Review: Ceremonia Sangrienta ("The Legend of Blood Castle", 1973, Jorge Grau)

The Marchioness Bathory, a descendant of the legendary, cruel Countess Bathory of late 16th century Hungary, is struggling with her age and loneliness, while on the outside the villagers are kept on their toes by what appears to be vampirism killing the people. She develops ideas similar to those of her infamous ancestor, and soon some local girls go missing...

The blood runs in rivers in "Ceremonia Sangrienta", and justice will be spoken, thoroughly.

"The Legend of Blood Castle" aka "Blood Ceremony" (which is the literal translation of the original Spanish title) is a very loose variation of the actual historical story of Countess Bathory, who presumably killed a lot of young women. It's a low-, or, given the context, maybe mid-budget gothic horror movie with a fictional story that plays out a bit like a historical drama.

Director Jorge Grau, who would later go on to create great zombie-flick "The Living Dead At Manchester Morgue" (1974), really shows what he's capable of in this movie. From the time frame and content, one might expect a more flashy movie on first sight, like most Italian gothic horror movies are, but "Ceremonia Sangrienta" is a tad more moderate in pacing, and remarkably precise in direction and editing. It is flashy, but equal attention has been given to telling the story in a serious and tasteful way. 

Tasteful, of course, might be a bit of a stretch for the "normal" viewer - there's plenty of gore, cruelty, corpses, and nudity. And it doesn't fall flat on its face. Not only is the exploitative element more or less effective for what it is, but it's also carried by the movie's very convincing storytelling, serious acting, and some amazing finesse in editing and composition that shows up here and there. 

There is a particularly nice sequence, in which one of the victims appears in a nightmarish vision, that is lighted, edited and acted to perfection, and gives you the creeps. Did "Ceremonia Sangrienta" anticipate bits from "The Exorcist" (1973) and "It's Alive" (1974) here?

Also nice, and oftentimes a part of Spanish films, are strong female characters. It isn't as obvious as in, let's say "Death Walks On High Heels" (1971), but there are plenty of moments in "Ceremonia Sangrienta" where a female character is less two-dimensional than expected from such a kind of movie, with some nice dialogue or acting. Especially Lucia Bose, playing the lead role, gives a great, sometimes genuinely captivating performance.

The horror in "Ceremonia Sangrienta" doesn't 100% come from the dark shadows, hidden passages and cobwebs, so it might not be 100% "gothic horror" in a cinematic sense. But it's still gothic enough to satisfy in that regard, and it adds some giallo moments alongside the (fictional) "history horror".

The end result is a nice shocker, with some weaker moments, but far more brilliant ones. The devil, they say, is in the detail. In this case, the art is in the detail. "Ceremonia Sangrienta" is basically just low-cost default material - used pretty much to perfection. Money doesn't make good movies. Good work does.

Verdict: Wow, it's very solid! 7/10

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068352/

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceremonia_sangrienta (spanish)

Trailer video:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6tRmfPIegQ

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Udo Kier dead at 81

Cult-icon actor Udo Kier passed away just yesterday.

He played in every kind of movie, from horror-schlocks "Mark Of The Devil" (1970) and "Flesh For Frankenstein" (1973), to R. W. Fassbinder's drama "Lili Marleen" (1981), to blockbuster "Ace Ventura" (1994) with Jim Carrey, to "Barb Wire" (1996) with Pamela Anderson, to Rob Zombie's "Halloween" and Dario Argento's "Mother Of Tears" (both 2007), and many, many more. Udo Kier took on many roles, big and small, demanding and trivial, and was never afraid to lend his talent to both very commercial, major productions, as well as low-budget and niche films. Through his varied work, he became a highly respected actor, and beloved cult-icon with a unique screen presence, the successful fusion of personality, independence, art, elegance, skills, and commerce. 

Udo Kier in "BloodRayne" (2005)

Udo Kierspe (Oct. 14, 1944 - Nov. 23, 2025)

R.I.P.

