Watch A Bay of Blood For Free

Who payed the critics

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Mario Bava's "A Bay of Blood" mainly follows Renata and Albert, a young couple vying for ownership of property on a remote bay after Renata's mother, an heiress, is mysteriously killed at her estate. The couple arrive on the property in the midst of a bloodbath in which just about anyone coming in contact with the area is dying in mysterious ways, but the worst is yet to come.The thriller to launch Bava's career into the seventies, "A Bay of Blood" (sometimes titled "Twitch of the Death Nerve") plays out like a gratuitous Agatha Christie novel brought to the screen. Punctuated by savage murder sequences, the film is a mystery and a morality play at its core, meditating on themes of greed and amorality. The script is jarring, shifting from character to character and disorienting the audience as each are flayed open on screen. When we finally do get to the ostensible protagonists, multiple bodies have already hit the floor; it's a double-edged sword as the disorienting nature of the narrative is both frustrating and effective at putting the audience on edge.The cinematography is fantastic, and the camera-work is frenetic, characterized by dramatic zooms and some chilling POV shots from the killer. The dreary bay and the kitschy seventies house sets are richly atmospheric, and a lively score adds to the proceedings. The ending is downbeat and also darkly humorous, and as ridiculous as it may be, it falls in line with the film's greater thematic aims.Overall, "A Bay of Blood" is a solid film even in spite of its narrative quirks. It does leave the viewer feeling somewhat debased among a sea (or rather, bay) of carnage, but it is, as all of Bava's films are, aesthetically interesting and attains its own weird atmosphere. The special effects are also nicely done, and the film delivers for gorehounds. Some have given it the title of the "godfather" of the slasher film, and while it feels more like a giallo, I can see where people come to draw that comparison. 8/10.

Generally credited as the inspiration for most of the slasher and serial killer movies in the next 70's and 80's, Bava's "A Bay Of Blood" isn't perfect by any means, but is well worth your time to take it in at least once, if you can.Whereas most of the films it inspired keep things simple (one killer, a bunch of nubile young victims, various gimmicky shocks and inventive ways to skewer and maim them), "Bay" distinguishes itself by having multiple killers, bright, crisp photography, and a whole lot of off-putting or unlikable characters who each get a brief moment of "stage time" before they dispatch each other in various jarring and startling ways. Mostly I think what makes Bava better than his imitators is his timing and setups - he knows just how long to focus in on his characters and just how much "humanity" to imbue them with before they get shuffled off this mortal coil. Saw it once, don't feel the need to ever see it again, but I thought it was pretty darned good.

This is regarded as the original slasher. That may be true, but I didn't find anything special about it. It helped facilitate change in the horror genre and it influenced Friday The 13th. It is easy to tell with the lake itself, which is eerily reminiscent of Camp Crystal Lake. A Bay of Blood plods too much for my liking at times. There were certain points where I was really getting into it, and then it pushed me away by becoming languid. There are too many scenes with people wandering, and nothing all that interesting happening. The atmosphere is solid. It does have moments that are genuinely creepy. The opening shot gave me the chills, and the finale definitely provides suspense. It was just too inconsistent for my liking. I didn't care for any of the characters. They were all a little too cold for me. I know that was the point, to augment the mystery at hand, but I would have liked to have seen somebody I can root for. Gorehounds will be pleased with the amount of blood. We get an amazing slit throat, bloody stabbings, a squid on a rotten corpse, and more. The most infamous gore scene is the double impaling with a spear, which Friday The 13th Part II ripped off. It is done much more graphically in this movie, and wasn't cut by censors. Mario Bava's direction is pretty stylish. His lighting was great, as were the POV shots. I also have to give credit to the picturesque cinematography. There are a few twists in this movie, but the ending angered me. It felt very contrived and unbelievable. Final Thoughts: I'll give credit where credit is due. It facilitated change, it's stylish, and the gore scenes are great. Despite all of those qualities, it isn't nearly as interesting as all the hype suggests. It is well worth a look, but don't expect a classic6.2/10

I watched it on the Horror Channel and am seeing for the first time (I'm mid 40's) a number of horrors of this vintage on this channel. It is not my usual fare, so I'm not expert. The version was dark and well saturated. It was dubbed, too. Normally I never watch my World Cinema dubbed but this is 80's horror and like badly dubbed porno of a certain age, a degree of naffness adds to the overall charm. And you don't want your screen littered up with tiny writing when you want to see all the gory details, do you?No, there's not much plot - that also would get in the way, too much to think about. Something about the Bay in question being turned into a holiday resort and the consequent nasty removal of those persons inheriting that land. What you DO get are some very inventive murders - 13 of them, apparently, naked bathing beauties and some pretty scenery. Much better than today's total, full-on barrage of splatter. It looks quite European.What is great about this director is the very fast moving camera - it zooms in and out very fast at times for maximum shock effect, which may only appear for a few seconds. Unfortunately the dark screen hid quite a lot of detail, there were fight scenes where you could only make out wrestling bodies and nothing else. The final scene will have you in amused disbelief.I enjoyed it, at least and seems to be a bit of cult classic, so is recommended.