Lamberto Bava

Directing

Lamberto Bava

Born 1944-04-03 · Roma, Lazio, Italia

Lamberto Bava was born in Rome, Italy, and was the first of a third generation of Italian filmmakers. His grandfather, Eugenio Bava (1886-1966), was a cameraman and optics effects artist during the early days of Italian silent cinema. His father, Mario Bava (1914-1980), was a legendary cinematographer, special effects designer and director. Lamberto entered the cinema as his father's personal assistant, starting with "Planet of the Vampires" (1965). Bit by bit he gained experience from his father, who made him the assistant director for most of the rest of his films. He even co-wrote the screenplay for "Shock" (1977), Mario's last theatrical film where, in poor health during the shoot, Mario often feigned illness so Lamberto could direct a few scenes, uncredited, to gain further experience. Both Lamberto and Mario directed the made-for-TV drama "I giochi del diavolo: La Venere d'Ille" (1979). Both worked on the Dario Argento horror flick "Inferno" (1980), for which Mario designed some of the color set pieces, including the underwater ballroom, and created all the visual special effects, while Lamberto worked as Argento's assistant director. Late in 1979 Lamberto made his solo directorial debut with "Macabre" (1980), a tense drama-horror flick loosely based on a 1977 incident in New Orleans about a woman who keeps her lover's severed head in her freezer. According to Lamberto, the project started by chance when producer Pupi Avati approached him to direct as well as write the screenplay, which took just six weeks to write and direct. "Macabre" was released in Italy in February 1980 to mixed reviews, but won him recognition by his father Mario. Just two months later Mario Bava died, and an era in Italian film making came to a close. "Macabre" was not a box-office hit and, as a result, Lamberto went back to assistant directing. He worked with Dario Argento again in 1982 with "Tenebrae" (1982). In 1983 Lamberto was offered the opportunity to direct another film, titled "A Blade in the Dark" (1983), which was a violent mystery thriller shot in only three weeks on a tight budget and filmed almost entirely in a producer friend's house. Next he directed the action-flick "Blastfighter" (1984), which was filmed in the state of Georgia, and immediately afterwards directed the "Jaws" (1975)-like thriller "Devil Fish" (1984), which was shot in Florida. On both films Lamberto was purely a director for hire and had nothing to do with the script or production end. He used the pseudonym of 'John Old Jr.' for this latter film, which was a tribute to his father Mario, who often used the pseudonym 'John M. Old'. He enjoyed his best commercial success to date with "Demons" (1985), produced by Dario Argento, co-written by Dardano Sacchetti and filmed in West Berlin. This film's international success allowed him to co-write, produce and direct a sequel, "Demons 2" (1986). Lamberto returned to giallo thrillers with "Delirium" (1987). In the late 1980s the Italian cinema turned moribund. Lamberto, like most of his colleagues, turned to making films for Italian television. He also directed a remake of his father's "Black Sunday" (1960), which was titled "La maschera del demonio" (1990). Nowadays Lamberto Bava continues to divide his time between TV work and a few movies, acknowledging his inspiration from his late father, Mario.

Acting credits

Demons poster
6.6

A group of people are trapped in a West Berlin movie theater infested with ravenous demons who proceed to kill and possess the humans one-by-one, thereby multiplying their numbers.

Demons

1985

Tenebre poster
6.8

A razor-wielding serial killer is on the loose, murdering those around Peter Neal, an American mystery author in Italy to promote his newest novel.

Tenebre

1982

Demons 2 poster
6.1

A group of tenants and visitors are trapped in a 10-story high-rise apartment building infested with demons who proceed to hunt the dwindling humans down.

Demons 2

1986

You'll Die at Midnight poster
5.3

A cop suspects his wife's infidelity, only to become the prime suspect when she's murdered. A criminal psychologist believes the real killer is a presumed-dead serial killer, as more murders unfold.

