#424. Color Me Blood Red (1965)

Directed By: Herschell Gordon Lewis

Starring: Gordon Oas-Heim, Candi Conder, Elyn Warner



Tag line: "A Blood-Splattered Study in the Macabre"

Trivia:  Director Herschell Gordon Lewis cited Roger Corman's A Bucket of Blood (1959) as the main inspiration for Color Me Blood Red

Color Me Blood Red is the final entry in director Herschell Gordon Lewis' Blood Trilogy (after Blood Feast and Two Thousand Maniacs!), and like many of the director's more popular films, this one weaves the tale of a psychotic killer driven by his obsession to spill blood. What makes Color Me Blood Red different from the others is that, this time out, we're witnesses to the lead character's descent into madness. 

Adam Sorg (played by Gordon Oas-Heim under the pseudonym Don Joseph) is a mildly successful artist who teeters on the edge of greatness, yet lacks that “certain something” to make his paintings truly unique. While on a retreat at his beach side home, Sorg encounters the inspiration he so badly needs when his girlfriend, Gigi (Elyn Warner), accidentally cuts her finger on a broken picture frame. 

Hypnotized by the sight of blood on canvas, Sorg sets out to paint his masterpiece, but requires an unlimited supply of hemoglobin to do so. Spurred by his desire to create, he now has to obtain the necessary blood, even if it means finding prospective “doners” who aren't exactly willing to help. 

At the outset of Color Me Blood Red, Adam Sorg is many things: an arrogant hot-head who doesn't take criticism very well; a flamboyant artist who enjoys degrading his live-in girlfriend; and a man who generally loathes others, especially if he must rely on them for his very survival (he is constantly rude to Farnsworth, the art dealer who regularly displays his work). 

One thing Sorg is not, however, is a killer. That comes later, after he's mesmerized by a crimson trail of streaked blood, a color he is unable to duplicate artificially. For a time, the temperamental artist tries relying on his own blood for his art (a scene in which he continuously cuts his own fingers is tough to watch) before turning his attention elsewhere. 

When he finally does cross that line into murder, it weighs heavy on him. His first “blood” painting is hailed a masterpiece by art critic Gregorovich (William Harris), and Mrs. Carter (Iris Marshall), a rich patron of Farnsworth's studio, is willing to pay as much as $15,000 for it. But Sorg refuses to sell. The memory of what he'd done to create it is far too much for him, and to profit from his actions is unthinkable. 

Color Me Blood Red may not feature as much gore as some of Lewis' other films, but what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. Along with a knife to the head and another death by harpoon, Color Me Blood Red gives us a particularly gruesome image, arguably one of the most gruesome in Lewis' filmography: a murdered young girl tied to a wall, her intestines hanging out, with Sorg milking blood from the entrails to finish his painting. 

It's a dose of grisly brilliance, one that does its part in making Color Me Blood Red the perfect film to round out a memorable trilogy.

#229. Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964)

DVD Synopsis: The TWO THOUSAND MANIACS of a small town celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Civil War by forcing a handful of Northerners to serve as "guests" for a variety of macabre, blood-crazed fun and games. The festivities include a screaming man placed in a rolling barrel lined with nails, a hit-the-bull's-eye carnival game with a pretty gal and a boulder, and a blonde sexpot whose arm is hacked off and barbecued! But before they can slaughter the only smart Yank (Thomas Wood), he and the lovely Terry Adams (Connie Mason, "Playboy's Favorite Playmate") try to escape...

Two Thousand Maniacs! is the second entry in what's become known as director Herschell Gordon Lewis' “Blood Trilogy”. Released one year after the groundbreaking Blood Feast, Two Thousand Maniacs! honors the gory tradition of it's predecessor, only this time, instead of a lone homicidal maniac, we're treated to an entire town of bloodthirsty killers!

The citizens of Pleasant Valley, a quaint southern community, are preparing for their Centennial anniversary. Before they can officially kick off the festivities, however, they need a handful of northerners to join in on the fun. 

