Roger Corman Collection (Bloody Mama / A Bucket of Blood / The Trip / Premature Burial / The Young Racers / The Wild Angels / Gas-s-s / X)

Description

Disc 1 Side A: Bloody Mama Disc 1 Side B: A Bucket of Blood

Disc 2 Side A: Gas-s-s Disc 2 Side B: The Trip

Disc 3 Side A: Premature Burial, The Disc 3 Side B: X: The Man With X-Ray Eyes

Disc 4 Side A: The Young Racers Disc 4 Side B: The Wild Angels

Customer Reviews:

This collection is a mixed bag of style.......2007-09-10

Corman's work generally falls into two categories. The first would be the horror/sci-fi he did in the late 50's to early 60's including his Vincent Price films and those along a similar vein. These don't have anything particularly graphic in them. They tend to be cleverly done B-productions with bigger stars than you would guess. The second group start in the mid 60's and run into the 1970's and can be quite violent. This doesn't mean that they aren't cleverly done. Just don't expect something along the line of Corman's series of Poe films when you sit down to watch "Bloody Mama". "Billy Jack" and "Easy Rider" are more similar to Corman's later films, five of which make up this eight film collection. There are no extras included in this set. The following is a brief synopsis of each included film with ratings by a popular film database. Let me say I think the ratings given for most of the films is way too low. If you like Corman's work you'll likely rate each of these films much higher.

A Bucket of Blood (1959) 6.9/10 - a horror story with an artsy bent featuring an outstanding performance by Dick Miller as the accidental artist.

Premature Burial (1962) 6.4/10 - Ray Milland is obsessed with being buried alive, so he's outfitted his future tomb with all kinds of bells and whistles to insure this won't happen. Vincent Price was supposed to star in this one, but Milland does a great job as the death-obsessed gentleman.

X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes (1963) 6.5/10 - Like "The Incredible Shrinking Man" this film examines what it means to exist. Ray Milland experiments on himself and gives himself "X-Ray vision". As a result he can see past and through all reality. The only problem is that his senses are unable to take in and comprehend what his eyes are seeing - and seeing through - without going insane.

The Young Racers (1963) 3.5/10 - New to DVD.

The Wild Angels (1966) 5.2/10 - I think this film is better than its rating. It's one of the original biker films and I don't think that the film's tagline that paints these guys as just a bunch of violent losers is completely accurate. They do some outrageously pointless violent things, but they are more complex than that. Stars Peter Fonda and Bruce Dern as two of the bikers.

The Trip (1967) 5.8/10 - Written by Jack Nicholson. This is one of the first of the drug culture films of the late 60's, early 70's. The whole movie is basically what an LSD trip looks like as experienced by Peter Fonda's character. In spite of the fact that the plot is thin this film did well at the box office. Very much an artifact of the time in which it was made, but still interesting.

Bloody Mama (1970) 5.1/10 - New to DVD. Here Corman is cashing in on the success of Bonnie and Clyde to tell another familial tale of crime and violence. This family is headed by Ma Barker (Shelly Winters). It also sports some great supporting work by Bruce Dern and Robert De Niro.

Gas-s-s-s (1972) - 3.7/10 - A strange gas kills everyone over 25 in the world. The movie is part political satire and part comedy with a large dose of violence that is likely to make many people queezy. The film works quite well and holds up over time, but it's not your old-fashioned Vincent Price-style Corman film. You'll note the early appearances of some performers who are just getting started such as Ben Vereen, Cindy Williams, and Talia Shire.

My four star rating comes from being a fan of Roger Corman. If you are not, you might want to pay more attention to the film database rating.

Bloody Mama on DVD, finally, at last!!.......2007-08-30

I rejoice at the news of Bloody Mama finally coming to DVD. I am a bit surprised to find that I have to buy a whole set of DVD's to get it, however. Bloody Mama features a very early and memorable performance by Robert De Niro. Shelley Winters is unforgettable as Kate "Ma" Barker. The film is quite tawdry and violent for a film made in 1970. I have always remembered this film for the nearly totally nude scene by Diane Varsi and the other outrageous goings-on. I will buy this and recommend it heartily to others with similar interests. A great and underrated gangster film.

Average customer rating:

A Misrecorded DVD Of A Fun Movie
Campy, silly, but fun.
I should've known better
Not enthralled

Blood Angels
Starring: Lorenzo Lamas , Leah Cairns , Siri Baruc , Fiona Scott , and Sonya Salomaa
Director: Ron Oliver
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000765IJA
Release Date: 2005-03-22

Customer Reviews:

A Misrecorded DVD Of A Fun Movie.......2007-03-02

If you have any thoughts of buying this DVD I want to give you fair warning that it is improperly recorded. In a pathetic attempt to conceal the fact that `Blood Angels' AKA `Thralls' never played in theaters, the picture aspect ratio is artificially widened!!! Hence, the film in letter boxed and stretched so the ratio is 125% wider than natural!!! Unless you can manually adjust the aspect ration on your TV or PC this DVD may be UNWATCHABLE.

Such a shame since `Blood Angels' is a guilty pleasure. The plot is thin but the concept is fascinating.

Vampire Master Lorenzo Lamas holds starlet wannabes hostage in his mansion turning them into "thralls" half vampires. The girls rebel and are able to escape with the valuable Necronomicon. (So that's what happened to the Necronomicon, it's been in Lorenzo Lamas' attic.) The thralls open a Hollywood nightclub where male guests get sucked in more way than one. They're not complaining. The thralls study the Necronomicon in hope of becoming full blooded vampires.

Why it works: Anime actor Richard Ian Cox best known as playing Inuyasha totally steals the show by hamming it up as Lamas' vampire familiar. The opening scene is worth it all. As Cox returns to the darkened mansion, he enters the attic and is blinded by white light. The entire attic is bright white including the thralls' wedding gown clothing and Cox's three piece suit. The thralls are chained together in the center of the room. Cox says, "Hello ladies. Miss me? I brought you dinner." (or words to that effect) He removes a bloody rat from a brown paper bag. The thralls drool hungrily at it. "It's fresh." As he drops it on the floor it is still twitching. Cox looks concerned as one of the girls Roxie is absent. "Roooxiiieee?" he calls as to a kitten. He follows her chain behind a curtain and finds it attached to a severed foot.

Campy, silly, but fun........2005-05-26

Blood Angels is the story of a small town girl who has come to stay in the city with her big sister. Little realizing that the sister and the rest of the club staff are actually demi-vampires.

Judging by the cover of this film, I expected it to be cheesecake. Parts were. But I was pleased to see there were actually a few hot guys in this too.

Parts of this film were actually kind of funny like the Japanese kid who wanted to be a hipster, and the comments made by the master vampire. I particularly thought the ending was pretty funny.

This is a B-rated campy, silly vampire film with a few good scenes. Rated R for nudity and violence.

I should've known better.......2005-04-11

I am a collector of vampire movies, but I try to stay away from the cheapie home-made Grade ZZZ vampire movies. But every now and then I get suckered. Like on Dracula 3000 and now on this one. The one reviewer does a good job on explaining the "plot", threadbare as it is. The production values are very VERY low. The whole story pretty much takes place in the nightclub run by vampires. Dull. I gave it two stars because the actors (except for Fernando Lamas) really give it a good try working with what they've got. Skip it, unless you absolutely MUST have every vampire or Fernando Lamas movie available.