You'll Die at Midnight

1986

Inferno Rosso: Joe D'Amato on the Road of Excess poster
7.3

Who was Joe D'Amato aka. Aristide Massaccesi? A genius of horror in the USA, a master of eroticism in France, the king of porn in Italy. A man with a thousand pseudonyms capable of making over 200 films while simultaneously holding the roles of producer, director, author, director of photography and even camera operator. An artisan of cinema as he liked to call himself, capable of working on all film genres. From spaghetti western to post-atomic, decamerotic to glossy eroticism, and blockbuster porn to bloody horror. Guided by the aesthetics of extremes and supported by an undeniable technical ability, Joe D’Amato pushed himself, and the viewer, beyond all limits following with dedication three rigid principles that have become his stylistic code: Amaze, Shock, Scandalize.

Inferno Rosso: Joe D'Amato on the Road of Excess

2021

No artwork available
7.0

Documentary about the making of Lamberto Bava's 1987 Giallo "Delirium".

Nightmare Delirium

2024

Scerbanenco Noir poster
NR

A short documentary exploring the life and work of writer Giorgio Scerbanenco.

Scerbanenco Noir

2004

Dario Argento: Panico poster
6.8

This documentary about the great master of European horror and fantastic films offers an immersive exploration into the life and legacy of the director of Suspiria. Using the writing process of his next film as a starting point, Dario Argento Panico immerses us in the mind of the Italian genius, and offers testimonials from other filmmakers who love his work, all key names in today's world of cinema including Gaspar Noé and Guillermo Del Toro.

Dario Argento: Panico

2024

Italian Kings Of B poster
6.0

Documentary on Italian genre cinema.

Italian Kings Of B

2003

Graveyard Disturbance poster
4.6

Five teenage thieves are challenged by a local bartender to stay overnight in the supposedly haunted catacombs of a nearby cemetery, promising them a rare treasure if they can make it through the night.

Graveyard Disturbance

1988

No artwork available
8.0

In-depth documentary about the making of Mario Bava's horror classic "Baron Blood".

In der Folterkammer des Barons

2017

No artwork available
8.0

Documentary about the making of Mario Bava's A BAY OF BLOOD.

The Art of Crime

2004

The Ogre poster
5.4

An American horror writer, haunted by childhood nightmares, moves to an old mansion in Italy with her husband and young son only to discover the nightmares were real.

The Ogre

1988

No artwork available
8.0

A retrospective look at the making of Michele Soavi's "The Church" including interviews with cast and crew.

Il mistero della cattedrale

2017

Paura: Lucio Fulci Remembered - Volume 1 poster
6.0

This documentary examines the life and legacy of controversial Italian filmmaker Lucio Fulci through interviews with his colleagues, each of whom answers the question, "What is your fondest memory of Lucio Fulci?". The responses are as varied as the people who knew the late writer-director, providing a nuanced look at the man behind such gory grindhouse classics as City of the Living Dead and The House by the Cemetery.

Paura: Lucio Fulci Remembered - Volume 1

2008

Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre poster
6.1

Director Garry S. Grant’s insightful documentary celebrates the work and legacy of auteur filmmaker Mario Bava, the grand master of Italian horror and the man known by many as “the Italian Hitchcock.”

Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre

2000

Titanus 1904 poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Titanus 1904

2024

No artwork available
8.0

Documentary about the making of Mario Bava's horror classic "Baron Blood".

Il castello dell'orrore

2004

Mario Bava: Operazione paura poster
6.5

Mario Bava Operazione Paura", hosted by Joe Dante, is an hommage of the Master of the Terror, the italian director Mario Bava

Mario Bava: Operazione paura

2004

I Tarantiniani poster
NR

Tarantino reveres them, and for good reason. Welcome to the world of the kings of the Italian B-Movie.

I Tarantiniani

2013

All the Colors of Giallo poster
6.9

'Giallo' is Italian for 'yellow', the color of the lurid pulp novels that inspired one of the most intense, extreme and influential genres in movie history. In this unprecedented collection, experience the full chronological evolution of giallo with more than 100 rare and classic trailers from such masters as Mario Bava, Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Sergio Martino, Antonio Margheriti, Umberto Lenzi and many more. Then slip on black leather gloves and set the mood with a Bonus CD of legendary soundtrack music from composers that include Ennio Morricone, Riz Ortolani, Bruno Nicolai, Stelvio Cipriani and others, along with all-new featurettes that thrust even deeper into the genre. "But be warned," says Gizmodo.com, "Once you start going down the blood- slicked giallo rabbit hole, you may become dangerously obsessed."

