A Quick Look: BLOOD FEAST (1963 - color)

   I admit it isn't overly obvious what's going on in the above shot, but I chose it because Connie Mason's wardrobe for this scene was absolutely adorable. Also, there aren't a lot of shots from BLOOD FEAST that I could get away with posting. BLOOD FEAST, you see, was the first "gore" film, though it had the bonus of sporting an actual plot. Legend has it that producer/director Herschell Gordon Lewis was watching television one day, while wondering what to do for his next picture. Seeing a character on the tube get shot down (by a tommygun, if I remember correctly), Lewis thought to himself that the guy would be spurting like a geyser in real life. Thus, inspiration hit and in short order came a movie which openly used blood and guts for horror effect -which in 1963 was quite revolutionary. The story told of how the police were trying to hunt down a mutilation killer which turns out to be a mad caterer who belongs to an ancient Egyptian blood cult. He's been gathering the ingredients needed to celebrate the anniversary of his goddess, and the last item he needs is the girlfriend of the plainclothesman closing in on him. Although the color is gorgeous, the production is pretty threadbare. The acting ranges from clumsy to hysterical and every level in between. The star is Bill Kerwin (under the name of Thomas Wood), who is a pretty good leading man -though Lewis continued to hire him simply because the actor helped the crew in moving lights and such! Connie Mason, recent Playmate, plays the girl. She's pretty (and again, a knockout in her pink party dress, white opera gloves, and blonde ponytail), but can't act at all. Here, she'd easily be outdone by a ten year old in a school play. She must've taken some acting lessons, though, because she puts in a pretty good performance in Lewis' follow-up gore film, TWO THOUSAND MANIACS. Though a stingy production, BLOOD FEAST does have the advantage of a novel story and pretty imaginative climax. Poor execution aside, the film was certainly different, and it was a massive hit for Lewis. A new genre was born, but the Gore film really didn't find it's legs until the 70's. This early example remains more a novelty picture.

   Probably the last thing anyone expected from the newly introduced "gore" genre, was that it's second entry would be a legitimately good film. Flush with the success of BLOOD FEAST, Herschell Gordon Lewis and his partner David F. Friedman decided to actually put some production value into TWO THOUSAND MANIACS. (Major SPOILERS ahead.) The story tells of motorists detoured into a somewhat off-kilter Southern town where the strangers are proclaimed special guests of the town's centennial celebration. Turns out the locals want to use the visitors in a series of "games" which end in their horrific mutilation and death. Bill Kerwin and Connie Mason manage to get suspicious early enough to escape, only to discover that the town doesn't actually exist! In a Twilight Zone-ish twist, the townsfolk are actually the ghosts of a township that was slaughtered by Union soldiers at the end of the Civil War, and they get their revenge every hundred years by killing Yankees! Surprisingly strong film, with gorgeous color. The Something Weird Video DVD release features a commentary track from the men responsible, and it's a priceless listen for anyone interested in the production of low-budget film.