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      A Bay of Blood

      R Released May 3, 1972 1h 24m Horror Mystery & Thriller List
      86% Tomatometer 14 Reviews 62% Audience Score 2,500+ Ratings Following the murder of Countess Federica Donati (Isa Miranda), an heiress possessing a beautiful piece of beachfront property, members of her family and the surrounding community engage in a killing spree, each with his own secret agenda. In addition to the string of creative murders, a group of hippies arrive on the premises, engage in promiscuous sex and find themselves dying one by one in this cult classic that's considered to be the original slasher film. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

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      Randy Myers San Jose Mercury News An effective example of the giallo genre. Rated: 3/4 Oct 21, 2021 Full Review Anton Bitel Little White Lies a brutal, bludgeoning film, utterly misanthropic in its outlook, and all the better for its refusal to compromise in exposing human nature at its ugly, imitable worst. Sep 27, 2019 Full Review Almar Haflidason BBC.com Rated: 4/5 Oct 30, 2001 Full Review A.S. Hamrah n+1 Radical and surprising. Nov 29, 2018 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews A typically useless effort from Mario Bava... Rated: 1/4 Oct 21, 2011 Full Review Tim Brayton Antagony & Ecstasy If only one-hundredth of the films it influenced had one-hundredth of its perfection, the horror film would be a much less disreputable and more wonderful thing than has been the case. Rated: 10/10 Jun 14, 2009 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      jackie r Great film with jumps and gore that makes it look good for its release year. The ending was fantastic. The dubbing is not great but overall a great film! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/19/23 Full Review Jon N I have read so much about this film, and had such high hopes..... sadly, this just wasn't as good as the hype would suggest. This film is supposed to have influenced the whole slasher sub genre, however I tend to like my slashers with at least one developed character who I can get behind to give the film some intensity and fun. There was not one character in this film that was fleshed out to the point of caring whether or not they survived. That said, I do see its influence in the slasher genre, most notably in the season of Slasher: Flesh and Blood, which played like an extended, more gory, more developed version of this film (although still lacking in characters you care about). I would recommend watching this to see where the slashers you love got their inspiration, but if you're expecting a decent slasher, or even giallo, then you might leave a little bit disappointed. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 11/30/23 Full Review Joel P This movie is required viewing if you want to see the worst performance of someone dying put to film. Eyes wide open, body stiff, the final croak, and yet the chest is rising and falling due to the actors obvious breathing. You know it's low budget when you can't afford to re-shoot that. Surprised the screenplay hasn't been gobbled up by Hollywood for a remake/reimaging. The twists are not half bad. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/02/23 Full Review JG I am not a huge horror movie fan but this one had more style and intrigue than the typical horror movie. Also, it paved the way for future, more graphic slasher films and has historical significance if nothing else. Overall, I enjoyed it Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/02/23 Full Review richard t Yeah, I preferred Brava's earlier "Black Sunday" but this one does have its moments. More slasher, less gothic, lots of running around. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review marco b Though it is considered a great work by Mario Bava; this giallo horror suffers from a weak script and a strange ending. A Countess is murdered by her husband, and moments later he is murdered. A group of teenagers are then murdered on the grounds after breaking into the house, AND then the family comes to fight over the fortune, causing even more murders. It's a lot. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

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      A Bay of Blood

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis Following the murder of Countess Federica Donati (Isa Miranda), an heiress possessing a beautiful piece of beachfront property, members of her family and the surrounding community engage in a killing spree, each with his own secret agenda. In addition to the string of creative murders, a group of hippies arrive on the premises, engage in promiscuous sex and find themselves dying one by one in this cult classic that's considered to be the original slasher film.
      Director
      Mario Bava
      Screenwriter
      Mario Bava, Filippo Ottoni, Giuseppe Zaccariello
      Distributor
      American International Pictures
      Rating
      R
      Genre
      Horror, Mystery & Thriller
      Original Language
      Italian
      Release Date (Theaters)
      May 3, 1972, Original
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Apr 17, 2020
      Runtime
      1h 24m
      Aspect Ratio
      Flat (1.85:1)