Bloodlust!

Bloodlust! is a remake of the superior The Most Dangerous Game (1932), or should I say one of many many many remakes.

At time of writing it has a 3.2 on IMDB, insanely low so it's clearly an unappreciated remake. I can understand why, but not why it's quite that low.

Telling a remixed version of the classic tale we see a group of friends stuck on an island with a madman who hunts humans for sport.

Again this is a somewhat modified version of the tale and truth be told I don't like the changes that have been made. It's not bad by any means, it's just inferior, hammy and considering it's age looks really dated.

This was filmed in 1959, released in 1961 and yet still in black and white whereas the previous remake Run for the Sun (1956) was in color.

For an enjoyable version of this classic tale, stick with the 1932 original or for a modern adaptation watch Mindhunters (2004).

The Good:

Some interesting elements

The Bad:

Looks badly dated for its age

Frustratingly annoying stereotypical non-stop screaming ladies

Certain elements are plain silly

Entertaining take on "The Most Dangerous Game" featuring "teens" (you know, the kind in their late-20s), violence and a bit of gore. Apparently it was a feature on MST3K...but the movie isn't as terrible as that would suggest. It does feature some obnoxiously 50s dialogue, characters, and acting, but it also features some really fun stuff (like a teeny bopper girl that knows judo and flips a bad guy into a vat of acid...and we get to watch him decompose! how can you not love that?!). The dad from the Brady Bunch is in this, and is annoying as ever, and the plot gets a little too Scooby Doo in parts. But there are some fairly creepy scenes here. In fact, I enjoyed this much more than I probably should have. My rating: 5/10

I'd file this under "No classic, but lots of fun!". The cast is good: It's interesting to see Robert Reed in his pre-Brady Bunch days. The late Wilton Graff (as the villain) is one of those faces many remember but can't name; he was usually seen as concerned fathers or business execs who knew more than they were telling. He gives a convincingly understated performance in this film; one is constantly reminded of Vincent Price. Plotwise, there are some effective jolts along the way (bodies floating in tanks, or posed in realistic attitudes in a "trophy room"). There's also a memorable scene where a young lady karate-flips a would-be attacker into a vat of acid; we're offered screaming closeups of his skin peeling away. The lively finale involves quicksand, leeches and a body hung (still living) on a spiked frame. Like I said, no classic, but if you enjoy the occasional anything-goes exploitation film, you could do worse!

BLOODLUST! (1961) is yet another retelling of "Most Dangerous Game" with a lackluster cast and inferior production values. The mostly youthful actors and actresses are terrible and turn in cardboard performances. There is one exception, however, and that is Wilton Graff as Belleau, a latter-day Count Zaroff wielding a crossbow to dispatch his victims on the remote island. Graff gives a very fey performance (imagine what Vincent Price could have done with this one!) as he stalks his prey and includes them in his tableaux of trophies and macabre death scenes. He chews scenery but at least attempts to raise the level of this hopeless mess which is why this effort isn't a complete waste. Beware the substandard print by Madacy Entertainment on a double-feature DVD which is accompanied by ATOM AGE VAMPIRE. Cast includes Robert Reed, June Kenney, Joan Lora, Eugene Persson, Walter Brooke and Lilyan Chauvin.

The description on the DVD box made this look like a forerunner of the SCREAM or Friday THE 13th movies (madman stalks teens) but if I hadn't read it first I wouldn't have guessed than anyone in the cast was supposed to be under thirty (including the head of the Brady Bunch). It didn't take long to figure out this was a MOST DANGEROUS GAME rip-off made on the ultra cheap. As such it seemed to me that the writing and photography were decent efforts but the direction wasn't up to realizing the potential of either. One or two touches (again, in the writing) were clever and took me by surprise and the accent on the gruesome reminded me of an old black and white horror comic, but all in all the movie didn't add up to much. A respectable failure. Oh, and it has the worst cardboard cave set I've ever seen!!