One of the most influential horror films of all time, Mario Bava's A bay of blood (1971, aka Twitch of the death nerve) is the spurting artery from which all future slasher films would flow. When crippled Countess Federica is murdered at her isolated mansion, a gruesome battle ensues to secure the rights to her valuable property around the bay. Everyone, from illegitimate children to shady real estate agents, stakes a claim, only to be killed in increasingly...

Five dolls for an August moon is Mario Bava's deliriously mod spin on an Agatha Christie-style whodunit. Bava was so closely associated with the horror genre that this twisting mystery was never released theatrically in the U.S., but it is deliciously entertaining all the same. A space age island retreat is visited by a group of friends and business associates, one of whom is a scientist who has invented a revolutionary chemical process, and is fending...

What happened to Amalia? Who was with her the night she died? Her daughter Delia is saddened by the news, but not surprised. She considers her mother to be a disgrace even before she hears of the sordid circumstances of her death. Delia travels home to Naples for the funeral and tries to piece together her mother’s recent life. By doing so, she starts to confront her childhood memories that shaped their family history. Nominated for a Palme d'Or...

Steeped in sadomasochism and lushly photographed in the vivid hues for which the director is known, Mario Bava's The whip and the body is a Gothic thriller that far surpasses the API Edgar Allan Poe films that it was intended to emulate. Christopher Lee (Dracula: prince of darkness) stars as Kurt Menliff, the sadistic son of a wealthy Count, who returns to the family castle, much to the dismay of his family, their servants, and the beautiful woman...

Naples, 1904: Eduardo Scarpetta risked everything by staging a parody of the great Italian poet, Gabriele D’Annunzio. Despite legal troubles and familial strife, Scarpetta fought for his legacy as one of the greats of Italian theater.

The suave, psychedelic-era thief called Diabolik (John Philip Law) can't get enough of life's good - or glittery - things. Not when there are currency shipments to steal from under the noses of snooty government officials and priceless jewels to lift from the boudoirs of the superrich. The elusive scoundrel finds plenty of ways to live up to his name in this tongue-in-cheek, live-action caper inspired by Europe's popular Diabolik comics. He clambers...

Fifteen years after four vicious bandits massacred his family while executing a {dollar}200,000 robbery, a young man (John Phillip Law) seeks revenge. The men responsible for the murders all hold positions of power, but now the outlaw (Lee Van Cleef) they had framed for the murders is due to be released from prison. He’s ready to exact bloody reprisals and forms an unholy alliance with the vengeance-seeking young man! This Spaghetti Western classic...

Immediately following the success of Black Sunday, Mario Bava was recruited to direct (and photograph) the second of Reg Park’s Hercules films for producer Achille Piazzi. Freely departing from Roman mythology, the film gave Bava the opportunity to reimagine the sword-and-sandal genre. On its surface a jovial comedy adventure, Hercules in the Haunted World features a striking use of color, which would become one of Bava’s directorial hallmarks....

David Morales, an Arizona high school principal and single dad, has lost the holiday spirit after also losing his wife a few years ago during the Christmas season. Now, David will do anything to avoid Christmas so he moonlights as a delivery driver during the holidays. But this year David’s 14-year-old daughter, Noel, and his live-in sister, Marissa are determined to bring the yuletide spirit back to the family and, with a little luck, also help...

From Italian horror master Mario Bava, KILL BABY...KILL! is set in the early Twentieth Century and follows the journey of Dr. Eswai who is called by Inspector Kruger to a small village to perform an autopsy on a woman who has died under suspicious circumstances. Despite help from Ruth, the village witch, Kruger is killed and it is revealed that the dead woman, as well as other villagers, have been killed by the ghost of Melissa, a young girl who,...