out the fuckin' lights? Matches help you see in the dark until they burn…
Great kills, inventive cinematography and a wonderful score. Mario Bava's A Bay of Blood is obviously highly influential on the slasher genre (I am looking at you, Friday the 13th franchise). In true Italian fashion it is also convoluted AF. That hardly matters though because it is just so damn entertaining.
I had a feeling that Michelle would like this one.
Slasher's history is more complex than it seems at first glance. Particularly with reference to its birth, with some pointing to Pepping Tom, others referring to Psycho, and many agreeing it is Black Christmas. Three years before this, Mario Bava, the iconic giallo director, used many of the trademark elements of the genre in this film, which was also his most violent.
I have only seen a few of his work, but this has much bigger body counts with some scenes that will be remade on some classic slashers as the "bed stabbing" (Friday the 13th), though this one takes place while a couple is having some fun together. There is something truly delightful in the makeup work of the…
"I'm late for my nap... good day!" - Something I want to say more often,
- Horror Hunt 24: boxd.it/5wPL8
A bay is an inlet of the sea or other body of water usually smaller than a gulf. I googled it.
I must be missing something because I thought this was just fine. When an heiress dies everyone starts getting killed as someone or some people are trying to get the biggest piece of the inheritance pie. This is an important film for slasher history but I have mixed feelings about its entertainment value. I really enjoy the look of Bay of Blood, the music, and I found the ending very fun but I'd be lying if I said I…
Uncalibrated beauty. At times, Mario Bava’s classic A Bay of Blood is too uninhibited for its own good, a somewhat predictable plot and uneasy editing cramping its delectable style, but what style it is! Comprised almost entirely of euphoric music cues and coked-out crash-zooms, Bava creates a quintessentially Italian work, its base intentions not a far cry from the blood-spatter mesmerism of Argento. Mottled flesh and misfortune tellers loom over an inhospitable body of water; a stagnant albeit cursed crystallisation of the wrath of nature. Cold to the touch, and what an ending!
A few thoughts hit me while revisiting Mario Bava's 1971 seminal proto-slasher classic...the film (which blew me away the first time I watched it) actually improves on subsequent viewings, the movie's dark humor plays more pronounced, and the plethora of imitators that came in its wake seem just a bit less interesting.
So much has been written about this film, and the impact it's had (such as its variety and number of graphic murder set pieces, and filming scenes from the killer's point of view) that I'll keep this review to a few quick observations.
Plot-wise, it's another one of those movies with a setup where a big inheritance leads to the cast of characters double crossing (and murdering) each…
Bava gets a lot of mileage out of eyes in this. Lots of pretty shots of the lake and dark wilderness, and a long sequence with a naked German girl for no reason (well, okay, for no story-significant reason). This is a twisty one with some solid, gory deaths and an unsatisfying ending (laziness in how it resolves, really). Can't speak to the performance--after all the dubbing just makes it irrelevant--but the people were pretty to look at, up until they got some sort of curved blade to the face.
October count: 49/31.
Bava unleashed. There's a greedy motive as guide, a terrific location, at same time setting and reason for the murder spree, and so much comes and goings the plot is rendered useless. So what Bay of Blood has going for it are hacked bodies into a horror tableux. Bava's cinema entire reason of existence presented in a very large canvas as the movie doesn't has to pretend to function as anything else. What set Bava into such radical direction is hard to know, but I've always assume this movie is something of game of upmanship, after Argento pushed giallo into pure murderous gaze with Bird with Crystal Plumage, Bava can only take the plunge into a more essential take of the same, there's nothing left but murder and what Bava's art can make out of it.
The thing I loved the most were the vibes and the cinematography. The sleepy bay, looks so nice and dreamy and it was captured so well with the cinematography. Bit of an odd slasher movie overall though, wacky 70s Italian nonsense. Excellent ending.
I love this film! It always provides great entertainment no matter how many times I've seen it. As was the case with Bava's previous effort, Five Dolls for an August Moon, this film sees the worlds of business and murder collide; except this time it is much more interesting! The plot focuses on murders that happen at a bay, which a businessman has earmarked for redevelopment. This isn't really a plot film, it's a chaotic slasher. Bava sets his stall out right away in the opening the scene; all characters are up for the chop! The murder scenes themselves are fanatically graphic and this film obviously a big influence on the slasher genre as a whole. There's a real thick…
