(1970)
Overall: MEH
When going through the filmography of Mario Bava, one is inevitably bound to come across some of his rightfully forgotten works. The giallo Five Dolls for an August Moon, (5 bambole per la luna d'agosto), was not even given an American release at the time and Bava himself allegedly saw no artistic merit in the finished product. Proving that he could be hired to churn out a competently made if highly forgettable movie on a dime for a European studio though, (which countless other directors made a living doing), the result is probably one of the worst giallos ever or at the very least one of the dumbest. Using the loose framework of Agatha Christi's And Then There Were None, the script here is baffling, boring, and moronic by film's end, leaving us with a barrage of uninteresting characters that allows it to be anything but engaging. Bava of course does his best to make the film work at least from a visual standpoint which gives it a sole saving grace. There are some flashy camera angles and stylized set design that he is able to make use out of, occasionally letting us forget how asinine the plot is. Still, keep this one at the bottom of your list for such fare as there are oodles better out there.
(1972)
Overall: MEH
Though it is fun at times due to its Gothic atmosphere and Mario Bava's usual, clever direction and cinematography which he once again mostly performed himself, Baron Blood, (Gli orrori del castello di Norimberga), cannot quite triumph over its volley of problems. Even the gleefully macabre and enjoyable ending still cannot help but to present lazily bypassed plotholes which also show up on the regular for the entire running time. All of these are there only to give the finished product a few more shocks as well as textbook, horror movie bullet points to check off, but the indifference to logic gets too laughably distracting. As is confoundingly common, the musical score is either perfectly fitting or atrociously wrong for such a movie. While there are too many similar offenders to count, you cannot possibly compose a more ridiculous theme for a work of horror that conveys the polar opposite mood than this. Pacing wise, Bava drops the ball during the second half which is ironically where most of the murders take place, yet also where we are told about seven dozen times that a parchment was destroyed that cannot undue a curse. Characters then walk from place to place occasionally acting cheerful and normal when so much murder is happening. The good bits are pretty good as usual for a Bava movie, but such a thing is only as solid as its whole and Baron Blood just does not pull it all off.
(1974)
Overall: GOOD
Venturing into the poliziotteschi film genre for the first and only time in his long career, Mario Bava's Rabid Dogs, (Cani arrabbiati), is a fascinating work for a numerous reasons. The movie was left incomplete at the time it was shot due to its producer and funder Roberto Loyola declaring bankruptcy, with the rights to it being left almost permanently in limbo. While Bava never lived to see it released, decades later through various efforts including those of the filmmaker's son Lamberto, Rabid Dogs, (also shown as Semaforo rosso and Kidnapped), finally saw the light of day and it is like nothing else in his catalog. Intentionally forgoing his Gothic, stylized horror efforts, the film is shown in real time, in broad daylight, and presents a claustrophobic, high tension, vile crime atmosphere that is more nihilistic than anything else the director would ever attempt. It is the only of Bava's works that really has any kind of political commentary, portraying the Years of Lead period in Italy as a thoughtfully bleak one where no one is a good guy. Though it is still a plenty dramatic enough yarn, (based off of Michael J. Carroll's short story "Man and Boy" that appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine), and has a twist that is one for the books, the realism and stripped-down presentation is ambitious in and of itself while it shows a dynamic side to Bava that is quite impressive.
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