A Bay of Blood

During his lifetime, Mario Bava was essentially dismissed as a journeyman director, but following his death in 1980, the Italian filmmaker's oeuvre—particularly his giallo films—have not only been praised as extraordinary exercises in style, but their influence (for good or ill) has been enormous. Bava's 1971 Reazione a catena—which literally translates as Chain Reaction—has had various English titles, including Carnage and Twitch of the Death Nerve, as well as A Bay of Blood. The story itself is little more than a series of extravagantly staged murders, beginning with the throttling of an elegant lady in a wheelchair, immediately followed by the knifing of her killer. The slaughter is tied to an inheritance battle over the woman's lakeside property, but the flimsy, illogical plot here is merely an excuse for a continuous stream of death scenes, all imaginatively staged and shot in the lurid creamy pastels that Bava favored. A Bay of Blood is not a particularly good thriller, but it did serve as a model for American slasher movies, from 1978's Halloween through the Friday the 13th series, and their scads of imitators. Kino's new release on DVD and Blu-ray offers a vast improvement over earlier versions, with a newly mastered high-definition transfer that recovers much of the original's striking look, along with an improved soundtrack. Extras include the European release version of the film in Italian (although the print is inferior), and an audio commentary by Bava biographer Tim Lucas. For historical as well as cinematic reasons, this should be considered a strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)