Setting up fake detour signs on the main highway, they lure six "Yankees” into town, all of whom are informed that they will be the town's honored guests. What these six don't realize, however, is that Pleasant Valley is a town with a tragic past.

Exactly one hundred years earlier, when the American Civil War was still raging, Northern soldiers slaughtered every man, woman and child in Pleasant Valley. Now, the townsfolk are looking for a little payback at the expense of their northern visitors. Two of the “guests”, Terry (Connie Mason) and Tom (William Kerwin), are the first to suspect that there's something's very wrong with this entire celebration. But have they realized it in time to save themselves? 

Unlike Blood Feast, which was short on story and long on gore, Two Thousand Maniacs! takes the time to set up it's tale of bloody revenge. Once the six guests arrive in town, they're treated like royalty. The mayor of Pleasant Valley (played with plenty of bravado by Jeffrey Allen) goes out of his way to make them feel welcome. He sets them up in the local hotel, and even has some of the townsfolk serve as guides during their stay. By dedicating the opening scenes to establishing the story, Two Thousand Maniacs! does take a little time to kick into gear (in Blood Feast, a grisly murder is committed before the opening titles). Rest assured, though, that your patience early on will be well rewarded by way of some very creative kill scenes. In fact, they're so imaginative that I don't dare spoil them for you. 

As a filmmaker, Herschell Gordon Lewis definitely had his weaker points, most of which are on display in Two Thousand Maniacs!.The performances, save a few, are weak, and a handful of technical glitches occasionally rear their ugly head. Early on, one of the female guests, played by Shelby Livingston, is introducing herself to Tom, and though she's standing in the middle of a street surrounded by people, her voice sounds as if it was recorded in a tunnel, an obvious re-dub. 

One thing Lewis could do, and do well, was stage a kill, and in Two Thousand Maniacs, he let his imagination run wild. 

 
 
 

#149. Blood Feast (1963)

DVD Synopsis: When Mrs. Fremont hires crackpot Egyptian cultist Fuad Ramses to cater a party for her daughter, Suzette, she commits the culinary catastrophe of the century! Fuad immediately prepares a Blood Feast made with the grisly body parts of nubile young women. Borrowing the leg of a gal taking a bath, the brains of a woman making out on the beach, and the tongue of a sexy blonde, Fuad and his machete plan on adding Suzette to the main course...

It seems to happen without fail: whenever a 'classic' horror film is brought up in conversation, there's usually someone who chimes in with “I'm sure it was probably shocking back in the day, but it's pretty tame by modern standards”. 

Well, I'm here to tell you that Blood Feast, directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis and released in 1963, is a notable exception; even today, it's scenes of blood and gore pack a pretty strong wallop!

Widely considered the first true “gore” film, Blood Feast wastes no time in getting down to business; before the opening titles, we witness the murder of a blonde beauty who, while lying in a bathtub, is stabbed in the eye, then has her leg hacked off. 

Another poor girl named Trudy (Christy Foushee), whose only crime was making out with her boyfriend on the beach, doesn't fare any better: her head is sliced open, and her brains spilled onto the sand. 

The graphic depiction of these and other murders that occur throughout Blood Feast is shocking. It was undoubtedly shocking in 1963, and it's still shocking today. 

And how was the film received? How did people react to all that blood and gore on the big screen in 1963? 

In the book The Sleaze Merchants: Adventures in Exploitation Filmmaking (published by St. Martin's Griffin in 1996), the author, John McCarty, conducts an in-depth interview with Herschell Gordon Lewis, covering his many years as a filmmaker. At one point, Lewis discusses the premiere of Blood Feast:

“We opened the film at a drive-in in Peoria, feeling that if we dropped dead in Peoria no one would ever know. The film opened on a Friday. Saturday we couldn't stand it any longer, and we drove down to Peoria. Even though there was a major fair in town, theater traffic was backed up so far the state police were directing it. We were still about a quarter-mile from the theater when I turned to Dave (Friendman, the producer), held out my hand and said, 'Well, I guess we started something'". 

A lot has changed since the 1960's, horror movies included. One thing that apparently has not changed is the audience; back then - much like today - horror fans liked their blood and gore!