Not enthralled.......2005-04-04

Blood Angels (aka Thralls) is a clone of a number of other bikini-clad vampire films - with a story-line very much like Embrace the Darkness II/Morgana/Blonde Heaven about a girl who goes to the big city to look for her sister who happens to be a vampire - or to be exact a "Thrall", in this film thralls are blood-suckers too, but with not quite the same powers as vampires.

They escape from their vampire master, set up a bar to host parties, and feed from muscled studs. There's only two 'sex' scenes with the most minimal amount of skin shown... except one case where there's very likely a body-double used.

Can the 'thralls' evade their vampire master for long? Will the hick country sister save her 'evil' sister? Why is it that she can blurt out to a complete stranger that her sister's a vampire, and he believes her instead of seeking medical help for her?

There are a very few interesting special effects, such as a vampire girl sticking her tongue about 15cms into the air (whether it's to 'taste' the air like a snake, or not, who knows, as she's not poking it out at anyone).

Average customer rating:

Pretty good, but flawed
Surprisingly good Polanski-esque horror film
Don't expect too much, unless you're looking for satanic orgies and bad acting.
Satanists, murders, and orgies - what more could you want?
"Anna is fascinated by all kinds of mysteries because to her reality is boring."

Satan's Blood
Starring: Ángel Aranda , Sandra Alberti , Mariana Karr , José María Guillén , and Manuel Pereiro
Director: Juan Piquer Simón , and Carlos Puerto
Manufacturer: Mondo Macabre
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ASIN: B000E6EK6A
Release Date: 2006-02-28

Description

Andy & Anna are bored and decide to go for a drive in the country. On the way they meet another couple who claim to know them from many years before. They agree to visit their country house and end up staying the night. A simple game with a Ouija board goes badly wrong and the evening begins to turn into a nightmare. Things get worse when Anna is attacked by a mysterious stranger. When Andy goes to investigate he finds that they have strayed into the clutches of a dangerous pair of psychopaths who are planning for them a fate worse than death. In 1970's Spain, certain films were released with an "S" classification - S for Sex. These were films with an unusually high number of scenes of sex & sadism. Satan's Blood was one of the first of these "S" films and is still one of the most notorious.

Customer Reviews:

Pretty good, but flawed.......2007-06-30

Satan's Blood is a mixed bag while there are some excellent and creepy moments there are also scenes that just sort of fall a bit flat. Satan's Blood really bothers me only because it had potential to be something great.

The movie opens up with a rather strange and twisted scene that doesn't seem to have any connection to the rest of the movie. Regardless the scene plays out well and helps set the tone.

After that the movie does slow down as we are introduced to the main characters in the movie. It does take a little while before anything major happens.

The biggest flaw of the movie is the script from writer/director Carlos Puerto. The great thing about the horror genre is you can get away with a sub-par script some of the time. You need something that can at least sort of keep things interesting.

The script actually wasn't bad, but it just doesn't really go anywhere. There were some pretty good ideas that if built upon would have really fleshed out the movie.

As a director Carlos Puerto fairs a lot better; while some scenes do lack tension others have it. First up the location is excellent and very isolated that is always a good thing. And the house is quite creepy. Even during the scenes in daylight the movie still has that creepy vibe.

Some scenes by Carlos Puerto might fall flat at times, but as a whole he is able to mostly get the job done. But Satan's Blood does border on straight up horror and camp. This flick isn't one of those so bad its good movies, but some scenes do border on that level.

Having such a great location really does add to the tone of the movie even if at times not everything works. There is also plenty of nudity and sex scenes, which sometimes is very much needed and Satan's Blood did benefit from that.

One thing that really works well in Satan's Blood is the sound; when the wind is blowing outside it really adds to the movie. And again that is what bothers me so much. Satan's Blood really had potential to be something great. I did very much enjoy the movie, but it could have been more.

Satan's Blood was produced by cult director Juan Piquer Simon best known for Pieces and Slugs. When you see his name and know his work you will probably expect something like those movies. But as I stated before Satan's Blood does border on camp at times, but it's in no way a so bad it's good movie.

Personally I would have loved to have seen what Juan Piquer Simon could have done with this movie; apparently he directed some scenes, but is un-credited.

In closing Satan's Blood is a mostly solid satanic flick that is elevated by great use of location. Some scenes work well and others fall flat at times. If you are a fan of European horror Satan's Blood might be worth watching.

Surprisingly good Polanski-esque horror film.......2007-05-23

This Spanish film was made not long after the demise of Franco, when censorship loosened up in Spain considerably. My sense is that this was basically intended as an exploitation flick, but the filmmakers had talent and imagination, and the result is a low-budget horror gem. Very well directed, replete with a sinister atmosphere reminiscent of Polanski films like THE TENANT and ROSEMARY'S BABY and some genuinely strange and creepy touches. A good horror film for viewers with brains and imagination.

Don't expect too much, unless you're looking for satanic orgies and bad acting........2007-03-04

"Satan's Blood" definitely has that foreign movie feel to it, but it really doesn't have much to offer except a lot of full frontal nudity, some odd Satanic sex scenes, and a poor attempt at a horror movie. This movie is not scary at all, but it does give you a look at an interpretation of the disgusting satanic rituals. The acting is predictably poor and the English dubbing isn't very convincing for sure. Overall, this is a very lackluster horror flick, notwithstanding when and where it was made. Of course, with a horror movie about satanism from Spain made in 1977, what should I expect? That being said, it's definitely not my cup of tea...thank goodness for ebay!

Satanists, murders, and orgies - what more could you want?.......2006-08-13

I hate to admit it, but the main reason I bought this movie is because of the cool art on the DVD case. But I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. Satan's Blood begins with a scene that can be described as pure exploitation. The opening scene is of a Black Mass. The room is decorated with a huge pentagram on a wall, and black candles light the room. A priest bows before the pentagram, and attends to a woman who has just been brought into the room. She is in a white dress, and everyone else are wearing black ceremonial robes. After a display of full-frontal female nudity, the priest stabs the woman in the back. But I can only assume he stabbed her, because it doesn't actually look like he stabs her. It looks like he slid the dagger underneath her back WITHOUT stabbing her. There are several other stabbings in the movie, and none of them look realistic. Regardless, it's safe to assume the woman was an unwilling human sacrifice. My other complaint about this scene is that the woman doesn't seem to mind being raped. Is a greater degree of realism too much to ask for from the filmmakers?

We are then introduced to the two main characters, Andres and Ana (Andy and Anna in the dubbed version), and their dog Blackie. Ana is four months pregnant. While driving around town they are stopped by another couple, Bruno and Berta (Bruno and Mary in the dubbed version). Bruno claims to have known Andres back in college, but Andres can't recall ever seeing him. Regardless, Andres and Ana agree to go to the mysterious couple's huge country house. Shortly after arriving, Blackie is barking loudly at a freezer, which leads the viewer to think the mysterious couple are hiding something in the freezer - especially when Berta menacingly says "Silence!" to Blackie, and he immediately falls silent. It quickly becomes apparent that the couple store meat in their freezer, after we see Berta hunched over a kitchen table, chomping loudly on a raw piece of flesh. The manner in which the mysterious couple eats is a sight that unnerved me.

