Lamberto Bava

After 1990, Bava's work was predominantly involved with television, such as his Fantaghirò series.

• Name — Lamberto Bava • Born — 3 April 1944 • Birthplace — Rome, Italy • Occupation — Film director • Other Names — John Old Jr. • Parents — Mario Bava (father) • Relatives — Eugenio Bava (grandfather)

Lamberto Bava was born in Rome, Italy on 3 April 1944. Lamberto's father Mario Bava was a film director known primarily as a director of horror films. Lamberto's film career began in the mid-1960s working as an assistant director on his father's film Planet of the Vampires. Lamberto would later collaborate with his father on several of his projects, including Danger: Diabolik (1966), Twitch of the Death Nerve (1971) and Shock (1977) (On Shock, Lamberto Bava was credited as a screenwriter as well as an assistant director.) Besides the work he did with his father, Lamberto also contributed to making films with Italian director Ruggero Deodato, such as Ultimo mondo cannibale (1977) and Cannibal Holocaust (1979). In 1978, Lamberto and Mario directed an episode of the Italian television series I giochi del diavolo (Storie fantastiche dell'Ottocento) (The Devil's Games - Fantastic Tales of the 1800), a television series with six stories based on 19th century fantastic literature. Their episode was based on La Venere d'Ille by Prosper Mérimée and broadcast on RAI 1 on March 27, 1981.

A meeting with director Pupi Avati led to Bava directing his own feature film Macabre in 1980 which was co-written with Pupi and Antonio Avati. The film stars Bernice Stegers as Jane, a woman who has an affair with a man (Stanko Molnar), who dies. After his death, Jane keeps his severed head in her refrigerator and performs erotic acts with it. Seeing Macabre, Mario told him "Now I can die in peace". Mario actually died later in 1980. Following the release of Macabre, Lamberto Bava worked in advertising and continued to write stories for potential future film projects. He was approached by director Dario Argento to assist him with his giallo film Tenebre (1982), wherein Bava is credited as an assistant director. In 1983, Lamberto Bava directed his second feature film as a director, the giallo film A Blade in the Dark. A Blade in the Dark was originally developed as a television film shot in four 25-minute segments on a very low budget. The film stars Andrea Occhipinti as the music composer Bruno, a man who becomes involved in a series of murders while staying at a secluded villa. Bava's next two film projects were in different genres than his previous giallo and horror film output. Bava was given a script for Blastfighter, a film originally written as a remake of the Australian film Mad Max with the intention of giving it to director Lucio Fulci. Blastfighter starred Michael Sopkiw as Tiger, a detective who had been released from prison for shooting the man who killed his wife. Tiger moves into the woods with his daughter where he is terrorized by a group of thugs. Lamberto's next film, Monster Shark, was a science fiction film about a mutated shark that goes on a killing spree with two marine biologists attempting to track down the creature to stop it.

In 1992, Bava made the film Body Puzzle, which starred Joanna Pacula, who learns that her late husband Abe had a lover named Tim Bell. When Tim learns that Abe was an organ donor, Tim begins killing people in order to rebuild him. Bava also worked in television. In 1991, Bava directed Fantaghiro, a television miniseries that was influenced by films such as Legend, Willow and Ladyhawke. The series was aimed more at family audiences than Bava's previous work and violence is kept to a minimum. The series concluded in 1997 with eight feature-length episodes. Before finishing the series, Bava worked on other television projects, including Desideria, between 1994 and 1995, and a second fantasy series titled Sorellina e il Principe del Sogno (1996). In the late 1990s, Bava made another television film entitled Caraibi. Bava's more recent film work includes L'Impero, and Ghost Son.

• Title — Year — Credited as — Notes — Ref(s) Reference(s) • Director — Screenwriter — Assistant director — Other • The Road to Fort Alamo — 1964 • Planet of the Vampires — 1965 • Savage Gringo — 1966 • Kill, Baby, Kill • Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs • Danger: Diabolik — 1968 • Hatchet for the Honeymoon — 1970 • Roy Colt & Winchester Jack • Baron Blood — 1972 • The Kiss — 1974 • Lisa and the Devil • Last Cannibal World — 1977 — Continuity • Shock • Inferno — 1980 • Cannibal Holocaust • Macabre —. • Tenebrae — 1982 • 1983 — Producer, editing • Blastfighter — 1984 • Monster Shark — 1984 • Demons — 1985 • Demons 2 — 1986 • Midnight Killer — 1986 — Producer, film editor • Delirium — 1987 • Body Puzzle — 1992 • Rabid Dogs — 1998 • The Torturer — 2005 • Ghost Son — 2007 • Twins — Shot in 2016; unreleased as of April 2025

• Title — Year — Credited as — Notes — Ref(s) Reference(s) • Director — Screenwriter — Other • "La Venere d'ille" — 1981 • Graveyard Disturbance — 1987 — Uncredited role as the Shop Keeper. • Until Death — 1988 • 1989 — Uncredited role as a man in the bar • Dinner with a Vampire — 1989 • La maschera del demonio — 1990 • The Prince of Terror — 1999 • Eyewitness — 1999 • School of Fear (Il Gioko) — 1999 • The Man Who Didn't Want to Die — 2007 — Made in 1998, but not released until 2007 • Turno di notte (Italian TV series) • Fantaghirò • Fantaghirò 2 • Fantaghirò 3 • The Dragon Ring (television film) • Fantaghirò 4 (television film) • Princess Alisea (television film) • Fantaghirò 5 (television film) • The Princess and the Pauper • Pirates: Blood Brothers • Human Currency (television miniseries) • Visions of Murder (television film) • Tailor-Made Murder (television film) • Kammerspiel (television film)

Lamberto Bava is recorded as actor, screenwriter, film editor, writer and film producer.