Mario Bava has been deemed the master of modern horror cinema. He has influenced directors such as Dario Argento, Ridley Scott, Martin Scorsese and Tim Burton. He has also provided the horror fan with some of the most memorable scenes in horror history.
In 1964, Bava released Six Women For The Murderer. This filmed served as blueprint for the modern slasher films of the 80's. In fact, in 1971 Bava released Bay Of Blood. This film had a direct influence on the Friday The 13th films. Many deaths were even lifted from Bava's film, including a spear being thrust through the bodies of a couple making love on a bed.
Director Quentin Tarantino tried to re-release Six Women For The Murderer recently to theaters in it's original Italian dialouge. Unfortunately, there wasn'y enough interest and the project failed. Even rock music has been influence by Bava. The heavy metal doom band Black Sabbath have openly acknowledged that Bava's film of the same name was the inspiration for their name change from Earth to Black Sabbath.
Bava's films are sometimes hard to find. Many have been re-released in UNCUT widescreen prints. Go to your local video retailer or check out my links page to find other Mario Bava films.
In 1960, Bava directed his first film, Black Sunday, starring the beautiful Barbara Steele. The film was a success both in Italy and the U.S. Bava's visual style gave the film an eerie surrealistic aura, that literally transports the viewer to it's time period. It's on screen violence was considered too shocking in the U.S. and some scenes were cut. One of the most memoriable scenes is when Steele ressurects her dead lover from his grave. The hand emerging from the rotten earth, the ruined cemetary in which he is buried, has been imitated many times in horror films but have never matched the intensity of Bava's shot.
Bava's style and obsession with the macabre was very evident in Lisa And The Devil aka House Of Exorcism in the U.S. The American version is a completely different film than the Italian version. The U.S. version had different scenes that were shot to try and cash in on the success of The Exorcist. Bava's original film dealt with a woman named Lisa (Elke Sommer) who is reincarnated image of young man's dead lover. She is invited to stay, along with some others she has hitched a ride with. The young man, Maximillian, is actually insane. He even keeps the corpse of his dead love in a room filled with rotting flowers and food. He considers somewhat alive and still converses and affectionaltly kisses her. Bava's scene where Maximillian drugs Lisa and makes love to her, in the same bed as the corpse, is one of his most macabre and disturbing scenes. Maximillian dispatches all the guests execpt Lisa. In the climax of the film, Bava gives us an unerving setpiece. All of Maximillians victims set around a table, almost like a perverse Last Supper.
Bava also directed other films in different genres. Some of his fantasy films like Hercules At The Center Of The Earth and Planet Of The Vampires are notable contributions to their genres. Even his spyfilm/comedy Dr. Goldfoot And The Girl Bombs deserves recognition, as silly as it was. But Bava had a flair for the unnatural, the bizarre, the perverse. His psychopaths were the scariest because they more real than any Jason, Freddy or Chucky could ever hope to be. Unfortunately he died in 1980, not being able to witness the fruits of his labors. Many were inspired by Mario Bava and his spirit will always live on his films.
Black Sunday(1960)
Hercules At The Center Of The Earth(1961)
Erik The Conqueror(1961)
The Evil Eye(1962)
Black Sabbath(1963)
The Whip And The Body aka What!(1963)
Six Women For The Murderer(1964)
Road To Fort Alamo(1964)
Savage Gringo(1965)
Planet Of The Vampires(1965)
Dr. Goldfoot And The Girl Bombs(1966)
Knives Of The Avenger(1966)
Kill, Baby, Kill(1966)
Diabolik(1967)
Hatchet For The Honeymoon(1968)
Roy Colt And Winchester Jack(1969)
Four Times That Night(1969)
Five Dolls For An August Moon(1970)
Bay Of Blood(1971)
Baron Blood(1972)
Lisa And The Devil aka House Of Exorcism(1972)
Rabid Dogs(1974)
Shock aka Beyond The Door II(1977)
Venus Of Ille Venere d'Ille(1978)