One of the movie's highlights is when the two couples sit down to contact the dead. Instead of using a cheap Ouija board that any old department store would sell, the mysterious couple have a beautiful Ouija table! They just haul off the tablecloth, grab a fancy glass, and they're ready to communicate with the dead. But the Ouija reveals some deeply personal information about Ana, which upsets her greatly. You wouldn't think watching people use a 'talking board' (or in this case, a 'talking table') would be interesting, but it is in Satan's Blood. It helps ratchet up the suspense. Keep an eye out for the candle that mysteriously goes out by itself after the spirit spoke to Bruno! The second highlight of the film is an orgy scene. The dim-lighting, the roaring fire in the fireplace, and the ominous background music make the ritualistic orgy scene seem surreal, fascinating, and even frightening. And the picture of Jesus that bursts into flames makes for some incredible imagery. But it's hard to believe that Andres and Ana, who by chance have stumbled upon a naked Bruno and Berta in the middle of a Satanic ritual, would partake in an orgy with them. It's even harder to imagine they would after Berta spoke to them in a rather demonic voice (shortly before the orgy began). Perhaps they were too passive to refuse? Or curious? Or both?

There's lots of cool stuff in this movie. The opening credits show blood dripping, with some rather loud and frightening music playing - so simple, yet so cool. And it's cool how Bruno and Berta like to snarl when they have sex. It makes them seem sinister, and evil. And decades before the weird looking doll in Saw, there was the weird looking doll in Satan's Blood, which makes the same scream as Berta did at the end of a ritual. It's not as cool as the doll in Saw, but I'd say it's pretty cool. And just what was the doll's significance? Was it just thrown into the movie because it's cool? And the sight of the mutilated dog will disturb most people more than what the mysterious couple keep in their freezer. And the part where the doors are slamming shut is cool. And if you look closely you'll notice the squatter is seated at the Satanists' table. That's when it becomes apparent what their nefarious plan was from the very beginning. And in case you didn't figure it out then, it becomes crystal clear in the final scene on the street.

The dubbing for Satan's Blood isn't too great. The main problem I had with it was that the dubbed voice for Bruno sounded too goofy most of the time. It sounded like the new host of America's Funniest Home Videos provided the dubbed voice of Bruno. While the English dubbing wasn't terrible, you'll need to watch it with English subtitles to properly experience and enjoy the film.

The DVD also has an interesting documentary called The Devil's Disciples. Gavin Baddeley talks at length about the origins of the Black Mass, the impact of Aleister Crowley on our common perceptions of Satanism, and the creation of the Church of Satan by Anton LaVey. I found the differences between the devil-worship of yesteryear and modern Satanism to be quite interesting.

It's complicated movies like this where a director's commentary is a good thing to have. Unfortunately, Satan's Blood has no commentary track. I'd like to have someone explain what the significance of Andres' statement about a "feeling of emptiness" meant, supposing it was of any significance at all. And I also have no idea what's up with the weird doll. Regardless, this is a really good movie, and I recommend it.

"Anna is fascinated by all kinds of mysteries because to her reality is boring.".......2006-03-06

Satan's Blood (1977) aka Escalofrío is an interesting, low budget shocker more so because it was one of the first Spanish produced films to feature gratuitous scenes of nekkidness, something not heard of in Spanish cinema due to the strict censorship laws imposed on the film industry, which changed dramatically after the death of General Franco in 1975 (up until the 1970s it was more acceptable to have gallons of gore than it was a nekkid female form in a movie). Produced and co-directed by Juan Piquer Simón (Monster Island, Pieces, The Pod People), the film features a relatively small cast including Ángel Aranda (Planet of the Vampires), Sandra Alberti (What's a Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?), Mariana Karr, and José María Guillén.

The film begins with a black mass ritual, one featuring a group of men, clad in dark robes, carrying a young woman into a room and placing her on an alter before an older man. The older man proceeds to get all hands on with the woman, stripping her clothes off and rubbing his grubby mitts all over her supple, young form...while the rest of the men watch...lovely...cut to the credits...after the credits we meet a young couple named Anna and Andy, who live in the city. The couple are trying to decide what to do on their Saturday, settling on taking the dog for a walk, which segue ways into a doofy montage filled with all sorts of activity (even including a trip to the cinema, which just happens to be showing the original Star Wars, according to the marquee). Anyway, while returning home, the couple runs into another couple, named Bruno and Mary, and Bruno claims to have gone to school with Andy. Andy doesn't seem to recall, but the couple convinces Andy and Anna to return with them to their home for a drink. Turns out Bruno and Mary live in a creepy country estate way out in the boonies, furnished with odd accoutrements including black candles in the candelabras (a sure sign of evil). The foursome make with the chit chat until Mary breaks out the Ouija board, setting up for some creepy channeling. After the weirdness, Anna and Andy get talked into staying the night, as it's very late, and so the fun begins...their dog disappears, Anna gets attacked by a mysterious hobo lurking about the estate, and both Anna and Andy fall under the enchantment of the of the powers of Mary resulting in all four engaging in a session of oily group canoodling in the confines of a large, chalk pentagram in front of the fireplace. Night passes and Anna and Andy wake with no recollection of the events the night before (except perhaps for a slight soreness in some rather personal areas). They decide it's time to hit the bricks, but trouble with the car puts the kibosh on this plan (gee, it was working fine yesterday). The presence of evil intensifies, a few deaths occur, Andy flips out, and the house seems to have a mind of its own and plans for the young couple (and their dog).

I did enjoy this uncut, European version of the film, but that not to say it didn't have some serious flaws, the main one being the fact the story had a real lack of direction. It felt like there was a loose outline to the plot (the opening black mass sequence seemed to have nothing to do with the rest of the story other than its occult aspects), while most of it made up as the filmmakers went along. The story ends on a really strong note, making me wonder if perhaps this was what the rest of the film was built upon. One bit I found really annoying was the inclusion of the information early on that Anna was pregnant. Given the set up, I thought this would play heavily into the story, sort of a `Rosemary's Baby' type of scenario, but it never panned out. Why waste time bringing it up if you aren't going to exploit it? Because it allowed for the filmmakers to eat up some screen time...and that's what a lot of the story felt like...extended sequences whose only purpose was to pad out the running time (the whole Ouija/séance bit runs a solid seven minutes which is the equivalent of thirty minutes in real time). And what was up with the hobo, looking like an early French explorer in his knit hat, lurking around the estate, peeping through windows and such? Oh, he gets his comeuppance, to be sure...the funniest sequence in the film was when he attacked Anna as she wandered the house in the middle of the night, and she escapes his lustful advances with a knee to the gonsaticles (that's not to say I found the attack funny, but you have to see the bit afterwards, when he's walking away holding his aching jewels). I think while watching this movie I was supposed to develop a sense of sympathy for Anna and Andy, as their naiveté leads them into danger... naiveté...more like stupidity. A couple living in an isolate manor out in the country may not set off any warning bells, but what about all the black candles, the Ouija table, the extensive library on the occult, the large, chalk pentagram drawn on the floor in front of the fireplace? I don't care if the car doesn't start, or the telephones out of order...I'm hoofing it to the nearest town rather than stay in the devil house. Perhaps the most idiotic bit happened when Andy and Anna, watching from an upstairs window, spied Bruno fiddling under the hood of their car, and then react all surprised later on when their car doesn't start. All right, I've picked on the movie pretty well...so what did I like? Well, in terms of sleaze the film certainly didn't disappoint. All four main characters doff their clothes more than once, supplying us with copious amounts of all natural female full frontal, male bumcake, and even a few, brief sausage shots (the last two I could have done without, but whatever). Also the movie has a great deal of weirdness (check out the bits when Mary speaks in a tongue not her own and Mary and Bruno are `feeding'), followed by a great, twist type ending (I dug on the conspiracy angle), one that I sort of saw coming (it was telegraphed early on), but it was extremely fun nonetheless.

