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:

The Antecedent

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 film not only had numerous release titles, but also had several working titles throughout the production. Among them were 'The Stench of Flesh', 'Thus Do We Live To Be Evil', and 'That Will Teach Them To Be Bad'. The title was finally settled on as Reazione a catena (meaning Chain Reaction) for its original release.

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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 Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

User Reviews

Doesn't hold up well even for an early 70s effort.

I must be missing something here because I found it rather dull, it's obviously held in high regard by the horror crowd because it's a benchmark of sorts, and certainly this is where Friday the 13th (1980) got it's idea from, but to me it just came across as an uncohesive mess. The acting obviously isn't of a great standard, but that is what the viewer expects for this particular strand of the genre, but they seem to be confused about how to play out their respective roles. The grizzly deaths are handled efficiently by director Mario Bava and they keep the film from drifting into unwatchable territory, and in fairness the ending does have a nice cheeky slant it, but all in all it's not one to reckie to others with confidence, or for me to ever rewatch again, 5/10