Mario Bava

Mario Bava was an Italian filmmaker who worked variously as a director, screenwriter, cinematographer, and special effects artist. He is frequently referred to as the "Master of Italian Horror" and the "Master of the Macabre". His low-budget genre films, known for their distinctive visual flair and stylish technical ingenuity, feature recurring themes and imagery concerning the conflict between illusion and reality, and the destructive capacity of human nature. Mario Bava died of natural causes on 27 April 1980 at age 65. A documentary about him entitled Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre was released in 2000.