Mondo Macabro presents a strong, good-looking, anamorphic widescreen (1.66:1) picture on this DVD, along with a very solid Dolby Digital stereo audio track. Also provided is a choice between an English dubbed track, Spanish with English subtitles, and a Spanish only track. As far as extras, there's a bit of text written by Pete Tombs providing history for the film, placing into context of when it was originally released, a still gallery, an alternative opening sequence (one which tries to justify the amount of sleaze in the film), a featurette titled `The Devil's Disciples' featuring Gavin Baddeley, one of the world's foremost authorities on the occult, discussing Satanism in the 20th century, and a lengthy Mondo Macabro preview montage. Normally I'd probably rate this a three and a half star film, but given the obvious efforts by Mondo Macabro in terms of the DVD release, I have no problem given a four star rating overall.

Cookieman108

Vampires - Out for Blood (Widescreen Edition)

Average customer rating:

Good B-Movie hooey
0.5 STARS: Very amusing.
OK Vampire Flick
Too Expensive for nn OK Movie that is far less than it could have been!
OUT FOR CLICHÉS

Vampires - Out for Blood (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Kevin Dillon , Vanessa Angel , Jodi Lyn O'Keefe , Lance Henriksen , and Kenneth Colom
Director: Richard Brandes
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0006JMLUW
Release Date: 2005-02-15

Customer Reviews:

Good B-Movie hooey.......2007-05-31

After looking at some of the other reviews posted here, I wondered what do people really expect from a b-movie? B-movies are supposed to be fun and sometimes campy. But it seems some take things a little too seriously when it comes to a b-movie.

Being a vampire film, Vampires--Out For Blood immeadiately sets it boundaries around basic vampires lore...no relections, fear of the sun, stakes, etc. and proceeds into a typical tale of a guy mistakenly left alive after a vampire attack only to begin the transformation. There is nothing new in this movie, but it's all done with a sence of fun and energy. Lance Hendricksen turns in a very good preformance as the police captain.
Nothing ever really gets scary and it all seems to have been made tongue-in-cheek.

A fun b-movie romp that does just what a movie should do of this type: entertain

0.5 STARS: Very amusing........2006-07-09

"Vampires-Out for Blood" is not a good vampire movie, and certainly not a good horror movie. Kevin Dillon stars as a Detective who gets bitten by a vampire. He tries to resist the onset of vampirism. His ex-wife tries to help him, but her agenda is obscure to say the least. Basically, Kevin Dillon's character, Hank, attempts to find the head-vampire to kill him so that he can go back to normal. "Out for Blood" is a pathetic attempt at a horror movie or a vampire movie in my opinion. First, there is nothing scary about this flick...PERIOD! Yeah, you do get some fairly graphic kills in this movie, but that's not enough to make a good horror movie. "Out for Blood" has no style and no substance. The vampires look VERY LAME in my opinion, and the acting was atrocious in this flick!! I like Lance Henrikson and he did fine in his performance...so did Kevin Dillon I thought, but after that, there was a bunch of garbage no-name actors that were absolutely horrible, especially the actress that played the ex-wife, Susan. Also, the actors that played the vampires were pathetic to say the least. Now don't get me wrong, as I said in the title, this movie is very amusing, but it's not scary or horrifying in the slightest. If you find this movie scary, you must be an extraordinary wuss.

OK Vampire Flick.......2006-05-16

There's been quite a few vampire movies realeased in the past few years. Some are good(Blade, John Carpenter's Vampires), some are bad(The Horror Within, American Vampire) but Vampires: Out for Blood falls right in the middle.
It's got a decent B movie cast(Kevin Dillon & Lance Henricksen being the standouts) and a fairly typical but serviceable plotline(burned out cop searching for missing teen runs afoul of a group of vampires). Unfortunately nothing makes this film rise above the mass of other vampire films out there.
If you're compelled to see every vampire movie available, then I doubt you'll be disappointed. If you're looking for a new horror classic... keep looking. You're not gonna find it here.

Too Expensive for nn OK Movie that is far less than it could have been! .......2005-11-20

This is an OK movie on a bad day I have even called it lame. Having just seen the movie on SCI-FI this weekend made me revisit my way too hard opinion of this movie. Oh trust me it is still not a master work of vampire fiction to say the least but, I have seen much worse than this. Dracula 3000 springs immediately to mind. Compared to Dracula 3000, this Vampires - Out for Blood (Widescreen Edition) DVD is Oscar Worthy high art.

This vampire story has a well developed plot more than I can say about some really bad DVD's. I do not know how they managed it but ever one of the characters in this movie has a flakey aspect to their on screen persona that makes them feel unreal at best or slightly unhinged at worse. The fact that all the people in the DVD come across as slightly cracked bothered me at first because, it made the process of suspending logic to get into the movie more of a chore.

Seeing the movie this weekend taught me I was taking the movie too seriously. This movie is not one of those "Serious Vampire Thrillers". There is a very subtle well executed vein of comedy running throughout this movie for those sensitive enough to the human condition to detect it. Granted the weirdest humor in this movie is so slight it is barely discernable, it took me three viewings to catch the hidden humor in this film but it is for sure there.

Yes the cop hunting the vampires was an amazing lush. His ex-wife was played to ditzy California perfection from the very beginning of the film to its end. The king of the Vampires was a special effect that only the Irwin Allen super elastic bubble plastic monster designers guild could be proud of. I kind of liked the main character in the movie exactly because he was imperfect and sort of tragic in so many ways. The ending of this movie was particularly hilarious and I would not dare spoil it for you chaps here. Taken as a humorous but frightening flick this DVD deserves 3 to three and a half stars.

A more realistic king of the vampire's tighter more believable character development and in some cases slightly better writing would have made this a pretty good vampire movie. The core storyline was awesome it just was not carried out well as it could have been. All things considered it is NOT a bad DVD at all. Now that I have experienced some really bad Vampire movies I have revised my rating on this one to 3 well deserved stars. Is this the best vampire movie NO, but on a day when you just want to watch something mildly funny and scary this DVD fits the need to a T. I might be adding this DVD to my collection soon; it is way pricey for a merely average B-Movie but seeing how subtly funny this thing this past weekend has pushed me towards buying a copy before it goes out of print.

