Black Sabbath (1963)
Black Sabbath (AKA I tre volti della paura) is a 1963 horror anthology film directed by Mario Bava. Although an Italian production, the film was co-financed by American International Pictures and as such was conceived to appeal to US audiences. Hence, the English dialogue edit of the film which was released in America differs significantly to the original Italian version. Despite the presence of the legendary Boris Karloff and the popularity of both anthology and gothic horror at the time,the film was only a modest success at the US box office and did not do well in Italy. However, in more recent years there has been a critical reappraisal of Black Sabbath, especially the Italian dialogue version. Many aspects of the film which are standard genre tropes today, were in fact novel at the time. Also despite the production mainly being studio bound, the film oozes style and has a striking visual aesthetic.
A Bay of Blood (1971)
Disabled countess Federica Donati (Isa Miranda) is strangled to death by her husband, Filippo Donati (Giovanni Nuvoletti). Filippo is subsequently stabbed to death by an unseen assailant, and his body is then dragged to the bay beside their mansion. The police investigate and find a suicide note written by the countess, but do not discover Filippo's murder. Real estate agent Frank Ventura (Chris Avram) and his lover Laura (Anna Maria Rosati) are plotting to take possession of the bay. When the Countess refused to sell her estate to them, the couple conspired with Filippo to murder his wife. The pair are unaware that Filippo is dead and cannot proceed with their scheme without his signature. Meanwhile, four local teenagers Duke (Guido Boccaccini), Bobby (Roberto Bonanni), Denise (Paola Montenero) and Brunhilde (Brigitte Skay) break into the seemingly deserted mansion, looking for fun. However, they are soon killed one by one. Are all these events connected?