I DRINK YOUR BLOOD
Bhaskar (Horace Bones), Rhonda Fultz (Molly), Riley Mills (Pete), Jadine Wong (Sue Lin), George Patterson (Rollo), John Damon (Roger), Lynn Lowry (Carrie)
Directed by David Durston (1921-2010)
***WARNING! This review contains images of nudity and violence***
A gang of satanic hippies raise hell in a small town. After beating up an old man and terrorizing his granddaughter, the young grandson gets revenge by injecting blood from a rabid dog into meat pies and passing them onto the traveling band of multi cultural devil worshippers. Consuming the contaminated pies causes the group to become rabid, raving maniacs who then run around killing and spreading the contagion to others. A small group of survivors hole up in a store while the crazies try to get inside.
The late David Durston (he has sadly passed away either today, or within the last few days; reported from Code Red DVD blog) directed this huge cult favorite whose legacy is better than the actual movie. That's not to say that this tale of rabies induced mayhem isn't worth a look. It's definitely worthy to be on any self respecting exploitation fans DVD shelf, just that over the years leading up to its eventual DVD release (first from Grindhouse Releasing, then Fangoria), the picture was hyped to high heaven. Seeing it now, it definitely has a high sleaze quotient, but isn't quite the nasty number it's been touted as over the years.
There's a lot of violence and gore, but it's all fairly amateurish, but in a very fun, amusing way. The plot is so outrageous, that the H.G. Lewis level gore effects lend it some special appeal. There's a bit of nudity on hand and a relatively disgusting scene where a pregnant woman stabs herself in the stomach with a sharp implement.
Lynn Lowry, an actress with popularity in cult film circles was also in George Romero's original THE CRAZIES (1973). Interestingly, Durston's movie is a warped, insane take on his own NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968), but in color, lacking social commentary and possessing zero redeeming values of any kind. That's a recommendation, actually. There's definitely a lot of energy here, but again, it's one of those movies you've heard a lot about whose reputation is ultimately bigger and better than the movie itself.
The acting on hand is what's to be expected for a picture like this. Once the hippies become infected with rabies, several of the groups members decide to pull a Spinal Tap and crank up the ham to 11. Main villain, Bhaskar steals the show with his enthusiasm, though. But again, once he becomes rabid, his fun delivery is pretty much over as dialog is kept to a minimum and mayhem takes over. The musical score (if you can call it that) is very intrusive and ear piercing at times.
The wonderful DVD from Grindhouse Releasing is lovingly put together and still has some of the damn coolest animated menus I have ever seen. I don't know if the later Fangoria release retained them, or not, but you can do all kinds of cool things with the menus and there's a massive collage of features and some hidden, too. One of the best is some kind of a snake dance performed by Bhaskar some years ago. It's an awesome package for a movie that, up until it's restored DVD release back in 2002, was only available in a compromised bootleg edition with serious cuts.
I DRINK YOUR BLOOD (1970) is a fun trash film and one that all lovers of sleazy cinematic shit stains should sit down and savor at least once in their life. Terribly overhyped, it nonetheless delivers the gore groceries and has one of the wildest, most out of control plotlines in exploitation history. You can see more of the film in SINS OF CELLULOID PART 1.
This review is representative of the Grindhouse Releasing DVD
SCARS OF DRACULA 1970
Christopher Lee (Dracula), Jenny Hanley (Sarah), Dennis Waterman (Simon), Patrick Troughton (Klove), Michael Gwynn (Priest), Christopher Matthews (Paul)
Directed by Roy Ward Baker
Castle Dracula is burned after local villagers gather their courage to march on the shadowy bastion. Returning home, the villagers discover the women have been butchered by Dracula's flock of giant bats. Meanwhile, a young man named Paul, chased by the Burgomaster for a sexual tryst with his daughter, finds himself a guest at Dracula's home. Paul's brother, Simon and his lady friend, Sarah, go looking for Paul and soon discover his fate. The couple then must combat the evil of Dracula and free the village forever.
SCARS OF DRACULA marks a lot of firsts for this series. It's the first R rated Hammer Dracula movie released in the United States. It's enhanced (or hindered depending on ones taste) by a heightened amount of gruesome violence including a scene where Dracula stabs one his vampiric slaves to death(!). It also contains a nifty shot of Dracula scaling the walls of his castle and also, after many years of complaining, Christopher Lee gets a wagon cart full of dialog to speak throughout the movie.
It also contains the most amazingly distasteful method for Dracula's resurrection. Right at the outset, a huge bat flies into Dracula's inner sanctum and proceeds to puke up a thick, sanguinary substance on his ashes thereby bringing him to life. It's not explained just how his ashes got up into this small room which has no means of getting in, or out. It's also the first Chris Lee Dracula movie to show him holding dominion over animals; in this case, a group of huge bats. Also, Lee's make up really makes him look like a member of the undead. His powers are also given a hint of the supernatural such as doors opening on there own when he enters or exits a room.