Best wishes to yawl from, WOLFY

OUT FOR CLICHÉS.......2005-06-22

Oh, what this movie could have been. Despite all of its big efforts, the end-result is still an uninspiring stereotypical take on vampirism. Kevin Dillon (little bro of Matt) plays a down on his luck cop who one night encounters blood-sucking vampires. He of course has a hard time convincing his boss, but not his best-selling author of the fangs ex-wife who helps him face evil. No surprises, no scares, no talent (except for Lance Henriksen as the boss cop and Jodi Lyn O'Keefe as the party girl vampire) help make OUT FOR BLOOD almost a totally D.O.A. experience. The entire production fails to deliver one slight of originality. From the automatic-pilot script to the brain-dead performance of Vanessa Angel (the ex-wife) to the awful-looking creature effects. Yet OUT FOR BLOOD has a sleek direction that includes a well-choreographed carousal of vampires/mortals flesh in an abandoned building. Richard Brandes may still have a career as a director if he wisely picks out his next project and stays away from the writing credits.-----Martin Boucher

Average customer rating:

"Doctor, you're a sterling character and a brilliant scientist but this cloak and dagger bit just isn't your bag."
Great Movie
Early Action Heroine: Liza Belmonte as Laida
Classic Drive-In Wonder, Okay DVD
DISAPPOINTING "BEAST".....

Beast of Blood
Starring: John Ashley , Celeste Yarnall , Eddie Garcia , Liza Belmonte , and Alfonso Carvajal (II)
Director: Eddie Romero
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00006LPDV
Release Date: 2002-11-05

Description

Returning to Blood Island, a ship catches fire and explodes after its crew is slaughtered by the gruesome half-dead, green-blooded Beast of Blood. The horrendous creature washes ashore and terrorizes the island inhabited by the mad Dr. Lorca (longtime Philippine star Eddie Garcia), who attaches heads to a hulking headless body and makes life miserable for our heroes, two-fisted John Ashley and beautiful Celeste Yarnall (of Elvis Presley movie fame). The couple journeys to the forbidden Valley of Doom, filled with Lorca's hideous failed experiments, where a monstrous climax explodes in a cataclysm of unforgettable horror!

Customer Reviews:

"Doctor, you're a sterling character and a brilliant scientist but this cloak and dagger bit just isn't your bag.".......2006-06-06

Where Brides of Blood (1968) was the first of the Blood Island trilogy of films, Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968) was the most popular, and this one, the third and final feature in the series titled Beast of Blood (1971) was actually the most successful, appearing in more venues and drawing in larger audiences due to the popularity of the previous two films. Produced, co-written, and directed by Eddie Romero (Mad Doctor of Blood Island, Brides of Blood, Beast of the Yellow Night), the film features John Ashley (High School Caesar, Muscle Beach Party, Hell On Wheels) and Celeste Yarnall (The Face of Eve, The Velvet Vampire). Also appearing is Eddie Garcia (Black Mamba, Sudden Death), Bruno Punzalan (Mad Doctor of Blood Island), and Beverly Miller (Beast of the Yellow Night), who also provided the story (a rather lame one at that, I might add).

Picking up directly where Mad Doctor of Blood Island left off we see Dr. Bill Foster (Ashley) on a ship heading away from Blood Island, but things go awry as the fungus man/beast with green blood and homicidal tendencies, who stowed away on the ship prior to its leaving, goes insane in the membrane (insane in the brain!), killing a number of crewmen with an axe before causing a fire that ultimately destroys the vessel. Both Bill and the creature escape, the former knocked unconscious and later rescued while the latter returns to the island, slightly crispier from the fire and soggier from the water. Sometime afterward we see Bill returning to the island (God knows why), along with a plucky reporter named Myra Russell (Yarnall) who's just itching to get the scoop on the not so groovy happenings on the island. The natives don't seem all that happy to see Bill, probably due to the fact that whenever he shows up, things tend to go down the tubes. If'n it were up to me, I'd probably kill his tainted ash and be done with it, but whatever...another thing I've noticed...there aren't as many attractive native women around as there was previously, probably due to the fact a good number of them were either killed of sacrificed in the past. Well, at least there is one that stands out, a slightly pudgy, scantily clad woman named Laida, whom I'm sure Ashley's character will get an opportunity to bag later on...anyway, events lead up to Bill discovering Dr. Lorca, played by Eddie Garcia here, along with his bald. Mute, machete-wielding manservant Razak (Punzalan), managed to survive the last film (a little worse for wear in Lorca's case as besides a limp, he now sports an eye patch and the entire left side of his face had been melted). Not only that, but he's been continuing his `green blood' experiments in a secret laboratory set in the mountains, having captured the fungus man after it washed up on the beach. Poor fungus man...not only is he singed and subsequently quite a bit funkier than before, but now Lorca has gone off and removed his head, keeping both parts alive while conducting vile and nasty experiments on various prisoners. Eventually Lorca kidnaps Myra, Bill mounts a rescue, yadda, yadda, yadda...

It's interesting as in the previous two Blood Island films, there wasn't so much an actual story, but a series of loosely connected events leading up to climatic finales. In Beast of Blood, there is a bit more of a structured story, so it's a little easier to follow, but the downside is so little actually happens. The film opens with a bang, followed by an excessive amount of tedium, capped off with decent ending. Seriously, so much time is spent watching the main characters traipsing around the jungle doing a whole lot of nothing. I was disappointed how little creature action there was in this movie, compared to the previous films...the main monster, who actually looks decent compared to the previous film, spends most of its time with its head on a tray and its body on a gurney, connected to an assortment of electronic gizmos (as I mentioned earlier, Lorca removed the head and managed to keep the separate parts alive). The creature make-up looks a bit more sophisticated than in the previous films, indicating perhaps a slightly larger budget was allocated, but, like I said, there's not much creature action, so it all felt a little pointless. You know what's really funny to me in these films is how Ashley, a poor man's Elvis (besides an actor, Ashley was also a rockabilly singer) was portrayed. Ashley was a modestly handsome man, I'll give him that, but if you were to believe the characters in these films you'd think no creature, woman nor beast, with a pair of ovaries was able to resist Ashley's manly charms, oozing machismo, mutton chop sideburns, and duck tailed hairdo ala Fonzie from the sitcom "Happy Days". Seriously, in each one of these movies he's got like at least two women throwing themselves at him, begging to be shagged by this 1950s throwback. Oddly enough, Bill declines to get it on with the busty native woman Laida (he probably saw how handy she was with a knife), but does manage to pull it together to put it to Myra (Ms.Yarnall had quite the attractive figure, and we do get to see a bit of it during the shagging aka bungle in the jungle sequence). As far as the gore content, there is some spurting blood as we see one hapless schmuck get tossed into a tiger trap (a hole covered in leaves, the bottom populated by sharpened, wooden stakes), while another gets riddled in the chest by a machine gunner with a twitchy finger (Lorca's mercenary army was less than capable). In another sequence we actually see Lorca in an operating room, cutting (more like hacking) into the flesh of something with a scalpel (it was meant to be a human, but I suspect it was a deceased goat). While entertaining, I just didn't get the overall sense of filthy fun I had gotten from the previous films. The potential was here (I liked the headless fungus man bits), but sans the sleaze this comes off as just another jungle adventure flick with the occasional appearance of a monster.

