A Bay of Blood (1971)
"Reazione a catena" (original title)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Mario Bava

Writers:

Franco Barberi (story), Mario Bava (screenplay),

Stars:

Claudine Auger, Luigi Pistilli, Claudio Camaso

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Claudine Auger	...	Renata
Luigi Pistilli	...	Albert
Claudio Camaso	...	Simon (as Claudio Volonté)
Anna Maria Rosati	...	Laura (as Anna M. Rosati)
Chris Avram	...	Frank Ventura
Leopoldo Trieste	...	Paolo Fossati
Laura Betti	...	Anna Fossati
Brigitte Skay	...	Brunhilda
Isa Miranda	...	Countess Federica Donati
Paola Montenero	...	Denise (as Paola Rubens)
Guido Boccaccini	...	Duke
Roberto Bonanni	...	Robert
Giovanni Nuvoletti	...	Count Filippo Donati

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | inheritance | friend | throwing water into someone's face | dress | 

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Taglines:

13 Characters, 13 Murders

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

3 May 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Bay of Blood

Filming Locations:

Sabaudia, Latina, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nuova Linea Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min 76 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Countess' suicide note reads, "February 13th. It is over. I am tired. My life no longer has meaning."

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Goofs

The Count is stabbed repeatedly in his back and then he falls on his back and dies. When the killer is dragging him away, there should be a blood trail leading from The Countess to the door.

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Connections

Referenced in The Many Lives of Jason Voorhees (2002)

User Reviews

Far from Bava's finest hour

A Bay of Blood aka Twitch of the Death Nerve is something of an endurance feat that seems more interesting for its influence on the splatter movie genre (in particular the Friday the 13th series) than as a film. It's light on plot for a giallo, being little more than a collection of gruesome sudden deaths, some, like the opening murder of a woman in a wheelchair, imaginative, others less so, all related to various unpleasant characters out to control the rather grotty looking bay of the title to either redevelop it or preserve its natural beauty. The plot is largely thrown away in a series of flashbacks in the last couple of reels, but seems little more than an excuse for the killings, which are exercised with surprisingly little atmosphere: until the finale there's no real build up or suspense, just multiple murders from multiple murderers. There's also surprisingly little flair to it all, leaving a film that's not much better than the very average splatter movie. Still, at least there's some fun to be had from a duplicitous lawyer being dubbed in the American version by someone doing what sounds like a Gregory Peck impersonation.