SCARS OF DRACULA is also a first in that there was no funding from an American studio. For whatever reason, Warner Brothers passed on the project. Possibly due to the lackluster receipts for TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA, American audiences were becoming accustomed to a more rowdy and raw approach to horror. These types of movies with oldeworld appeal were on their way out. Hammer was desperate to win over this new audience by adding more sex and violence and SCARS had a little sex and an abundance of violence.
Dracula frequently savages his servant, Klove by burning his back with a red hot sword. A body is chopped up, one character is impaled, a group of women are mutilated inside a church and one scene that was removed from the film, saw Dracula drinking blood from the belly wound of his female vampire slave after repeatedly stabbing her with a knife. Patrick Troughton (Klove) was one of many actors to play DOCTOR WHO and also acted in other Hammer horror movies such as THE GORGON (1964) and briefly during the opening of FRANKENSTEIN & THE MONSTER FROM HELL (1974).
Over the years the film amassed a bit of a cult following despite a lot of people displaying detestation for it. It was the very first Hammer movie I ever saw on VHS tape in the early 1980's and I was blown away by it. At that time, it was my favorite Hammer picture. It definitely grows on you over time. Even Chris Lee, who on the DVD commentary, shows some admiration for the movie now.
Despite a shorter schedule and less money afforded the budget, the crew made do with what they had. Regardless of how cheap some of it looks, the film has some strikingly Gothic matte shots of the castle exterior such as when Simon is trying to lower himself down to Dracula's hidden hideaway. The movie is also unique in that it's strictly a stand alone affair. It bears no connection to any other series entry. It's just there. The film fails in its ending. The death of Dracula would seem to be spectacular, but death by lightning bolt, while creative, comes off sloppy in the finished movie. Not to mention Eddie Powell is clearly wearing a mask the few seconds you seem him on fire. BENNY HILL fans will recognize Bob Todd as the Burgomaster.
Roy Ward Baker directed some choice Hammer films in his career, at least by my estimation. He did THE VAMPIRE LOVERS (1970), DR. JEKYLL & SISTER HYDE (1971) as well as Hammer's last Dracula production sans Christopher Lee, LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES (1974), an action packed co-production between the then dying Hammer and world renowned Shaw Brothers studio. SCARS OF DRACULA (1970) is deserving of reevaluation and isn't nearly as bad as some of the company's other 70's output like the boring COUNTESS DRACULA (1971) and the slapdash LUST FOR A VAMPIRE (1971).
This review is representative of the Anchor Bay two disc edition
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A gang of satanic hippies raise hell in a small town. After beating up an old man and terrorizing his granddaughter, the young grandson gets revenge by injecting blood from a rabid dog into meat pies and passing them onto the traveling band of multi cultural devil worshippers. Consuming the contaminated pies causes the group to become rabid, raving maniacs who then run around killing and spreading the contagion to others. A small group of survivors hole up in a store while the crazies try to get inside.
The late David Durston (he has sadly passed away either today, or within the last few days; reported from Code Red DVD blog) directed this huge cult favorite whose legacy is better than the actual movie. That's not to say that this tale of rabies induced mayhem isn't worth a look. It's definitely worthy to be on any self respecting exploitation fans DVD shelf, just that over the years leading up to its eventual DVD release (first from Grindhouse Releasing, then Fangoria), the picture was hyped to high heaven. Seeing it now, it definitely has a high sleaze quotient, but isn't quite the nasty number it's been touted as over the years.
Lynn Lowry, an actress with popularity in cult film circles was also in George Romero's original THE CRAZIES (1973). Interestingly, Durston's movie is a warped, insane take on his own NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968), but in color, lacking social commentary and possessing zero redeeming values of any kind. That's a recommendation, actually. There's definitely a lot of energy here, but again, it's one of those movies you've heard a lot about whose reputation is ultimately bigger and better than the movie itself.
The acting on hand is what's to be expected for a picture like this. Once the hippies become infected with rabies, several of the groups members decide to pull a Spinal Tap and crank up the ham to 11. Main villain, Bhaskar steals the show with his enthusiasm, though. But again, once he becomes rabid, his fun delivery is pretty much over as dialog is kept to a minimum and mayhem takes over. The musical score (if you can call it that) is very intrusive and ear piercing at times.
The wonderful DVD from Grindhouse Releasing is lovingly put together and still has some of the damn coolest animated menus I have ever seen. I don't know if the later Fangoria release retained them, or not, but you can do all kinds of cool things with the menus and there's a massive collage of features and some hidden, too. One of the best is some kind of a snake dance performed by Bhaskar some years ago. It's an awesome package for a movie that, up until it's restored DVD release back in 2002, was only available in a compromised bootleg edition with serious cuts.
