Horrorfest 2014: Twitch of the Death Nerve

Now it's time for some more Mario Bava with 1971's TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE. I always get excited when I see Bava's name at the beginning of a flick because he rarely lets me down. I've watched many of his movies for Horrorfest, including one earlier this month, and enjoyed them all. This one's the first one I wasn't thrilled with.

Pretty much all of Bava's flicks are about murder in one way or another, and he takes it to the next level with this one: it's as if he wanted to make the murdery-est murder movie he possibly could. It's like the "Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" of murder movies. Everyone wants to murder everyone else and pretty much does.

The simultaneously convoluted and simple plot revolves around a piece of land (a mansion on the edge of a bay) that comes under dispute when a countess (Isa Miranda) is murdered by her husband (Giovanni Nuvoletti). Her husband is murdered immediately after the crime by a mysterious assailant.

Without giving too much awawy, it turns out a couple who wanted to buy the property (Chris Avram and Anna Maria Rosati) plotted to have the countess killed in an attempt to get her husband to sign the place over to them. Now that the husband's dead they're plotting with the countess' illegitimate son (Claudio Volonte).

Meanwhile, the countess' daughter and her husband (Claudine Auger and Luigi Pistilli) also want the place and are willing to murder to get it.

Unconnected to all of this, a bunch of partying youngsters show up and end up in the crosshairs of killers as well.

So, see what I mean? Everyone wants to kill everyone and pretty much does.

The movie sounds over the top and out of control, but it's strangely boring. I guess it suffers from the same thing all of the slasher movies it undoubtedly inspired suffer from: it's only so interesting to watch the body count rise. Before too long, you're just watching people go through the motions.

The movie is notable for its level of violence, and the gore effects are done really well. But it lacks the extra touch of beauty Bava usually gives to his flicks. I guess on one hand that makes sense since there is nothing beautiful about this subject matter. On the other, though, it was sad to see Bava's usual style go out the window in favor of ultra violence. Granted – the ultra violence is a style unto itself, especially since this is a pioneering film, but still. Where's the Bava cinematography when you need it?

This is the second Horrorfest flick in a row with a twist ending. THE BABY blindsided me with its macabre twist but I saw TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE's hackneyed and heavy handed ending coming a mile away.