The restored picture, presented in fullscreen (1.33:1) format, on this Image Entertainment release looks very good. It does show signs of aging (some lines, white specking, etc.). The Dolby Digital mono audio comes through very well. As far as extras included, there's a short audio commentary track featuring distributor Sam Sherman, an interview with director Eddie Romero, an interview w/ Celeste Yarnell conducted by Sam Sherman, a `lost' opening sequence, a "House of Terror" live horror show promo, a still gallery, liner notes by Jim Arena, a Beast of Blood essay by Christopher William Koenig, and a trailer for this film, along with ones for Brides of Blood (1968), Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968), Brain of Blood (1972), Blood of the Vampires (1971), The Blood Drinkers (1966), Raiders of the Living Dead (1986), and Horror of the Blood Monster (1970).

Cookieman108

By the way, if you're interesting in getting this DVD release, I'd suggest trying to find the four DVD set titled The Blood Island Vacation, released by Image Entertainment, which includes the following...Brides of Blood (1968), Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968), Beast of Blood (1971), and Brain of Blood (1972). It appears significantly less expensive than buying the titles separately.

Great Movie.......2006-04-10

This is a great movie. It has everything:

pretty girls
tropical jungle setting
mad scientist
monster

What more can you ask for ?

John Ashley is starting to become one of my favorite actors. He looks like Elvis.

I didn't view the interview with the director.

Highly recommended.

Jeff Marzano

Recommended further viewing:

Horror Hotel
IT ! (The Terror From Beyond Space)
Invasion Of The Saucer Men
Not Of This Earth (original)
Phantasm
The Blob (with Steve McQueen)
The Brain That Wouldn't Die
The Flesh Eaters
The Fly / The Return Of The Fly / The Curse Of The Fly
The Four Skulls Of Jonathan Drake
The Hideous Sun Demon
The Hypnotic Eye
The Incredible Shrinking Man
The Indestructible Man
The Manster
The Thing (from another world)
The Thing That Couldn't Die
The Twilight Zone Collections

Early Action Heroine: Liza Belmonte as Laida.......2005-09-08

I first saw Eddie Romero's Filipino horror film "Beast of Blood" on TV, on a local station's late-night "Creature Feature" when I was in high school in the 1970s. The film was lots of fun -- if a bit cheesy in places -- and it stayed in my memory for 30 years or more. It did so for one reason: the saronged, machete-slashing character of Laida, played by Liza Belmonte. Because the movie inhabited my brain for so long -- and was embellished by my imagination as it did -- I've recently sought it out on DVD. Having now seen "Beast of Blood" again, I'd like to write something about it. Only I'm not sure if I want to write about the film that actually exists or the film as I remember it.

Although I can recall watching the TV shows "Honey West" and "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E." in the 1960s, I can't recall any images of female heroism from them. "Beast of Blood's" blade-flashing Laida was the first time I remember seeing a woman struggling against the bad guys as an equal with the male heroes. She wasn't just a damsel-in-distress allowed a single act of heroic agency (a role filled in "Beast of Blood" by Celeste Yarnall's Myra Russell). Instead, she was a woman warrior who stood shoulder to shoulder with her male comrades and who went into battle as unblinkingly as they did. As a teenager in the mid-1970s, I had never seen a character like this before.

I don't remember if it was because my local TV station had cut out her introductory scene or because I missed the beginning of the movie, but Laida seemed to come out of nowhere in the story. The purported hero of the movie, John Ashley's Bill Foster, is chasing one of the monsters through the jungle, when Laida steps out from behind the trees and slashes the baddie to bits. "Whoa," I remember thinking to myself, "where did she come from?" Laida riveted my attention for the rest of the film, as she totally overshadowed both Ashley and Yarnall. By the end of the movie, Laida was the most heroic character, dispatching the majority of the arch-villain's henchmen and freeing his prisoners.

Now that I've seen "Beast of Blood" again for the first time in 30 years, I realize just how different my memory of the movie has been from the movie itself. I remembered Laida as being a much more lithe figure, when in fact she's rather non-athletic. I remembered her dynamically leaping out of the jungle, when in fact her body movement is quite minimal for an action hero. I remembered her as being more fluent in English, when in fact Liza Belmonte seems to struggle with the language almost as much as Laida struggles with the bad guys. My mind had also blocked out that stupid floral lei that she wears around her neck in every scene. But the character still held my attention. She still easily outshone the two romantic leads, Ashley and Yarnall. Indeed, I was puzzled why the character wasn't called by a name at all during the film (I got the name "Laida" from a cast listing of the movie on another Internet site).

Needless to say, when I first saw "Beast of Blood," the TV station cut out its nudity, thus excising Laida's unsuccessful seduction of Foster. (In fact, there's more nudity in "Beast of Blood" than you would expect from a film rated PG.) This explained a later scene, where Foster tells Laida why he couldn't make love to her, a scene which seemed to come out of the blue without its censored set-up. But by putting Laida in the role -- however momentarily -- of Foster's love interest, "Beast of Blood" seems to be trying to rein in her hard-to-control female energy, and the scene seems forced. Strangely, Laida isn't a character in the film to which "Beast of Blood" is a sequel, 1969's "Mad Doctor of Blood Island."

I suppose that unflinching, no-nonsense heroines like Laida have become commonplace by now, from the vampire-slaying Buffy to Uma Thurman's Bride to super assassin Mrs. Smith: heroines who show off as much butt as they kick. But I hold a special place in my personal pop-culture pantheon for the woman who beat them to the punch (or at least to the machete slice). And I'm a little bewildered why more commentaries about "Beast of Blood" give the character such short shrift. In fact, I think it would be a terrific idea to make an action film today with a Laida-like character as its central heroine: a stoic-faced, blade-wielding, sarong-clad, cinnamon-skinned goddess of the jungle. Only this time around, the character could be played by a more athletic actress and given flashier fight choreography. And she wouldn't need a John Ashley to help her defeat the bad guys.

Classic Drive-In Wonder, Okay DVD.......2004-01-02

This no-budget wonder from Eddie Romero (The Orson Welles of the Phillipine Islands) and Hemisphere studios is a great throwback to the Drive-In era. 'Beast' is the third entry in the 'Blood Island' series (fourth if you count 'Terror is a Man'). This one has a well concieved monster, surprisingly gory kills (for its' day), 'mondo' jungle ambience, silly sub-Bond intrigue and yes, even some topless babes going for it. The DVD has some nice extras, but I do have some complaints. First, the print used for this DVD transfer is hurting. They claim it's been restored, but I just can't believe it. This thing's riddled with scratches and artifacting and is so dark in places, it's hard to make out what's going on. Also the commentary by the producer is a real snoozer. He goes on and on about the minutae of Hemisphere's history and repeats himself endlessly, not really giving much insight into the making of 'Beast'. That said, I got the impression that Image really was trying to do the best they could with this DVD and that's more than can be said of most genre DVD releases. Even with the drawbacks, this disk is a welcome addition to any schlock-fiend's library and I especially enjoyed the interview with Romero.

