A Bay of Blood (1971) KILL COUNT

Zoran Gvojic

Mike Cygan

A Bay of Blood (1971) KILL COUNT is the two hundred seventy-fifth video of James A. Janisse's series, The Kill Count

## Overview

At night in her bayside mansion, wheelchair-bound Countessa Federica Donati is attacked and strangled to death by her husband Filippo Donati. Moments later, Filippo himself is stabbed to death by an assailant, and his corpse is then dragged to the bay. Upon investigation, the police find what they believe to be a suicide note written by the Countess, but Filippo's murder goes undiscovered.

Real estate agent Frank Ventura and his lover Laura are plotting to take possession of the bay. After the Countess refused to sell her home and property to them, the couple hatched a scheme with Filippo to murder his wife. To finalize their plan, Ventura needs Filippo's signature on a set of legal documents. They have no idea, however, that Filippo himself has been killed.

Their curiosity piqued by news of the murder, four local teenagers break into the seemingly deserted mansion and are murdered. The Countess's illegitimate son Simon, who lives on the grounds in a separate shack, is the killer. After killing Filippo, he is now conspiring with Ventura, who offers Simon a large cash pay-off in exchange for signing the relevant legal documents. Their scheme is dealt a potentially ruinous blow when Filippo's estranged daughter Renata appears, determined to ensure that her father's estate comes into her possession. A search for a will proves unsuccessful, and Ventura, who believes that Renata may be the rightful beneficiary, urges Simon to kill his stepsister.

Accompanied by her husband Albert, and leaving their young son and daughter in a caravan nearby, Renata visits the house of Paolo Fossati, an entomologist who lives on the grounds of the Donati estate. Fossati's wife Anna tells them that Filippo was responsible for the Countess's death, and says that Simon will probably end up with the property. Renata, who had no idea she had a stepbrother, makes plans with her husband to murder Simon.

After discovering Filippo's mangled and rotting corpse on Simon's boat, Renata and Albert head to Ventura's house. Upon their arrival, Ventura attacks Renata, but Renata gains the upper hand and stabs Ventura with a butterfly knife in his femoral artery. Paolo Fossati, who witnesses the assault, attempts to telephone the police but is confronted by Albert, who strangles him to death. To ensure there are no additional witnesses, Renata decapitates Anna with an axe.

Ventura's partner Laura arrives, planning to meet up with him. When Simon discovers that it was the pair who had plotted with Filippo to kill his mother, he strangles Laura to death. No sooner has he exacted his revenge than Simon himself is murdered by Albert. The wounded Ventura reappears, but Albert kills him after a brief struggle.

Secure in the knowledge that there are now no other living heirs, Albert and Renata prepare to return home to await the announcement of their inheritance, when they are shot dead from the caravan by their son, who has mistaken their shotgun for a toy. Thinking that their parents are playing dead, the son and daughter rush off outside to play along the bay.

## Deaths

### Counted Deaths

1. Contessa Frederica Donati - Hanged/strangled w/ rope - 5 mins in
2. Count Filippo Donati - Stabbed in back at least 3 times - 8 mins in
3. Brunhilde - Throat slit & hacked w/ billhook - 33 mins in
4. Bobby - Billhook to the face - 35 mins in
5. Denise - Impaled together w/ spear - 37 mins in
6. Duke - Impaled together w/ spear - 37 mins in
7. Paolo Fossati - Strangled by Albert w/ phone cord - 58 mins in
8. Anna Fossati - Decapitated w/ axe by Renata - 1 hr in
9. Laura - Strangled to death by Simon - 1 hr 12 mins in
10. Simon - Speared through the gut by Albert - 1 hr 16 mins in
11. Frank Ventura - Stabbed w/ scissors by Albert - 1 hr 20 mins in
12. Renata Donati - Shot by her own kids! - 1 hr 22 mins in
13. Albert - Shot by his own kids! - 1 hr 22 mins in

## Trivia

* This is the first Mario Bava film on the Kill Count.
* This is the first Kill Count to have a Kill Count Trailer at the end of the video.
* This is the first 1971 movie covered on the Kill Count.
* This is the first proper giallo film on the Kill Count, not counting Pieces because it was too splattastic.
* James considers this the very first slasher ever.