Bay Of Blood Reviews

Boring

Being a fan of dodgy old Italian horrors, I ignored the popular reviews, and rented this movie. Its a decent enough thriller, but there was hardly any excitement to be had so I cannot really recommend this movie at all. Only get this if you have seen pretty much everything S.S has to offer.

Ok, so this is a seminal and influential horror film, inspiring friday the thirteenth, it could actually be filmed in Camp Blood, which is a steal from Bay of Blood, and it sounds like quite a good premise. However it is really quite bad, no gore, poorly executed executions(ahem!), It is really dark and you cant really see whats going on, ( someone fire the lighting director), I would only recommend this for serious horror fans and completists, who should see it as a point of reference only.

bava at his brutal best

fans of horror,are deeply indebited to mario bava.italian horror maestro responsible for too many great films to mention unleashs this

ultra violent tale[everyone dies] but it is the style not the subject matter that makes him truely great.the opening scene is truely mind blowing,it looks like it a beautifully drawn graphic novel,and the end sublime. do your self a favour

poor transfer

the picture quality is of vhs standard,looks just like the redemption video release,no extras to speak of.this is a seminal film,not bavas best by any means,but deserves better treatment than this,the dvd of hatchet for a honeymoon is how bavas films should be presented

Slasher Classic?

This film is said to be the inspiration for the glut of slasher films started in the late seventies from Halloween to Friday The 13th. This film? I have only one word to say about this. 'NO!'

If you thought 'Friday the 13th' was just ripping off 'Halloween'...

...Check this out! A sleepy, picturesque lake: the arrival of some horny young people; a spot of skinny dipping; a hand out of the water, a few choice impalements - including a couple on bed getting speared. And that's all in the first half hour!

However, if I've just made 'A Bay of Blood' (or 'Twitch of the Death Nerve' as it's known in the US) sound like a thrill-a-minute blood fest, I may have built it up a bit much. You can imagine that it may have been shocking at the time, but by modern standards it barely warrants an 18 certificate. And while 'Friday the 13th' may have lifted a huge chunk from here, that film greatly improves on this by having a far tighter plot and a lot less waffle. Still, if you're interested in seeing where a good bit of the slasher lore of yesteryear originates, this is worth a peep. Just don't expect anything life changing.

Messy Giallo that doesn't hang together

After a good start this really begins to fall apart. There are several good scenes but unfortunately they are greatly outnumbered by the bad ones and, more seriously, the plot has so many holes and stupid leaps of logic that you lose any interest in what is going to happen. Even in this film however the ending stands out as a particularly ridiculous moment.

[Highly rated reviewer]

A Very Dark Bay Of Something

Apparently, this film provided the inspiration for the first two 'Friday The 13th' films.

My only comment on that is that you watch those two films until such time as someone like Anchor Bay presents a fully restored (and uncut) version of this film as, quite frankly, it is an insult to the DVD format - with its unfathomably dark, non-anamorphic picture and irritating cuts to 'spare' the viewer from the gore.

Avoid!

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[Highly rated reviewer]

More than just a slasher

Much is made of this film being the instigator of slasher films such as Friday 13th and whilst it is true that this element is found in the movie, this is not the whole story.

This is one of Bava's most convoluted tales, in which all of the characters are venal and unpleasant. The cinematograhpy isn't up to his usual luscious style but some of the imagery is memorable.

Highly recommended.