DISAPPOINTING "BEAST"............2002-12-11

Another entry in the Blood Island films, this one opens with a fanged monster bursting out of hiding on a cargo ship parked off the coast of Blood Island. The beast grabs an axe and slaughters the crew before the ship explodes in the melee. The sole human survivor, John Ashley, washes ashore as does the monster who ambles off into the jungle. Ashley determines to find and kill the beast but first he must locate the evil Dr.Lorca whose experiments in his island hideaway resulted in the beast as well as some murderous mutated natives. Intrepid reporter Celeste Yarnall comes along to get the scoop. She is kidnapped by Lorcas' henchmen and taken to the hideaway house. A chubby local native girl takes a shine to Ashley and helps him battle the henchmen through most of the middle of the film in the jungle. The beast doesn't show up again until the end when it's revealed Dr.Lorca is looking to give it a new head. Not as fun as "Brides of Blood" although there is a bit more gore and some topless shots of Yarnall and the chubby native girl. The photography is good to poor with some scenes tinted so dark it's hard to make out what's going on. Ashley is wooden as always and Yarnall is not much better but she is fetching in a sarong. I can only say see this if you're curious but there's not much "Beast of the Dead". Instead there's too much jungle action between Ashley and the henchmen.

Average customer rating:

Mixed Blood
Starring: Marília Pêra , Richard Ulacia , Linda Kerridge , Geraldine Smith , and Angel David
Director: Paul Morrissey
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000C20VKK
Release Date: 2006-02-21

Description

Manhattan is torn apart by a vicious gang war between underage, rival Latino and Brazilian gangs, with a German drug supplier caught in the middle. Quirky, thrilling, and unforgettable, this vivid, witty, and action-packed portrait of New York's mean streets from cult director Paul Morrissey (Heat, Blood for Dracula) influenced an entire generation of urban and gangster cinema.

Average customer rating:

A CLASSIC of Fear
Good looking and sexy, but not much depth
brilliance
This is some fine Spanish horror.
A sexy vampire, it is boring.

The Blood Spattered Bride
Starring: Simón Andreu , Maribel Martín , Alexandra Bastedo , Dean Selmier , and Ángel Lombarte
Director: Vicente Aranda
Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
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ASIN: 6305840016
Release Date: 2000-05-23

Amazon.com

Spanish cinema veteran Vicente Aranda, best known for such art-house fare as The Lovers and Libertarias, first hit the international scene in 1972 with this sexy vampire thriller. Simon Andreu is a young and inexperienced new bride whose violent nightmares are invaded by a mysterious woman in white. Her husband (Dean Selmier), who at first appears sensitive and consoling, has a tendency for rough lovemaking, and his practical jokes show a strange, sadistic streak. Andreu discovers a vandalized portrait of her husband's ancestor, Mircalla Karnstein, a young bride found a century ago lying next to her dead husband in a blood-soaked wedding dress. Mircalla's mysterious phantom soon emerges from Andreu's dreams and enters her world. This twist on Sheridan Le Fanu's story "Carmilla" (which also inspired Carl Dreyer's Vampyr and a host of erotic horror films in the 1970s) suggests that this vampire is less an agent of evil out to corrupt the innocent maiden than a physical manifestation of the maiden's own subconscious sexual fears and fantasies. The mysterious blood-spattered bride rises from her grave like an avenging devil. Her "official" entrance, buried naked on an empty beach and breathing through a snorkel, is one of the most memorable images in modern horror cinema. It seduces Andreu, too, unleashing her repressed psychosis in a bloody homicidal frenzy. Aranda's style is earthier than French or British vampire films, less a dream world than a world invaded by nightmares. It's handsome and accomplished--spooky, edgy, sexy, and startlingly violent. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

A CLASSIC of Fear.......2006-06-16

In tradition Spanish Horror movies. Not a ton of depth but enough action going on to keep you fully entertained.I really enjoyed this movie! It has every incrediate to be a CLASSIC.

Good looking and sexy, but not much depth.......2006-01-26

The Blood Spattered Bride is an easy film to enjoy aesthetically, but quite hard to appreciate plot-wise. The film concerns two young newlyweds whose lives are overturned by the arrival of a mysterious woman who proceeds to seduce the wife and cause general death and mayhem alll round. The film does look gorgeous, and both female leads, (Maribel Martin as the young wife, and Alexandra Basteda as the mysterious intruder) are very sensual and beautiful, even if for a lot of their screen time, they appear in silence or staring enigmatically into thin air, particularly in the case of Martin, who is required to take on an almost comatose blankness a lot of the time. I mentioned that the plot is a problem with this film, and as the character of Susan is pivotal to the story, it's often quite difficult to work out what's actually happening as this character is extremely reticent in demonstrating what she is thinking. Right at the start of the film, Susan is undressing on her wedding night, only to be raped in her hotel room by a masked attacker. When her husband finds her later and asks what is wrong, her only comment is: "I don't like this hotel"...!! What does this mean? Is she deeply traumatised, or not that upset, or was the whole attack just a fantasy? You wouldn't know either way, as the matter is never referred to again. Still more unusual is that Susan is definitely the heroine for the first half of the film, confused and isolated, and constantly pestered for sex by her sleazy husband (whose character is never fleshed out at all). She makes it clear that she is unhappy, yet carries on drifting through life in a semi-dazed state.

That is, until the character of Carmilla arrives on the scene. In one fell swoop, the unlikeable husband suddenly becomes the innocent victim in the proceedings, and the second half of the film charts his investigations into why Susan and Carmilla are spending more and more time together, and what they are plotting to do together. It's an odd switch to turn Susan into the villainess of the movie after making her so sympathetic in the early stages, but when I thought about it I realised that maybe Susan was never meant to be a sympathetic character, but instead her refusal to concede to her husband's sexual advances was designed to earmark her as the pervert instead of him...!

Well, I'll leave other viewers to work out their own explanations, but I found the overall tone of the film rather unpleasant if the solution to Carmilla's evil influence (at least Carmilla is unambiguously evil all the time!) was to lump poor Susan in as "evil" as well, rather than have the husband try and rescue her. That aside, I do appreciate the film on several other levels. It's gorgeously filmed, in many stunning locations, and it's full of many, many stylish touches. Look out for the recurring image of Carmilla's inverted rings, the ornate dagger that refuses to stay hidden, the bizarre discovery of Carmilla buried in sand, and the scene in which Susan locks herself in a large cage of fluttering birds to avoid her husband's advances. Plus the film has several moments of extreme violence, most noticeably a dream sequence in which both women stab and mutilate the husband while he sleeps. It's very gruesome, and the DVD has the the longest version of the scene I have ever witnessed among the various releases of this film. It also includes the notorious ending that was always cut on past video releases - however this is more infamous than graphic and very little is actually seen on screen. Animal lovers need to know that a live fox caught in a trap gets blasted with a shotgun at one point, which is the type of thing I hoped never to see again outside of the "cannibal" genre, but apart from that, all the violence is well intergrated into the story.
If you can forgive the meandering plot and main characters whose motives and emotions are hardly ever made visible, there's a lot to enjoy in this film. Alexandra Bastedo makes a superb Carmilla, and her designs on Susan are bewitching to watch. Add that to all the potent imagery on display and you can possibly forget the rather abrupt macho retribution that passes for the happy ending.

brilliance.......2003-10-05

yeah well, i wanted to watch it because of the genre and boy was I pleased!yeah it was good, didn't really get much of the plot, or anything else for that matter, kept my eye out for a bit of the..you know...action

This is some fine Spanish horror........2003-06-03

Aside from tombs of the Blind Dead/Return of the Blind Dead, there isn't much to choose from when it comes to horror from Spain. Blood Spattered Bride is one of the finest exports of the genre from Spain. It is a movie about revenge and pre-emptive revenge driven by the engines of rage, paranoia, male domination and female escape. Most of this movie achieves a dream-like sequence, and at times, stupor. There are never any boring moments, except for the love trysts in the first fifteen minutes of the film or so. My two favorite scenes are of Miralla's first appearance in our young bride, Andreu's, dream, and then of Mircalla's first corporeal manifestation . . . on a beach . . . naked . . . buried-and breathing through a snorkel! Aranda has succeeded in telling a very unsettling story about vampirism. By the end of the film, you will be so unsettled by the characters of Mircalla and Andreu that you really won't care whether there were vampires in the film in the first place, because you will have discovered far worse.

