Blood Thirst

This was made in 1965 but released in 1971 on the US grindhouse circuit - that is why the film "feels" like a 1960s film (some people don't seem to realize this).

Grindhouse? Well it's women missing and some found dead... so an American sex-crime specialist has been called in on the case by a detective friend in Manila. It's not overly bloody nor a gore-fest, it's just believed to be sex-crimes and the film was made in the Philippines.

It's better than it looks - yes it's a monster that looks like chewed bubblegum that appears at the latter part of the film (you can see that by the poster/video cover) but if you can look past that then you'll find an okay detective crime-horror film. But how does the the blood cult fit into all this? Are they Vampires? Witches? 4/10

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This is one of those rare films that seems oddly out-of-date.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.

New York detective Adam Rourke (Robert Winston) is invited by a friend to help solve a string of murders that has young women killed and drained of their blood in Manila, capital of The Philippines. Filmed in black and white in 1965 this sat on the shelf before being released in 1971, playing the Grindhouse circuits. It must have looked dated even way back then. The barmy plot revolves around an hilarious but memorable man-monster who attacks lone women for their blood as part of a form of vampirism that is half occult and half scientific. The film is very talky, Winston's wisecracking cop quickly becomes tiresome, and there is more love story than horror, it's not until the final 20 minutes or so that this really lives up to its title. On the plus side the movie does have a film noir look about it, the jazzy musical score is pretty cool and we are treated to some very seductive female dancing. I had never heard of this title before despite being a horror fan for over 40 years, thank you to Talking Pictures TV (UK) for screening it. Bad movie yes but also worth a look if you like your horror a little less mainstream, AKA Blood Seekers.

Passable early Filipino vampire effort, presented as a noir. Leading Lady's (Yvonne Nielson) dance sequences and secret ceremonies are highlights. The monster has quite an original look. Detective work is verbose, foreign actors' accents, making it more difficult to listen to.. As leading man, Robert Winston's James Bond wannabe's entitled male chauvinist attitude may disturb today's audience: When he is slapped for unwanted advances, he slaps back! He makes great efforts to be culturally sensitive, though, to dispel notions of Ugly Americanism. Manila locations provide good local "color:, though filmed in B&W..