All the Colors of Giallo

2019

No artwork available
NR

Offers a critical appreciation of Italian horror cinema, pioneered by directors such as Dario Argento and Mario Bava, a genre that influenced filmmakers from Quentin Tarantino to Takashi Miike.

Hanging Shadows

2007

The Three Faces of Terror poster
4.9

In the first story two grave robbers, thieving from an ancient Etruscan burial ground, gets in trouble when one of them tries out a ring which passes a werewolf curse to him! The second one is about a woman who wants to look like her best friend and goes to a plastic surgeon, which is the biggest mistake she's done. The third story is about three friends and a very dangerous sea monster eating its way through their camping site! The wrap-around story is set on a train where John Phillip Law plays a mystical hypnotist who claims that he can see the past of the passengers...

The Three Faces of Terror

2004

Blood on Méliès' Moon poster
5.1

France, 1890. Inventor Louis Le Prince vanishes under mysterious circumstances right after he created a device that, five years later, the Lumière Brothers will call The Cinematographer. What if they had stolen Le Prince’s idea and wacked him afterwards? The mystery remains for more than a century, until Luigi Cozzi picks up a strange book called “The Roaming Universe” in the horror museum of his pal Dario Argento. The origin of this enigmatic book troubles him. This particular science-fiction novel would have materialized during a spiritual session in modern day Rome. At the session, an old woman revealed that the key to all these mysteries comes from 1895, a time during which the Lumière Brothers had denied lending their camera to Georges Méliès for an obscure movie called "A Trip to the moon". Not only does this film actually exist, but it raises a more intriguing question. Is our world the only one, or are there parallel universes ?

Blood on Méliès' Moon

2016

Behind the camera

Demons poster
6.6

A group of people are trapped in a West Berlin movie theater infested with ravenous demons who proceed to kill and possess the humans one-by-one, thereby multiplying their numbers.

Demons

1985

Demons poster
6.6

A group of people are trapped in a West Berlin movie theater infested with ravenous demons who proceed to kill and possess the humans one-by-one, thereby multiplying their numbers.

Demons

1985

Demons 2 poster
6.1

A group of tenants and visitors are trapped in a 10-story high-rise apartment building infested with demons who proceed to hunt the dwindling humans down.

Demons 2

1986

Demons 2 poster
6.1

A group of tenants and visitors are trapped in a 10-story high-rise apartment building infested with demons who proceed to hunt the dwindling humans down.

Demons 2

1986

Delirium: Photo of Gioia poster
5.4

Gioia is a buxom centerfold working for Pussycat magazine. In such a profession, having an admirer or two is expected, but Gioia's admirer is a vicious killer! He murders her fellow magazine models one at a time, using a variety of twisted implements of death. Gioia is the lucky recipient of a collection of photos, each with murdered bodies arranged around posters of her.

Delirium: Photo of Gioia

1987

You'll Die at Midnight poster
5.3

A cop suspects his wife's infidelity, only to become the prime suspect when she's murdered. A criminal psychologist believes the real killer is a presumed-dead serial killer, as more murders unfold.

You'll Die at Midnight

1986

You'll Die at Midnight poster
5.3

A cop suspects his wife's infidelity, only to become the prime suspect when she's murdered. A criminal psychologist believes the real killer is a presumed-dead serial killer, as more murders unfold.

You'll Die at Midnight

1986

You'll Die at Midnight poster
5.3

A cop suspects his wife's infidelity, only to become the prime suspect when she's murdered. A criminal psychologist believes the real killer is a presumed-dead serial killer, as more murders unfold.

You'll Die at Midnight

1986

The Cave of the Golden Rose 5 poster
5.7

In this last film princess Fantaghirò ends up in a parallel dimension fairy land full of kids. Here the princess must fight against a villain called "Nameless".

The Cave of the Golden Rose 5

1996

Macabre poster
5.7

A middle-aged woman, traumatized from the death of her adulterous lover, moves into a room at a New Orleans boarding house where the blind landlord becomes suspicious to her activities of continuing her affair with her dead lover.

