I Drink Your Blood (1970)
By: David Michael Brown on February 3, 2005.
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| Umbrella Entertainment (Australia). All Regions, PAL. 4:3. English DD 2.0. 83 minutes |
| The Movie |
| Cover Art |
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| Credits |
Director: David. E.
Durston
Starring: Bhaskar, Jadine
Wong, Rhonda Fultz, George Patterson
Screenplay: Clay Pitts
Tagline: "Satanic
Hippies on a Holiday to Hell!"
Country: USA |
All you need to know about I Drink
Your Blood is that it's a Jerry
Gross Production and it was originally released
in a double bill with I Eat Your Skin;
it's a guarantee of debatable quality. The
film is a low budget grindhouse trash classic
and delivers sex, drugs and violence in spades.
A gang of satanic hippies are wild for kicks
and looking for salacious fun. Passing through
a small village they torment an old man by slipping
the old timer numerous tabs of acid. His grandson
is not happy and realises what all these drug-crazed
hippies will want on their comedown - a good meat
pie. The thing is he injects these pies with the
blood of a dead rabid dog and luckily for the
boy these hippies aren't vegetarians. They
devour the feast and before you know it they are
frothing at the mouth and biting anyone they can
grab hold of.
Everything in I Drink Your Blood is over the top. The acting is dreadful and the
blood is everywhere albeit in that classic low
budget Seventies kind of way. Saying that its
not quite as over-the-top as the packaging states.
It proudly boasts that I Drink Your Blood was the first ever film in the states rated "X"
for violence.
The dialogue is a scream and the soundtrack is
synthesiser hell but it doesn't matter.
The film is one of those "so bad its good"
movies and was the debut feature for Lynn Lowry
who later starred in Romero's similarly
themed The Crazies, Cronenberg's Shivers and Paul Schrader's Cat People remake; she played
the hooker who is mauled by the cat at the beginning
of the movie.
Enjoyable trash from beginning to end, it's
the type of film made with a particular audience
in mind. Those who love this stuff will love it,
you know who you are. Everyone else will think
its poorly made rubbish, but what do they know? |
| Video |
| The video transfer is ok, the film is cheap and
old so I was never expecting too much. The print
is relatively clean but is a bit grainy in places.
I haven't seen the US version to compare but
this is probably the best version we'll see
of I Drink Your Blood. |
| Audio |
| The stereo Dolby mix is as good as can be expected
for a film of this budget, pleasant to the ears
but nothing special. |
| Extra Features |
A great set of extras accompanies the main
feature which as far as I can see pretty much
mirrors those on the US disc. Director David.
E. Durston and one of the films stars Bhaskar
give a fun running commentary. Durston also hosts
a fun look back at the making of the film entitled
the "I Drink Your Blood Show" featuring
new interviews with the cast including Lynn Lowry
"I Played a mute hippy on acid with rabies!
Oh and I cut off a ladies hand with an electric
carving knife" and Barney Cohen, the man
who named the movie. The interviews seem to take
place in Durstons back garden and are more a friendly
chat full of hilarious anecdotes.
We then get four deleted scenes including the
original downbeat ending that the sleeves hyperbole
states was too disturbing for Seventies audiences.
The shock may have lessened with time but you
could imagine audiences freaking out if it had
been left in. Umbrella also throw in out-takes,
a stills gallery, the trailer and a radio spot.
Their usual bit of self-promotion ends a fine
selection of extras. |
| The Verdict |
| A nicely put together disc with an excellent set
of extras; the exuberance of the performers on screen
and in the extras show a crew dedicated to bringing
us a trash classic and for that we should love them.
Well worth picking up if you don't already
have the import disc. |
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