Blood Thirst

It's strange this film sat on a shelf for six years, because in 1965 (when it was completed) it would have been a perfectly viable mid-60s "bottom half of the bill" or drive-in feature. It's also beautifully lit/shot in a noirish style (I can't even remember there being any daylight scenes) for such a silly B horror. It's also odd that the lead actor apparently gave up acting after this, since he's very handsome and personable (and has a great Sean Connery-like build), even if the script leans too hard on giving him wisecracks that undercut the already pretty minimal suspense here.

Shot and set in the Philippines, the film nonetheless makes little effort to have much local character, instead going for sort of a generic U. S. programmer feel, with a brisk pace but little feel for suspense or atmosphere. So, it's a very good-looking low-budget movie that nonetheless doesn't seem willing to take its horror subject (vampire-like murders) seriously enough to actually be creepy. I'm not even sure why there's a rubbery "monster" (as separate from the vampire) that looks like it's out of "The Incredible Melting Man."

Interestingly, the director later was 1st A. D. on a terrific lineup of mainstream Hollywood films (including "Godfather Part II," "Towering Inferno," "Blade Runner" and "The Abyss"), but directed nothing again himself until Van Damme's much-liked first starring film "Bloodsport" nearly twenty five years later. I guess he just didn't have the hunger to make his own movies. He clearly had the technical expertise necessary, though this enjoyable genre throwaway suggests he didn't care enough to seek out good material to direct, or to elevate mediocre material beyond the above-average visual sheen.

BLOOD THIRST takes place in Manila, Philippines, where a series of grisly murders wreak havoc. The female victims are found in a signature way that's usually reserved for certain livestock. An expert from NYC named Rourke (Robert Winston) is brought in to assist the Manila police.

As Filipino films of this sort go, it's not bad. Of course, it's mostly about Rourke's investigation, and his digging ever deeper into what could be an occult conspiracy.

There are some interesting characters, like night club owner Calderon (Vic Silayan), and the beautiful, beguiling dancer, Serena (Yvonne Nielson). The killer is also of interest, since it's not clear just how human he / it is!

Almost derailed by a silly, romantic subplot, it still manages to be bizarre enough to satisfy...

Giving this film a 6 out of 10 warrants some explanation, my vote reflects my taste for this genre of film-making; low-budget, disposable, 1960's drive-in films. That said, this particular example is quite distinctive and well worth a look. Made in the Philippines (around '62 or '63, I would guess, despite its official release date of 1971) on an obviously limited budget, the picture is wonderfully well photographed in black and white with some moody, noir touches. The lead, Robert Winston, is quite good-looking, albeit modestly talented. There are a surprising number (for this period) of beefcake shots. I'm assuming that someone recognized that his gifts were not in the acting department. The usual, grinding expository dialogue is graced with some humor, I LIKE the monster, the scenery is interesting and, on the whole, it moves along quite nicely. Shlock filmmakers of the present day (and they are legion) could learn a bit from the the achievements of these frugal talents.

This is one of those rare films that seems oddly out-of-date. Although this movie came out in 1971 the black and white film, along with the music played during the picture, made it seem like something out of the late 50's or early 60's. The reason for this was the fact that it was initially produced in 1965 by a developing film industry in the Phillipines and not shown to a world-wide audience until six years later. Even so, this wasn't a bad movie by any means. Essentially, attractive women are being killed and drained of blood on the outskirts of Manila. This has the detective in charge, "Inspector Miguel Ramos" (Vic Diaz) so baffled that he calls a friend of his in America named "Adam Rourke" (Robert Winston) to come and help him with the investigation. Things begin to happen very quickly upon his arrival which further convinces him that he is on the right track to solving the case. But time is of the essence as more and more women are being killed. Anyway, I liked the performance of Robert Winston who vaguely reminded me of George Lazenby in the James Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". I also appreciated some of the attractive actresses like Katherine Henryk (as "Sylvia Ramos"), Yvonne Nielson ("Serena") and several other uncredited ladies as well. On the other hand, other than possibly Robert Winston, the acting wasn't that great and the special effects for the "bubble-headed monster" were just plain laughable. But all things considered, I still liked it somewhat and therefore have given it an average rating.

I picked this up in a $1 store on a DVD with another film. I really wanted to see the other film ('Castle of Blood' -USA title) on the DVD and only watched 'Blood Thirst' out of curiosity and because my wife said, "lets give it a chance". We figured how can you go wrong buying two films on a DVD for one dollar especially when one of the films('Castle of Blood') is rated highly. The earlier comments here lead me to believe 'Blood Thirst' was going to be a bomb. Instead my wife and I both found it enjoyable maybe even more so than the higher rated film. More than once we were laughing out loud...and the good part is those scenes were supposed TO BE funny. As opposed to scenes that are unintentionally funny in some truly bad films. Also, I thought the dubbing to English was well done as was the transfer to a nice clear DVD image. The film had a great early 60s feel to it and the B/W only made it better. There were some wonderfully off-beat characters and scenes. I also found it hard to believe this was released in 1971 because of the early 60s look and feel.

Anyway, I wouldn't let the other comments here keep you from seeing this, it's an enjoyable/offbeat little film with some good acting in it and surprisingly funny scenes. It's worth your time for a fun detective /horror film with a few chills and romance thrown in for good measure. And don't forget to check your local discount stores for it. I'm glad to have it in my DVD collection what a bargain!