Macabre

1980

Macabre poster
5.7

A middle-aged woman, traumatized from the death of her adulterous lover, moves into a room at a New Orleans boarding house where the blind landlord becomes suspicious to her activities of continuing her affair with her dead lover.

Macabre

1980

Until Death poster
4.7

A man and woman murder the woman's husband and six years later must now contend with her son's nightmares and the arrival of a stranger who might know something about the case.

Until Death

1988

Until Death poster
4.7

A man and woman murder the woman's husband and six years later must now contend with her son's nightmares and the arrival of a stranger who might know something about the case.

Until Death

1988

Rabid Dogs poster
7.5

Following a bungled robbery, three violent criminals take a young woman, a middle-aged man, and a child hostage and force them to drive them outside Rome to help them make a clean getaway.

Rabid Dogs

1995

The Cave of the Golden Rose 2 poster
6.2

Fantaghiro and Romualdo are preparing their marriage when the Black Queen disgusted by their deep love captures Fantaghiro's father. Romualdo and his soldiers go on their journey to free him. But the insidious Black Queen transforms herself into Fantaghiro, makes Romualdo her slave by kissing him and captures the rest of his army. Fantaghiro follows Romualdo although she promised him to stay home, finds the camp deserted and enters the near castle of the Black Queen. When she asks for a duel to free her people she is very surprised to face Romualdo who has forgot her completely due to the magic of the Black Queen.

The Cave of the Golden Rose 2

1992

The Cave of the Golden Rose 4 poster
6.3

A black cloud travels across country, kills animals and plants and dries up the rivers. When the cloud reaches Fantaghiro's kingdom she meets Prince Parsel who follows the cloud to get his stolen castle back. After her castle vanishes, too, Fantaghiro joins Parsel on his journey to find her home, her people, her family and her love.

The Cave of the Golden Rose 4

1994

The Dragon Ring poster
7.0

The Dragon Ring is an italian film of two parts. It's about Desideria, the dragon king's daughter and Selvaggia, her adopted and magical sister. To get the dragon ring after the death of her father, Desideria needs to marry, but she can't find a husband, so Selvaggia sees her chance to get the ring with all its powers.

The Dragon Ring

1994

The Dragon Ring poster
7.0

The Dragon Ring is an italian film of two parts. It's about Desideria, the dragon king's daughter and Selvaggia, her adopted and magical sister. To get the dragon ring after the death of her father, Desideria needs to marry, but she can't find a husband, so Selvaggia sees her chance to get the ring with all its powers.

The Dragon Ring

1994

The Mask of Satan poster
4.4

Skiers in Northern Italy unwittingly awaken an ancient witch after removing her mask in a crevasse. Their actions unleash a curse, leading to terrifying consequences.

The Mask of Satan

1990

The Mask of Satan poster
4.4

Skiers in Northern Italy unwittingly awaken an ancient witch after removing her mask in a crevasse. Their actions unleash a curse, leading to terrifying consequences.

The Mask of Satan

1990

A Blade in the Dark poster
5.7

Bruno, an up and coming film composer, has been hired to write the score to a new horror movie. After moving into a secluded villa, life begins to imitate art as a vicious killer starts bumping off anyone and everyone who happens to pay him a visit.

A Blade in the Dark

1983

A Blade in the Dark poster
5.7

Bruno, an up and coming film composer, has been hired to write the score to a new horror movie. After moving into a secluded villa, life begins to imitate art as a vicious killer starts bumping off anyone and everyone who happens to pay him a visit.

A Blade in the Dark

1983

The Cave of the Golden Rose poster
6.4

After a queen's tragic death, the king abandons his newborn daughter in a cave, but a witch saves her. Years later, the tomboy princess must confront and ultimately falls in love with the enemy king.

The Cave of the Golden Rose

1991

Monster Shark poster
3.3

A marine biologist, a dolphin trainer, a research scientist, and a local sheriff try to hunt down a large sea monster, a shark/octopus hybrid, that is devouring swimmers and fishermen off a south Florida coast.

Monster Shark

1984