Streaming Kino: The Revenge Of Frankenstein (1958) - Peter Cushing, Terence Fisher

The first sequel to Hammer films' successful "Curse Of Frankenstein" (1957), also directed by Terence Fisher, and equally entertaining.

"The Revenge Of Frankenstein", featuring Peter Cushing, Francis Matthews and Eunice Gayson, continues the story of Baron Frankenstein's attempts to create life, and expands it here and there. It's a classic of horror cinema just like its 1957 predecessor, with a great performance by Peter Cushing, nice British understatement, dedication to detail, precise direction, and some exciting scientifically (in)correct monster moments. Beautiful, creepy Hammer horror!

Watch "The Revenge Of Frankenstein" (1958):

video source:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbH0oL21W1s

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More information about "The Revenge Of Frankenstein" (1958):

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050894/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Revenge_of_Frankenstein

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Review: Blood Sucking Freaks (1976, Joel M. Reed)

Master Sardu runs a very questionable theater, in which acts of torture are re-enacted on stage. Critics doubt his artistic intentions and achievement - and indeed the show isn't quite what it claims to be...

Oh my. We are kidding, aren't we? Well, ultimately, the answer just has to be yes, we are kidding - but first let's get a couple of things straight.

"Blood Sucking Freaks" is a cheap and very nasty little oldskool splatter movie from the 1970s. It's outrageously tasteless, sleazy, and gory. It easily rivals Jess Franco's mediocre (=bad) movies, maybe even his bad (=unwatchable) ones. But with much more gore. It makes no attempts at gritty realism, it's a reasonably proper low-budget movie, but what is visually going on looks more like an amateur school play with cheap prosthetics. There is a bit of a story in it, but about 90% of the screen time are devoted to little, hardly elaborate, build ups to, and depictions of, some sort of physical (gory) torture. When you're done watching the movie, you kind of wonder: Why the effort? Why the violence? What was this?

So, very clearly, "Blood Sucking Freaks" will offend a lot of people, in fact everyone, including horror film geeks. There's less storytelling in it than in a Herschell Gordon Lewis splatter movie, but the level of depravity is easily on par with "Two Thousand Maniacs!" (1964), if not higher. It has no strong character moments, no notable rhythm, neither in dialogue nor in structure, and the gore scenes pretty much neutralize each other, it's a more or less indifferent row of scenes with talking, and cutting limbs. (Yeah, it's gory.)

Having said all of this, one has to admit: It's hilarious. Some people had a lot of fun making this. It's really like children's play, only by and for hardly grown up grown-ups. It's so blunt and crude, and there's even a little hint at some self-aware subtext in there, that one can't deny it says... something. In fact, with some good-will effort, one could say it has moments where it makes a pretty good point about what it actually is, both in form and in content. An idea similar to the background of "Cannibal Holocaust" (1980), or "Natural Born Killers" (1994) - but waaaaaay (!) more simplistic and crude. So, there might be even a certain cathartic quality to "Blood Sucking Freaks", in one way or another, but it's highly questionable if this was the director's intention, and it's certainly anything but nuanced or subtle about it. (Definitely gory.) 

Well. What can you say. Obviously, this movie is not to be taken verbatim. It has a hint of atmosphere, it has a hint of charm, and a hint at a message - but it's nowhere near what is commonly known as a "good movie", regardless of budget. It's blunt, bad, nasty grindhouse(-basement), very-low-budget filmmaking for desensitized oldskool gorehounds. If you like that kind of stuff, you get the full package. The average audience will probably just vomit, not only because of the amount of gore, but also because it feels cheap, base and pointless.

It is up to the viewer to find out if watching "Blood Sucking Freaks" might turn out to be a funny or cathartic experience - but one thing is for sure: by common standards, in every regard, you most likely don't want to.

Verdict: It's sick. Whatever that may mean to you. 4/10  

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077247/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Sucking_Freaks

Trailer Video:

Sorry, no trailer video. It's a little too much, it might brake blog provider's rules.