A sexy vampire, it is boring........2002-03-14

This is a one of Vampire film, which is not a brilliant and cruel horror work. However, it has a stable script and well-organized screen. Actually, it was not interesting, but it is a well-made horror film. I have no idea about the director of this film, I have never heard before, but it is worth to see. It has some specific scenes, which are erotic and sexy. If you like an erotic horror film, this film is good. Generally, it is nothing special, just using sexy vampire and pretty bride with lesbianism.

Average customer rating:

CREEPY "MORTHO" LIVES...On Dvd
GRAND OLD EUROSHOCKER.....
The Awful Dr. Orloff (DVD)
The Awful Dr. Orlof - DVD Review

The Awful Dr. Orlof
Starring: José Carlos Arévalo , Ángel Calero , Faustino Cornejo , Perla Cristal , and Félix Dafauce
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305907595
Release Date: 2000-07-04

Amazon.com

Jesús Franco, Spain's crazed cult auteur, had made a couple of features before The Awful Dr. Orloff, but this infamous thriller (reportedly Spain's first horror film) gave birth to Franco's brand of erotic horror and surreal madness. The story of a mad surgeon who kidnaps and disfigures beautiful showgirls in an attempt to restore the face of his scarred daughter is right out of George Franju's Eyes Without a Face. The style, however, is a mix of foggy Universal monster movies and sexed-up Hammer horror, which Franco pushes to the limits of Spain's 1960s censorship restrictions (and beyond). Gaunt, hollowed Howard Vernon plays the sadistic surgeon Orloff (a role he revived in a number of sequels), and Ricardo Valle dons a phony but freaky mask to play his grunting, blind, bug-eyed henchman, Morpho, who has a savage habit of taking a big bite of the victims.

It's a smooth, elegantly orchestrated thriller with handsome sets and vivid locations, and the fogbound cobblestone streets, dark alleys, and eerily empty mansions create a genuinely spooky ambiance. He also tosses in a wild, creepy, thoroughly modern experimental score. Franco went on to direct more than 150 films under a dozen pseudonyms, most of which make the brief flashes of flesh and perversity here look tame, but this trendsetting landmark is still considered one of his greatest. Image's new widescreen edition, mastered from a gorgeous French print, is reportedly restored but contains some abrupt transitions and jump cuts. --Sean Axmaker

Description

Spanish horror master Jess Franco's first international success. When beautiful music hall entertainers begin to disappear under mysterious circumstances, Inspector Tanner is summoned to investigate. His resourceful fiancee decides to help him by going undercover as a cabaret singer, and succeeds all too well, attracting the attention of the diabolical Dr. Orlof, who, with his blind henchman Morpho, is using the skin of slain women to restore the beauty of his disfigured sister, Melissa! "The Awful Dr. Orlof" is one of the last films of the 1960s to strike a genuine chord of Gothic horror reminiscent of the great classics of Universal, and the silent masterworks of Germany's UFA. Simultaneously, it strikes an underlying harmonic of progress and innovation, heralding a new age of erotic and sado-masochistic permissiveness within the genre.

Customer Reviews:

CREEPY "MORTHO" LIVES...On Dvd.......2003-01-12

When I was a boy they would show this movie very late saturday nights on TV and I'd stay up way past bedtime just to watch Gothic Horror Euro-movies like this and BLACK SUNDAY(a.k.a. "The Mask Of Satan")which terrified and scared me to death. I grew up, but I never forgot those two, amongst several other OLD gothic horror flicks I've been lucky to find on Dvd these past couple years. I always thought the terrifying "Mortho" was a vampire! All I know and have never been able to forget is that I was Mortho-fied with fear and terror at the site of him. I'd be so terrified laying in bed when the lights were out because I feared seeing his face on the ceiling if I opened my eyes. He still seems quite creepy after all these years. This movie is a CLASSIC of its genre and a 'must have' for collectors. It is a gem of a remaster in classic B&W, mostly filmed at night(it seems), nevertheless, it's a well made atmospheric movie. More of a "thriller" than a "horror" flick. Nice to have just for the memories of loving scary movies as a child...

GRAND OLD EUROSHOCKER............2002-10-30

I love this movie. Awful acting and all. There's atmosphere to spare and a morbid story that moves. A mad surgeon uses his disfigured mind-controlled "slave"---Morpho---to kidnap women to use in fiendish skin graft experiments to restore the ruined face of his beloved daughter. Set at the turn-of-the-century, his laboratory is the basement of an old castle surrounded by a moat. In this European version, there's a few [breast]shots here and there. But it's the delirium of the entire movie that keeps me going. Hysterically awful at times but so lovable as a relic of a bygone genre that I have to rate it high. The music is a cacophonus clanging that just adds to the lurid aura of Morpho stalking the women as his "master" waits nearby. Delicious b&w photography is preserved wonderfully on DVD. Jess Franco was noted for his sexy shockers but this is my favorite of them all. Dubbing is bad and this works just fine as well in making this a true-blue "Euroshocker" that to me defines itself.

The Awful Dr. Orloff (DVD).......2001-03-07

This movie reminds me some what of Lugosi's "Human Monster", but it really doesn't measure up. Somewhat atmospheric, but there really isn't much entertainment value here. If you find dubbed audio tracks distracting, then forget this one.

The Awful Dr. Orlof - DVD Review.......2000-07-08

STORY: When beautiful music hall entertainers begin to disappear under mysterious circumstances, Inspector Tanner is summoned to investigate. His resourceful fiancée decides to help him by attracting the attention of the diabolical Dr. Orlof -- who, with his blind henchman, Morpho, is using the skin of slain women to restore the beauty of his disfigured sister, Melissa!

PICTURE: 4/5 Image has given Jess Franco's "The Awful Dr. Orlof" a nice looking transfer at 1.66:1. The picture is sharp and blacks look good and solid, but in some scenes the blacks look a little on the gray side. I saw 3 vertical lines on the print and i did not notice any film grain. To spite a couple of flaws on the print, I think the picture looks the best the film will ever look.

SOUND: 3/5 The sound is 1.0 Mono English and French. The english track sounds good and clear, but i heard a couple of pops and the track distorts sometime when the music comes on. Overall, not a bad sounding track for a 26 year old film.

EXTRAS: 2/5 This is where the disc is a let down. You get not thing. But you do get some great liner notes from Tim Lucas.

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