I Drink Your Blood

I caught "I Drink Your Blood" at a Times Square theater in New York in 1971. I was writing for a long-defunct but excellent film magazine called Filmfacts, where we covered every film given a theatrical release in the U.S.--running the gamut from the boxoffice blockbusters to the schlockiest of drive-in quickies. Filmfacts was a scholarly publication--most of our subscribers were libraries. For each film, we provided a complete list of cast & credits, a summary of critics' reviews, one-to-four stills (if available), and a thorough plot synopsis. Which is why I saw "I Drink Your Blood," expecting another piece of low-budget garbage, and instead being treated to one of the most truly horrific (and little-known) thrillers ever produced. Even though the obviously heavily-edited R-rated version was pretty strong stuff, it still put me through the wringer and I recommended it to the other members of the magazine's staff, who all loved it. The plot has been sufficiently detailed by other reviewers on this invaluable database, but, aside from urging anyone with a cast-iron stomach to sample this unique, feverish, gorgeously photographed nightmare of a movie ("Night of the Living Dead" please step aside), I'd like to clarify the conflicting accounts of the prints of the movie. The one I saw at the theater was rated R by the MPAA. A few months later, I happened to meet a lovely actress named Iris Brooks, who had given a first-rate performance in the film. We became friends and, on the anniversary of the film's completion, Iris invited me and some friends to attend a cast & crew party held at a Times Square theater around midnight (after the theater was cleared out) and the projectionist could show "I Drink Your Blood," followed by a catered but unpretentious party in the downstairs lounge (apparently, everyone involved with making the movie, its grisly subject matter notwithstanding, had a great time and had formed many friendships during the film). However, the print that was screened was not the butchered 'R'-rated version I'd originally seen but the director David Durston's (a sweet, supremely intelligent, friendly man, and a first-rate filmmaker as far as I'm concerned) unedited cut. It was perhaps 8 minutes longer than the censored version shown at theaters. The violent scenes were considerably more graphic and gory, and there were also some innocuous nude scenes that apparently gave Jack Valenti cardiac arrest, hence the butchered version that the distributor was forced to release. I've read that the original, uncut version has finally been unearthed and will be released on DVD. I heartily recommend that any serious movie buff should buy this film (in whatever version, it doesn't really matter) as soon as it hits the video stores. It's a true 'sleeper' that deserves to be re-discovered and appreciated even 30 years after its initial, shoddily-handled brief release. "I Drink Your Blood" is some kind of deranged masterpiece but, despite its controversial elements (even today, it's pretty far out there), it's never offensive and the people who made it are one of the nicest and most talented group of individuals it's ever been my pleasure to meet!

This movie was very disappointing. It started out as intriguing and unsettling, but later just turns into this tedious and crazy mess. Satanic, burnt-out hippies spreading murderous havoc had a lot of potential for a good horror film. It felt like a mix between Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Cronenberg's Rabid (1977). But unfortunately, the script is a mess, the acting is pretty bad, and it just makes the flick boring. The only things that redeem it a little is the buckets of enjoyable, cheap gore, and surprisingly, the music is actually pretty good.

A Satanic cult, apparently loosely based on the Manson family, moves into a new hunting ground. After terrorizing a local store and the family that operates it, one little boy finds a way to get revenge: infect the killers with rabies. While in the real world this would result in death, in the world of cinema it leads to a massive murder frenzy.

This film came to me highly recommended from the same man who passed along "Spider Baby" and "Dr. Humpp", both impressive and memorable films. It also happens to be the first film rated X for violence, which gives it a strong street credibility, in my opinion. As you may imagine, my expectations were a bit higher than average.

The film starts out a bit slow. Killers, with a strong attachment to Satanism and LSD, drifting from town to town. It's not a particularly interesting plot, and none of the characters -- even the leader (played by Bhaskar Roy Chowdhury) -- stand out as anyone worth caring about. The family is a bit more interesting, but for the most part the first half served no real purpose besides building up the potential for a bloody Hatfield and McCoy-style feud. But then the second half came.

Once the gang is infected with rabies (served in tainted meat pies), all heck breaks loose. Foaming at the mouth, thirsty for blood and wielding axes... these maniacs aren't going to rest until everyone in the county is dead. Limbs are hacked off and carried around like trophies. Today this level of violence wouldn't get you an X -- more likely an R or at most an NC-17 if the censors were feeling frisky -- but for the time period you're unlikely to find anything on this level. The blood is on par with Lewis' "Blood Feast", if not surpassing it.

I don't feel that "I Drink Your Blood" is a must see. I wouldn't rank it as high as "Spider Baby" or "Dr. Humpp", for example. However, I also wouldn't call this a don't-see film. It had all the exploitation and gore that any classic horror fan would be looking for, and it would scare the pants off your grandmother if she wasn't already dead. If your grandmother even wears pants, that is. Let's put it like this: if you get a chance to catch this movie, catch it, but don't go out of your way to put it at the front of your Netflix queue.

A band of devil-worshipping hippies take root in a small town that has been evacuated save a group of construction workers, a baker, and a family led by Grandpa the veterinarian. While holing themselves up in a rat-infested hotel(where the hippies actually play a game of who can kill the most rats for the rat barbecue), they are confronted by an irate Grandpa the vet. They force him to take some lsd and beat him up. Grandpa's grandson gets back by injecting a dozen meat pies with rabies from a dog he shot later that evening. The hippies go mad and all those people they infect do likewise. This film is rather distasteful, yet strangely interesting. It is definitely a low-budget affair as no one in it has a name and the special effects are extremely poor. The film is markedly gruesome as you see a man stabbed repeatedly, a leg, hand, head chopped off, and crazed hippies with bloody hands wielding axes, a sword, even an electric carving knife! The producer's name does his film great honor...his name is Jerry Gross.

I recently saw this forgotten gem, and I had a great time! Satan-worshiping hippies, a dead goat, lots of rats and plenty of nudity;what's not to like? Well, there were a few things I didn't like, sad to say. First on the list is the "Score". Whoever did this should be locked in a tiny room and forced to listen to it for seventeen hours in THX. Basically, it's a car alarm and drums looped over and over at increasingly harsh frequencies, making the audience long for the sweet low tones of a dentist's drill. Second on the list is the distracted acting. It's as if everyone in the town was eating prozac like skittles between takes. Aside from those two peeves, I had a blast watching it, and so might you, just remember to use the mute button. You'll need it.