A Bay of Blood (1971) (4K Ultra HD Review)
DIRECTED BY: Mario Bava
STARRING: Claudine Auger, Luigi Pistilli, Claudio Camaso
RATED: UR/Region: 0/1:85/1080P/NUMBER OF DISCS 5
AVAILABLE FROM Severin Films
If you’ve ever wondered where the American slasher movie got half of its ideas, allow me to introduce you to A Bay of Blood (aka Twitch of the Death Nerve for you snobs out there), directed by the legendary Mario Bava. Long before hockey masks, summer camps, and teenagers making spectacularly bad life choices became horror staples, Bava was over in Italy quietly writing the blueprint while everyone else was still figuring out where to put the blood.
And boy… did Hollywood take notes.
Watching A Bay of Blood today is almost like playing a game of “Hey, I’ve seen that kill before!” because you probably have. Some of the movie’s most famous murder sequences were lifted almost shot-for-shot and found their way into films like Friday the 13th Part 2. That’s not inspiration—that’s practically tracing your classmate’s homework and hoping the teacher doesn’t notice.
Thankfully, the original still holds up remarkably well.
The kills are inventive, surprisingly nasty for 1971, and Mario Bava’s eye for visual storytelling is on full display. Every frame reminds you why he’s considered one of horror’s true masters. The cinematography is gorgeous, the atmosphere is thick enough to cut with a machete, and even when the body count starts piling up, the movie never loses its stylish edge.
Now… let’s talk about the plot. This is technically a whodunit.
Emphasis on technically.
The story has so many betrayals, double-crosses, greedy relatives, and revolving-door killers that by the end I half expected the local mailman to show up holding a knife and explaining he’d been behind everything all along. Every time you think you’ve figured out who’s responsible, someone else gets stabbed, someone new becomes suspicious, and another character you’ve barely remembered suddenly decides murder seems like a reasonable career choice.
It’s chaotic.
It’s occasionally ridiculous.
It’s also part of the fun.
I’ve owned this movie more than once over the years. I first saw it on an old Arrow Video release, revisited it later on a Kino edition, and thought both did a respectable job preserving this classic.
Then Severin showed up and basically said, “Hold my restoration.”
Severin Films has absolutely knocked this one out of the park with their five-disc 4K collector’s edition, and for me, this is now the definitive version to own.
The 4K presentation is simply stunning. This is the best I’ve ever seen A Bay of Blood look. The colors pop, the detail is incredible, and Bava’s breathtaking cinematography finally gets the showcase it deserves. It’s one of those restorations that constantly makes you stop and think, “Wait… this movie is over 50 years old?”
And then there’s the extras…
Good grief.
Severin wasn’t content with simply giving us a beautiful transfer. They packed this thing to the ceiling. You get both the Italian and English versions of the film, along with the Italian re-release version, giving fans multiple ways to experience this horror landmark.
Then come the commentaries.
Then the interviews.
Then the featurettes.
And just when you think you’ve finally reached the bottom of the box, they casually throw in the soundtrack on CD because apparently they decided collectors deserved absolutely everything.
It’s exactly the kind of over-the-top boutique release physical media fans dream about.
As a movie, A Bay of Blood isn’t a flawless five-star masterpiece for me. The whodunit structure gets a little tangled, and the revolving-door approach to its killers occasionally becomes more amusing than suspenseful. But as a piece of horror history, it’s absolutely essential viewing. Without this film, the American slasher probably looks very different.
As for Severin’s release?
That’s another story.
This five-disc 4K set is an absolute home run. Incredible presentation, an avalanche of bonus features, multiple versions of the film, the soundtrack on CD, and the finest this movie has ever looked.
The movie itself might not quite earn five brains from me…
…but this release absolutely does. If you’re a horror collector, this is the version to own, and I honestly can’t imagine anyone topping it anytime soon. Bravo, Severin. You just made upgrading A Bay of Blood one more time completely worth it.
Extras
DISC ONE – 4K BLU-RAY: ENGLISH VERSION OF THE FILM
- EXCLUSIVE NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE ENGLISH VERSION
- Audio Commentary With Tim Lucas, Author Of Mario Bava: All The Colors Of The Dark
- U.S. Trailer
- Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature
DISC TWO – 4K BLU-RAY: ORIGINAL ITALIAN AND ITALIAN RE-RELEASE VERSIONS OF THE FILM
- EXCLUSIVE NEW 4K RESTORATIONS OF BOTH VERSIONS
- Italian Trailer
- In Italian, with English subtitles
DISC THREE – BLU-RAY: ENGLISH VERSION
- EXCLUSIVE NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE ENGLISH VERSION
- Audio Commentary With Tim Lucas, Author Of Mario Bava: All The Colors Of The Dark
- All About My Father – Interview With Assistant Director Lamberto Bava
- It Was Just A Children’s Game – Interview With Actress Nicoletta Elmi
- Lens Of Blood – Interview With Assistant Camera Operator Gianlorenzo Battaglia
- That Will Teach Them To Be Bad – Interview With Stephen Thrower, Author Of Books On Jess Franco And Lucio Fulci
- U.S. Trailer
- Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature
- REGION-A “LOCKED”
DISC FOUR – BLU-RAY: ORIGINAL ITALIAN AND ITALIAN RE-RELEASE VERSIONS OF THE FILM
- EXCLUSIVE NEW 4K RESTORATIONS OF BOTH VERSIONS
- Hallmark Of Horror: Carnage, Death Nerves & Last House Part II – Video Essay By Film Writer Stephen R. Bissette
- The Art Of Crime – Archival Featurette With Lamberto Bava (Assistant Director), Dardano Sacchetti (Screenwriter), Steve Della Casa (CSC Director), Franco Vitale (Still Photographer), Roy Bava (Mario Bava’s Grandson), Alberto Pezzotta (Mario Bava’s Biographer) And Joe Dante (Filmmaker)
- (Sittin’ On) The Blood Of The Bay – Archival Interview With Lamberto Bava
- 13 Ways To Die – Archival Interview With Dardano Sacchetti
- Bava And The Grindhouse – Joe Dante On Mario Bava
- Severin Super-Shock 2025 Intro By Lamberto Bava
- Storyboard Comparisons
- Radio Spots
- Italian Trailer
- In Italian, with English subtitles
- REGION-A “LOCKED”
