Greetings, Boils & Ghouls...
...and welcome to 'Day Nine' of "Awesome Horror Streams for Hallowe'en Screams on Roku" where I will be bringing you my top picks of the fright flicks in the carefully curated catalogue of macabre movies from the 'Shudder UK' horror streaming service - any of which can then be streamed to your television via the magic of Roku player - so, let's dim the lights... and prepare for some frights! :-O
If you read my hallowe'en blogathon preview - FOUND HERE - published on 30th September, then you will know that I plan to post one Hallowe'en / Horror related article every day, throughout the month of October, each featuring one horror movie from the current 'Shudder UK' content library. With recommendations for thirty-one of the best fright flicks I can find, by the end of the month, this means you should have plenty of great choices for your macabre movie viewing as we count down the days to Hallowe'en... as well as ensuring some top-notch cinematic scares come October 31st! ;-)
If you read my hallowe'en blogathon preview - FOUND HERE - published on 30th September, then you will know that I plan to post one Hallowe'en / Horror related article every day, throughout the month of October, each featuring one horror movie from the current 'Shudder UK' content library. With recommendations for thirty-one of the best fright flicks I can find, by the end of the month, this means you should have plenty of great choices for your macabre movie viewing as we count down the days to Hallowe'en... as well as ensuring some top-notch cinematic scares come October 31st! ;-)
Not only did this film have numerous release titles, but also several working titles throughout the production. Among them "The Stench of Flesh", "Thus Do We Live To Be Evil" and "That Will Teach Them To Be Bad"... although, "Reazione a Catena" ("Chain Reaction") was the final choice.
Reazione a Catena [aka A Bay of Blood] (1971) [Italian Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: amazon.it
The film begins with an elderly Countess Federica (Isa Miranda) being killed by her husband who wants control of her fortunes, including the beautiful bay area surrounding her home. However, the Countess' husband is then murdered himself, more or less straight after committing the act and hiding the body. After that, other family members and a real estate agent conspire, each with their own murderous aspirations, to claim the inheritance.
When the Countess' daughter Renata (Claudine Auger) and her husband Albert (Luigi Pistilli) arrive at the bay, and start investigating the goings-on themselves, they soon discover everyone could somehow be trying to claim the bay for themselves. What ensues is an all-out murder spree, as relatives and friends attempt to reduce the inheritance playing field, complicated by teenagers - Duke (Guido Boccaccini) and Denise (Paola Montenero) [credited as Paola Rubens] together with Robert (Roberto Bonanni) - who have all decided they are going to enjoy themselves by camping-out in a dilapidated building on the Countess' estate...
Roberto Bonanni with Guido Boccaccini and Paola Rubens in Reazione a Catena (1971)
PHOTO CREDIT: movieplayer.it
Guido Boccaccini and Paola Rubens in Reazione a Catena [aka A Bay of Blood] (1971)
PHOTO CREDIT: movieplayer.it
POINT OF INTEREST:- This film is often considered Mario Bava's most influential, and the film that started the "slasher" craze... with these (un)lucky teenagers widely believed to have been the first ever teens to be "slashed" in a movie. For this reason... many fans consider this the "grandfather" of the modern slasher film... and, of all the films he made, this is also Mario Bava's personal favourite! :-)
With one of the half dozen taglines used for this movie being: "13 Characters, 13 Murders" you kind of get the idea what you're letting yourself in for... and, although most of the murders are suspenseful and (occasionally) very gory, the "plot" itself is somewhat thin - meaning much of the time between each of the killings can feel a lot like "padding" - so, if you absolutely must have a strong plot-line running throughout your films, this may not be one for you to watch. However, if you are prepared to sit back and enjoy this first slasher film for what it is, then you're in for a treat on many levels! Let's not forget, the 1971 Avoriaz Film Festival jurors awarded their film "Best Makeup & Special Effects" Award... while Carlo Rambaldi's effects work also earned the film a "Special Mention" Award at the prestigious Sitges Festival in 1971. Additionally, the music of Stelvio Cipriani used in the film score is truly beautiful throughout and 'Total Film' magazine even included "A Bay of Blood" (1971) in a list of the "50 greatest horror films of all time" back in 2005, so it definitely merits inclusion here! :-)
If you haven't seen this film before, here is a brief taster in the shape of an original trailer for this horror mystery thriller, which comes courtesy of 'Pyrkenstein' and their 'YouTube' channel. I really like the approach taken with this, because it is a colourful, stylized interpretation using various clips from the film which has no dialogue and only the music of Stelvio Cipriani (from the film score) to accompany the on-screen imagery. I thought I'd share this, rather than actual film footage, since the lack of dialogue keeps it from revealing too much about the film while, at the same time, maintaining intrigue, and still managing to showcase some of the horror elements in an engaging manner. It's a very unique and unusual trailer and you're unlikely to see anything close to it... certainly not in any modern day film trailer you might watch. Anyway... here it is, in all it's multi-coloured glory:-
