BLOOD FEAST (aka: EGYPTIAN BLOOD FEAST)(director/writer: Herschell Gordon Lewis; screenwriters: A. Louise Downe; cinematographer: Herschell Gordon Lewis; editor: Frank Romolo/Robert L. Sinise; music: Herschell Gordon Lewis; cast: Thomas Wood (Detective Peter Thornton), Mal Arnold (Fuad Ramses), Connie Mason (Suzette Fremont), Scott H. Hall (Police Captain), Lyn Bolton (Dorothy Fremont), Christy Foushee (Trudy), Ashlyn Martin (Marcy), Gene Courtier (Tony), Astrid Olson (Motel Victim), Louise Kamp (Janet Blake/Egyptian Sacrificial Victim), Al Golden (Dr. Flanders), Jerome Eden (Egyptian High Priest), Herschell Gordon Lewis (Radio Announcer); Runtime: 67; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: David F. Friedman; Image Entertainment; 1963)
“Claims to be the first splatter film.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
A Z-grade budget horror film (shot for $24,000 and in just nine days) that claims to be the first splatter film even though there’s contrary evidence of other such films released before. In any case, it was a trendsetter for such bloody garbage films. Tawdry filmmaker of crap, known affectionately by his followers as the “Godfather of Gore,” Herschell Gordon Lewis (“Living Venus”/”She-Devils on Wheels”/”Something Weird”) directs this offensive film that takes pleasure in being gross, showing explicit gore and being of no social value as an unremitting gore fest. It’s written by A. Louise Downe (appeared in various nudies under the pseudonym Vicki Miles for Lewis and his producer David F. Friedman), along with the hands on Lewis. It’s one of those really bad films that some take pleasure laughing at and others sneering at and others doing both.
Police can’t get a heads up on the killings of a bunch of buxom ladies, who are found mutilated with body parts of the vics interchangeable. It turns out that behind these bizarre ritualistic killings is an exotic caterer and the author of the book Ancient Weird Religious Rites named Ramses (Mal Arnold), a fanatic worshiper of the devil-cult of Ishtar (shown as a department store mannequin sporting two coats of Rust-Oleum Gold) who is a funny looking little dude with his Groucho-like bushy eyebrows. Ramses convinces Mrs. Fremont (Lyn Bolton) to give her voluptuous daughter Suzette (Connie Mason, the June 1963 Playboy playmate) an “Egyptian feast,” in which he secretly plans to serve parts of girls’ bodies. Before the feast begins, there are a series of bloody murders. The girl’s fiance, a police detective named Pete Thornton (Thomas Wood), arrives just in time to prevent Suzette from being chopped up for the blood feast. Fleeing from the police across the city dump, the evil cultist Ramses gets his comeuppance as he’s accidentally mangled to death beneath the blades of a garbage truck.
REVIEWED ON 11/1/2008 GRADE: C
Dennis Schwartz: “Ozus’ World Movie Reviews”
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