Black Sunday (1960), Blood and Black Lace (1964), and A Bay of Blood (1971)

There are some films and directors that are truly iconic and classics of the genre that sometimes we just assume that everyone has seen already. It’s easy to forget that out there right now, are fans that just might be getting into the genre, either because of their age, or now have a newfound interest in it and have just started taking their first steps. For those out there, we are here to lead over to Italy, to one of the most gifted directors when it came to the look of a film, the Maestro, Mario Bava. And for those that are familiar with his work, maybe it’s time for a revisit and once again, be blown away at what he shows us onscreen. Because if it has been a few years, you might be seeing things for the first time. That is one of the beautiful things about cinema.

For fans starting out with Bava, these three titles really show his beginning, as well as how he would influence other sub-genres of films, from the gothics, the giallo, and even slasher films.

Correction: Edgar Wallace was a British writer, not American.

Films mentioned in this episode:

Baron Blood (1972), A Bay of Blood (1971), Black Sabbath (1963), Black Sunday (1960), Blood and Black Lace (1964), Caltiki the Immortal Monster (1959), The Church (1989), Creature with the Blue Hand (1967), Curse of the Crying Woman (1963), Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Danger: Diabolik (1968), The Day the Sky Exploded (1958), Death Walks at Midnight (1972), Death Walks in High Heels (1971), Deep Red (1975), The Demon (1982), Demons (1985), Django Kill…If You Live, Shoot! (1967), Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (1966), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932), Erik the Conqueror (1961), Eyeball (1975), The Four of the Apocalypse (1975), Frankenstein ’80 (1972), Frankenstein Island (1981), Friday the 13th (1980), Friday the 13th (1981), The Giant of Marathon (1959), The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963), The Great Silence (1968), Hatchet for a Honeymoon (1970), Hercules in the Haunted World (1961), Horror of Dracula (1958), Inferno (1980), I Vampiri (1957), Knives of the Avenger (1966), Long Hair of Death (1964), Night Child (1975), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), Planet of the Vampires (1965), Psycho (1960), She (1965), Shock (1977), Suspiria (1977), Thunderball (1965), The Toolbox Murders (1978), Torso (1973), The Whip and the Body (1963), Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972)