If you'd like to know more... there's a full list of the cast & credits on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) listing for "A Bay of Blood" (1971), FOUND HERE, which also includes a full storyline / plot summary as well as box office stats, technical specs & much more. For die-hard fans, there's even more tidbits of information to be had from the Wikipedia Page for "A Bay of Blood" (1971) VIA THIS LINK, which may help to fuel your appetite for (yet) another screening. Although, if you're as much of a fan of this film as I am, or have a penchant for Italian horror / Giallo style films, it probably won't take too much persuading for you to watch this vintage slasher movie again! ;-) :-)
Reazione a Catena [aka A Bay of Blood] (1971) [USA Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: imdb.com
Anyway... you probably guessed already but, if not, this film (like the others from this series of posts) is also available via the 'Shudder' streaming service and can be easily viewed on any Roku device via their dedicated channel (app) for these streaming media players. Probably just as well really, because other opportunities for UK Roku users to stream "A Bay of Blood" (1971) on Roku are few and far between. However, since my original idea for this month-long blogathon was to suggest thirty-one great Hallowe'en / Horror themed movies from the fang-tastic 'Shudder UK' streaming service, I'm going to recommend that you watch it on your Roku device using their channel - if possible! ;-) :-)
If you haven't already added it to your channel selection, you will find "Shudder" listed among the "Film & TV" channels in the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store. You can easily add it to your Roku player(s) by navigating to the built-in 'Channel Store' (accessed via "Streaming Channels" from the home screen on your Roku device) and scrolling through the options until you see the channel icon (pictured above). It's completely FREE-TO-ADD so, once you've located it in the list of channels, just click the "OK" button on your Roku remote to select it and then click "OK" again where it says 'Add channel' to install it on your Roku player(s). Having done that, it's simply a case of launching the channel via the 'Go to channel' option and navigating the on-screen menu to log-in (if you already have an account, but haven't yet done so) or start your free trial (if you are new to the service) and, once you see 'Shudder TV' playing on the screen, just push the "DOWN" arrow on your Roku remote to get to the main menu... from where you can "Search" for the film, "A Bay of Blood", and then press "OK" to select and 'Play' the 1971 movie by that name which, for the record, runs to 1h 24mins.
LINK TO WATCH 'A Bay of Blood' (1971) ONLINE VIA THE 'SHUDDER UK' WEBSITE
Unfortunately for Roku users in the United States and/or Canada, Mario Bava's "A Bay of Blood" (1971) is unavailable to stream via the 'Shudder' service in either country. However, at the time of writing, this horror mystery thriller does appear to be available via the 'Fandor' subscription platform in both the United States and Canada. So, if you're either an American or Canadian subscriber to the 'Fandor' film streaming service, then you at least have an alternative means of enjoying this movie. If you're new to the service, you can even take advantage of their FREE TRIAL to watch this without incurring any fees! That said, there are numerous other Roku streaming sources at your disposal so, as suggested in previous posts from this month-long blogathon series, it might be worth checking for any additional free options that could be available before you pay to watch this film. If you get stuck, message me via Twitter: @ukrokuchannels and I'll see if I can sort you out with a link if need be! ;-)
Meanwhile, for that full cinema experience, here's a few of the other film posters that movie-goers in 1971 (and more recently) would have encountered depending on their location around the world:
Reazione a Catena [aka A Bay of Blood] (1971) [Alternative Italian Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: filmtv.it
Reazione a Catena [aka A Bay of Blood] (1971) [Alternative Italian Poster #2]
PHOTO CREDIT: 70millimetri.wordpress.com
Reazione a Catena [aka A Bay of Blood] (1971) [French Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: zombievamp.blogspot.com
Reazione a Catena [aka A Bay of Blood] (1971) [UK Poster]
PHOTO CREDIT: rato-movieposters.blogspot.com
Reazione a Catena [aka A Bay of Blood] (1971) [USA Poster Alternative]
PHOTO CREDIT: rato-movieposters.blogspot.com
Finally, to round-off this 9th instalment in my month-long blogathon on 'Day Nine' for this 2017 edition of the 'Countdown To Halloween', here's more FRIGHTENINGLY FUN FILM FACTS... for example, did you know that "A Bay of Blood" was one of 39 films that were successfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act in the UK (collectively known as the "video nasties" list) or that, in America, the film was marketed as "The Second Film Rated 'V' for Violence!" on it's first release?Apparently, when Christopher Lee first saw this movie he was reportedly so disgusted at the level of violence that he left the movie theatre in protest - too much blood, even for Dracula, it seems!?! ;-) :-)
Other interesting tidbits of trivia include how Dario Argento loved the film so much, he had a friend (who was a projectionist) steal him a print of "Reazione a Catena" during it's first run in Italy. The theatre ended up showing "Hatchet for the Honeymoon" (1970) to replace the stolen print for the remainder of the film's run there (about a week and a half) according to Argento who possesses the print to this day! Also, you may recall a chase through the woods (if not, then look out for it) but, as the film was actually shot on a piece of private property with few trees, Mario Bava had to create the "woods" by setting up tree branches to pass through the camera shots. According to Laura Betti, the trickery looked so silly during shooting the cast & crew would often laugh hysterically at the sight!