Blood Mania

Stylish film noir-like thriller concerning a dashing doctor (Carpenter) whose medical practice owner (Allison) is bed-ridden following a heart attack, his daughter (De Aragon) a seductive vixen with a psychotic streak and a penchant for mind altering substances is eager to sink her claws into the virile Carpenter, but he's already got his hands full with another lusty companion (Wilson). De Aragon paints bold, expressive canvasses, has lots of sex and looks dazzling in the buff. She also agrees to help out Carpenter after he's blackmailed for having been a backyard abortionist, a stain that threatens his career, but the grand plan they conjure begins to unravel when her little sister (Peters) returns to claim the inheritance.

Funky, psychedelic sex soap opera isn't as bad as I'd read; it's not so much "blood" as it is "mania", and there's plenty of plot twists and diversions to keep you engaged. Carpenter isn't the best actor, but he's charismatic and has the charm to pull it off, as his character digs his grave ever deeper with each carnal lapse, while De Aragon, Peters and Wilson are three impressive specimens in spite of their apparent amateurish acting (De Aragon does improve as the film progresses, her 'mania' is at times quite chilling). Leslie Simms is sometimes amusing as an ugly duckling nurse and Alex Rocco gets a few frivolous moments as an estate lawyer. You'd also have to appreciate the minor yet absorbing role played by Dalya as Peters' loyal lesbian minder.

The soundtrack is a hybrid electronica, progressive rock sound, a fusion you'll either find petulant and irritating, or fitting with the offbeat nature of the film. Overall, I like it - it's cheap, dated and clichéd (it also ends quite abruptly), but it remains a sensory attraction with plenty of effort displayed in light, sound, sets, cinematography (some credited to Gary Graver), costumes and colour, not garish or gaudy when taken in its temporal context. Worth a look if you're open-minded.

This film is best described as an early fore-runner for the glut of erotic thrillers choking the video store shelves today. In this one, a woman kills her father in order to get his inheritance to help a blackmailed doctor, but much to everyone's surprise, the inheritance goes to her sister instead! Nope, not making this up, folks. Worth a look to see the attractive DeAragon in the flesh, however, as well as the comical blackmailer who apes Clint Eastwood to the nth degree.

The greatest moment in "Blood Mania" is the point when you come to realize that the writer and lead actor of this terribly inept movie is actually one and the same person! So, in other words, this dude – Peter Carpenter – probably couldn't care less that the overall film is dull & derivative, because he arranged for himself that he could smooch and fondle the perky breasts of no less than three extremely cute and luscious women! Nice going, Peter! Hey, I certainly don't blame the guy because a) apparently he died quite young about one year after the release of this film, and b) at least "Blood Mania" is a lot more watchable than the other movie he wrote; "Point of Terror" starring Dyanne Thorne. Carpenter depicts Craig Cooper, a hunky and successful private physician with a stunning redhead girlfriend, but he's being blackmailed by a sleazy thug who knows that he performed illegal abortions in the past. One of Craig's patients is a wealthy private clinic owner with a nymphomaniac daughter named Victoria. Her insatiable sex-hunger is marvelously illustrated near the beginning of the film, when she jumps the pool boy who literally screams for his mother! Victoria wants to kill her father with drug aphrodisiacs and share the inheritance with Craig, but only if he promises to remain her personal sex toy forever. Complications arise when the inheritance unexpectedly goes to deceased's other daughter Gail. Luckily for Craig, Gail is another very beautiful chick that also easily falls for his charms, but obviously the mad raving Victoria will not allow this romance to happen! Okay, so… Where's the blood? Where's the mania? I'm actually convinced that this could have been much better, if only they focused more on the atmosphere and plot instead of the on the bare chests of the female cast members. The opening sequences hint at psychedelic situations, but the rest of the film is slow-paced and full of redundant dialogs. There's a bit of nasty bloodshed near the ending, but the actual finale is dumb and unsatisfying. The constant "music" is irritating and the best characters (like the witty nurse) get neglected. Worth seeing only for the continuously exposed boobs of Maria De Aragon, Reagan Wilson and Vicky Peters.

Blood Mania: A scumbag doctor is blackmailed by a former associate to fork over $50,000 in hush-money for performing illegal abortions. To make matters worse, one of his despicable bed-ridden patients has a slutty daughter that won't take "no" for an answer-- she just wants some scumbag doctor sex! It doesn't take long for the daughter to realize the doctor needs a lot of cash--stat. Finally, she has the opportunity to make the doc her personal sex-slave boy-toy: murder dad! This movie seizes every opportunity to take the low road: it has a great deal of nudity, perhaps to distract the audience from the fact that the characters are all generally nasty and repulsive. It's more of a sleazy, soft-core porn/soap opera than it is the horror film it bills itself as. Pay no attention to the opening credit sequence, as it has nothing to do with the rest of the film. For cartoon fans, there is a wickedly cool animated title card at the film's opening.

There are people who are keen to point out Peter Carpenter's back- to-back 1970/1971 films Blood Mania and Point of Terror aren't horror movies at all. Which is in a sense fair, because the promotional material would lead one to believe that they were, but so what? Still others want us to know they think Carpenter was a Tom Jones wannabee and the music in Point of terror is bad. So what? Blood Mania and Point of Terror are perfectly trashy and entertaining pieces of early 70's schlock that are unique, wonderfully shot, and chock full of pretty people to look at.

Tonight I'm watching Blood Mania for the first time, and I have to say it's a lot of fun. Not in the traditional sense of the word "fun," but the sense someone who enjoys seeing movies that are unusual and enjoys finding something new and unique. Sure, peter Carpenter probably didn't have the chops to be a leading man in A movies, but he was every bit up to carrying these B movies on his shoulders, surrounding himself with beautiful scenery and beautiful women, and telling an outrageous story that challenges ones ability to believe.

It's sort of shame as a movie fan that we don't get these kinds of movies anymore. I mean we get bad movies, but not these kinds of bad movies. Blood Mania is an entertaining movie for those who aren't looking to waste their own time picking it apart.