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 bizarre ways, from simple shootings to impalement by fishing spear. The makeup effects are by Carlo Rambaldi, who would later earn Oscars for his work in Alien (1979) and E.T. (1982). Initially scorned upon its original release because of its graphic violence, A bay of blood eventually became a trendsetter, the model slasher film that Friday the 13th would emulate nearly a decade later.

Regarded as Mario Bava's most personal and unconventional film, Lisa and the devil (Lisa e il diavolo) is a diabolical thriller flavored with the dreadful imagery and tormenting logic of an endless nightmare. Elke Sommer stars as a tourist in Spain who, upon seeing the image of a bald, grinning devil in an ancient fresco, wanders away from her group and finds herself drawn into a confounding labyrinth of mystery, lured ever deeper by a mysterious figure (Telly Savalas) who may in fact be the fresco's Satan made flesh.

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 off various offers to buy it. Soon the vacationers start dying, and the survivors begin to wonder who has the most to gain from these murders most foul. Anything but a drawing room mystery, Bava's erotic thriller is enlivened by its psychedelic set design, a hip score by Piero Umiliani, and a swinging performance by giallo goddess Edwige Fenech (All the colors of the dark).

After spending several years exploring more contemporary genres, director Mario Bava (Black Sunday) returned with Baron blood to the gothic as a setting for a gruesome thriller. Working with producer Alfredo Leone, Bava crafted a film that is loyal to the bylaws of traditional horror, but is infused with a more modern visual style. An American professor (Antonio Cantafora) travels to the estate of his ancestor, the sadistic Baron Otto von Kleist, seeking the truth beneath his notorious reputation. When he and his assistant Eva (Elke Sommer) read aloud an ancient incantation, the Baron's spirit is resurrected, leading to a series of violent deaths within the haunted castle.

In one of the most auspicious directorial debuts in movie history, Mario Bava bridged the gap between the gothic horror picture and the European art film with Black Sunday (aka La maschera del demonio or The Mask of Satan). Made in 1960 and now considered a cult classic, it continues to reverberate through the cinema, inspiring and influencing new generations of filmmakers. In an absolutely mesmerizing performance, Black Sunday stars Barbara Steele as Asa Vajda, a beautiful woman tortured and executed as a witch, but not before pronouncing a curse upon those who have condemned her, a curse that is fulfilled some 200 years later. This newly mastered HD edition is the original Italian cut of the film, complete with Roberto Nicolosi's expressive score and three minutes of footage deleted from the U.S. release version.

After some distributors found Lisa and the devil too mystifying for release, producer Alfredo Leone (with Bava's uncredited assistance) hired veteran actor Robert Alda, shot additional scenes, and transformed Lisa into The house of exorcism, capitalizing on the popularity of demon possession films. While sharing much of the same material, the films have come to be looked upon as two distinct entities, beautifully illuminating the stylistic diversity of the Bava/Leone partnership.

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 with whom he shares a fondness for the lash (Daliah Lavi). When Kurt is found murdered, it brings no peace to those who had feared him, as his vengeful spirit cannot be contained by the grave, and he returns to torment those unfortunate enough to remain within Menliff Manor.