But you can find it on the IMDB page, and here:
https://archive.org/details/TRAILERBLOODSUCKINGFREAKS

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Streaming Kino: The 39 Steps (1935) - Alfred Hitchcock

One of grandmaster Alfred Hitchcock's earlier movies - and a real fun one.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - or maybe it's in the hands of the creator. Alfred Hitchcock has basically created beautiful movies throughout. Some might be a little more on the dark side, but all of them are charming, interesting, and exciting. "The 39 Steps" is a great mystery thriller that's more on the bright side of life, and it just oozes hitchcockian pep, natural charm, and suspense. Some of the more improvised looking scenes will probably put a particularly broad smile on your face.

Watch "The 39 Steps" (1935):

video source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-87HNuGmWM

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More information about "The 39 Steps" (1935):

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026029/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_39_Steps_(1935_film)

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Review: Demoni 2 ("Demons 2", 1986, Lamberto Bava)

The battle was won. But humankind was never really safe. Someone makes a tiny mistake, and all hell breaks loose - again!

Yes, yes, and yes. We wanted more, and we got more. If you've seen the first "Demoni", then you pretty much know what the second one is all about. Who needs characters, when you can have hordes of scary, raging demons?

Cinema theatre was yesterday, now we have concrete apartment blocks and video tape. "Demoni 2" changes a couple of parameters, but otherwise uses the same recipe as "Demoni": Overdrive! The way it ties in with the original movie is very nicely done, and stylistically there isn't much of a difference. The good thing about "Demoni" and "Demoni 2" is that you get exactly what you paid for. It's wild, unhinged, in your face, loud, heavy metal, gory, slimy, gothic, demonic, hellish. 

"Demoni" wasn't a particularly intellectual experience, and "Demoni 2" is even less thought-provoking. It was never about deep psychology or evoking the viewer's forgotten traumata (or... was it?), but the second coming of the demons feels a little less charming, a little more wilful and off-the-shelf, lacking some of the quirkier quirks of the first one, so it maybe gets a little more lost in just blind activism.

But that doesn't mean it's boring. Oh no, far from it. The gore and nasty demons and everything is awesome as always, there are shiny muscles a-plenty, there's nice heavy metal music that's half adequate, and half irritating, and "Demoni 2" even manages to find a couple of new, inventive variations of the fantastic presentation of the titular monsters, using light and shadow, and a TV screen, to great, sometimes spectacular effect.

If you liked "Demoni", then "Demoni 2" is a no-brainer. If you didn't, you probably won't like "Demoni 2", too. If you've seen neither of the two, it doesn't really matter too much which one you watch first. Both "Demoni" are (almost) equally enjoyable, because the pacing and the visuals speak loudly and clearly for themselves, as does the music, and the first part also works nicely as a flashback-sequel to the second part. Just remember: It's for your guts, not your brain.

Verdict: We're not done yet! 7/10

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090930/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demons_2

Trailer video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGQoXTy83lM

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Streaming Kino: Carnival Of Souls (1962)

Herk Harvey's only feature-length directorial work is a weird, obscure little gem, that has gained a little cult following over the years. 

It's about Mary, who has a car accident that changes her life... It's a unique low-budget movie that maybe has a little flaw or two in storytelling, but also has "creativity!" and "vision!" written all over it. Its undead-ish modern-day "monsters" and occasional expressionist visuals predate some of the ideas seen in George A. Romero's "Night Of The Living Dead" (1968), and were influential on a number of filmmakers. The otherworldly mood of "Carnival Of Souls" is pretty much unmatched to this day. If you're a horror film geek, or film historian, it's a must-watch anyway. If you're not, just let yourself sink into the carnival, and enjoy the chills!

Watch "Carnival Of Souls" (1962):

video source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDfe-QHeUQo

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More information about "Carnival Of Souls" (1962):
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055830/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_of_Souls

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