Blood Feast

The notorious video nasties list enforced on the U.K during the 1980’s, supplied horror fans the world over with a collection of must see titles. I’ve recently been working my way through the list, watching movies I wouldn’t have heard of if not for all the unnecessary fuss made about them. As expected, some of these films are atrocious and occasionally challenge the threshold of my trash tolerance and endurance levels. In these instances, the banned list may have retrospectively prevented 90 minutes worth of wasted life, however some of them are very good, and would have achieved greater success if not for the overprotective, domineering silliness demanded by the powers that be. But whichever way you look at it, these films are now highly sought after, and have been immortalized by the very people who tried to keep them from us.

           

Blood Feast, a film directed and co-written by Hershell Gordon Lewis, is commonly known as the grandfather of slasher films. Lewis is widely seen as the first director brave enough to effectively exploit gore, subsequently creating a new cinematic genre in the process. His innovation caused all kinds of controversy within the industry and unwelcome head aches for movie censors, but without Blood Feast, the slasher genre and many others closely related, would not exist.

Before making horror films, the team of Lewis and writer David F. Friedman, produced a series of harmless soft core pornography films. Titles such as The Prime Time, Living Venus and B-O-I-N-G amongst others, became stylistically known as nudie-cutie pictures. After moving on from this genre and into the horror he became known for, Lewis was still quite clearly fixated on the idea of including voluptuous female actors/models in his pictures. Unfortunately, these female roles generally attempted to disguise their lack of acting ability with more makeup and shinier hair, but whilst that might work in a brothel, it didn’t effectively translate to the screen. This idea of placing beautiful semi nude women in grotesque gore fuelled situations, sprouted the term gornography, which I think is hilarious.

In 1963 when this movie was released, character deaths within cinema were very tame. Maybe a trickle of blood would run from the mouth of the victim, or maybe even a hand clasped tightly against a gunshot wounded chest. Herschell Gordon Lewis set out to change that.

Like many directors of horror, Lewis built his films around death and mutilation scenes. These stomach turning images synonymous with Lewis’s pictures, are dwelled on for painstakingly long amounts of time, and just when you think its all over, we see it again. Close ups of organs being ripped out of bodies, heads being cracked open like coconuts spilling brain all over the floor. Then we’d maybe have a different camera angle of the same action, followed by another, and another, and then the first shot repeated but in slow motion. These vicious scenes go on and on, which was in itself an innovation of the time, for no longer would the visual trickle of blood be an acceptable representation of death……. within the horror genre at least. If at any point an audience of these movies couldn’t help but turn away from their screen in disgust, or gag, or wretch, or turn pale from what they had seen, Lewis had achieved what he set out to do.

Blood Feast cannot be overlooked because of its importance within the horror genre, but my one criticism is that of the cast, as most of them were not actors. Used as a means of saving money, or because they looked nice, dialogue between actors not familiar with the art of acting, can sometimes be a bit brutal to watch. But on the other hand, the bad acting and unrealistically beautiful women, somehow adds to the charm of these pictures, and without these potentially negative characteristics, these films may not have emanated that certain unusual air we have become familiar with.

The storyline is strange, focusing on a madman called Faud Ramses who is obsessed with Egyptian rituals and sacrificial ceremonies. In order for Ishtar the Egyptian goddess of blood to be resurrected, Ramses has to acquire certain body parts and organs from young women, and prepare them for a ceremonial blood feast. He also has to sacrifice a young woman at the same time as presenting the finished meal; it’s a bit weird.

I thought a lot of the special effects were quite convincing and very graphic, although the local butcher’s leftovers were quite obviously put into good use during the making of this film. The scene in which a young lady has her tongue pulled out has been executed very effectively, but on closer inspection, I did notice her real tongue discreetly pushing the red gelatin out of her mouth. It worked though; not many horror films can make me feel squeamish but this one somehow managed it. Even though I’m fully aware that the offal and animal organs used do not belong to the victims in the film, the idea of them originating from a living being has a different effect on me.

Blood Feast is a good film but not Lewis’s best work by any means. I’d recommend watching 2,000 Maniacs before this one, just to ease you in.

7/10