Born on this day – Mario Bava:

Mario Bava

Director

Cinematographer

Special Effects

July 31, 1914 – April 27, 1980

Credits:

A Bay of Blood (1971); A Dog's Life (1950); Amor non ho! Però, però.. (1951); Anfiteatro Flavio (1947); Anthony of Padua (1949); Asesinato desde la Roja Oscuridad (2019); Attack of the Normans (1962); Balocchi e profumi (1953); Barber of Seville (1947); Baron Blood (1972); Beautiful But Dangerous (1955); Ben-Hur (1959); Black Sabbath (1963); Black Sunday (1960); Blood and Black Lace (1964); Buonanotte... avvocato! (1955); Caltiki, the Immortal Monster (1959); Canzone di primavera (1951); Capitan Tempesta (1942); Capriccio musicale (1950); Città di notte (1957); Cops and Robbers (1951); Cose da pazzi (1954); Danger: Diabolik (1968); Deducoria (2018); Doctor Stein (2019); Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (1966); Dream House (2009); È arrivato il cavaliere! (1950); Ecco la felicità (1940); Elixir of Love (1947); Erik the Conqueror (1961); Esther and the King (1960); Five Dolls for an August Moon (1970); Four Times That Night (1971); Gladiators 7 (1962); Gli eroi della domenica (1952); Goya (1950); Grass Hook Massacre (2019); Graziella (1955); Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970); Hercules (1958); Hercules and the Captive Women (1961); Hercules in the Haunted World (1961); Hercules Unchained (1959); High School (1954); Il bacio dell'Aurora (1953); Il leone di Damasco (1942); Il tacchino prepotente (1939); Il viale della speranza (1953); Incubo per una mosca bianca (2015); Inferno (1980); It Happened in the Park (1953); Kill, Baby... Kill! (1966); King Ripple (2015); Knives of the Avenger (1966); La compagnia della teppa (1941); La famiglia Passaguai (1951); La famiglia Passaguai fa fortuna (1952); La Venere d'Ille (1979); La vispa Teresa (1939); L'avventura di Annabella (1943); Legenda Sinfonica (1947); Life Is Tough, Eh Providence? (1972); Lisa and the Devil (1973); L'orecchio (1946); L'ospedale del delitto (1950); Love of a Clown - Pagliacci (1948); Lust of the Vampire (1957); Mad About Opera (1948); Mario Bava speaks (2006); Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre (2000); Mario Bava: Operazione paura (2004); Masks (2011); Minnesota Clay (1964); Miss Italia (1950); Morgan the Pirate (1960); Moses the Lawgiver (1974); Moxina (2012); Mysteria (2016); Naked You Die (1968); Natale al campo 119 (1947); Nero's Mistress (1956); Non c'è amore più grande (1955); Odissea (1968); Orlando e i Paladini di Francia (1956); Papà diventa mamma (1952); Perdonami! (1953); Planet of the Vampires (1965); Rabid Dogs (1974 / 2015); Roja Oscuridad (2018); Roy Colt & Winchester Jack (1970); S.O.S. Submarine (1941); Santa notte (1947); Sant'Elena, piccola isola (1943); Savage Gringo (1966); Scream Creek (2024); Shock (1977); Silver Slime (1981); Sins of Casanova (1955); Son of Samson (1960); Spartaco (1953); Suspiria (1977); The Day the Sky Exploded (1958); The Evil Eye (1963); The Giant of Marathon (1959); The House of Exorcism (1975); The Last Days of Pompeii (1959); The Last of the Vikings (1961); The Old Man in the Rocking Chair (2022); The Road to Fort Alamo (1964); The Taming of Dorothy (1950); The Whip and the Body (1963); The White Ship (1941); The White Warrior (1959); The Wonders of Aladdin (1961); Two Guns and a Coward (1968); Ulysses (1954); Uomini e cieli (1947); Variazioni sinfoniche (1949); War of the Zombies (1964); Waterloo (1970); We Stole a Tram (1954); Winchester Jack (1970); Yellow (2006).

Making the Bad Blood & Mall Maze trailer videos:

During the making of the video trailers for Bad Blood and Mall Maze, I got to make fake blood again.
Something I always loved to do during many Halloweens past.
Great fun.

There are various recipes for making fake blood, using water, flour, corn syrup, chocolate syrup, etc …
Through trial and error … a lot of trial and error … I eventually settled on clear liquid hand soap and food dye.
It’s easier and faster.
The soap already has a thick consistency, with an effect that mimics the slow flow, ooze and drip of real blood.

To make the fake blood, I filled a jar with soap, added red food dye, then green food dye to darken it.
Apply the green dye one drop at a time as you continue to mix.
If you add too much green, the solution turns brown and you have to dump it out and start over.
It’s that simple.
 
Choose the recipe that works best for you.
If you’re going to use my method – remember that it's soap.

Be cautious how you use it.
One advantage is that soap and food dye doesn’t permanently stain clothes.
I patch-tested a white washcloth and it cleaned no problem.
The disadvantage is that it’s SOAP.
Patch-test to make sure it doesn’t irritate your skin.
Get any in your eyes – it’ll sting.
Swallow any – it’ll make you sick.
Be mindful and careful.

Remember the pros and cons.

Pros ... it's soap.

Cons ... it's SOAP!
 
For the Bad Blood trailer, in reference to one of the key chapters in that novel, I repurposed the machete from my collection of gardening tools and two precision craft knives from my art tools I use for miniature model making.
In the future, I will be making videos using miniature models.
 
To make the fake blood flow down the blade, I used an applicator bottle with the narrow funnel.

You can control the flow better, with less mess and waste.

I draped one of my plain black T-shirts over the front of the sink.

The black fabric absorbs light and prevents reflection when filming metal surfaces.

My wife exclaimed: “What the …?!” when she walked into the bathroom and saw I’d used the fake blood to make a bloody handprint and put some nice smears around the inside of the tub.

Another advantage of using soap … it rinses away no problem.

For part of the Mall Maze trailer, again in reference to part of that novel, I filled my left driving glove with fake blood and let it ooze out through the seams for the effect of a wounded hand.

Using the same method of preventing reflection, with black curtains around the camera lens, I made another short film of the jar I’ll be using in a future video.

I'll be using the same blanketing method when filming and photographing a glass tank, for mixing inks and paints in water.

Below are the trailers for Bad Blood and Mall Maze:

Finally, here’s my assistant, Bodhi, our crazy Ragdoll cat: