Review of Blood Feast

Introduction

"Nothing so apalling in the annals of horror!" screams the tagline to this film. Such a statement is a bit of a double-edged sword, since it can be taken in at least two different ways.

We finally get to see another film that has been banned for years (and prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act at some point in its lifetime). It hasn`t escaped unscathed, as there have been 16 seconds of cuts to the film, but here is the first film in the "Blood Trilogy", and one of the first "gore" films.

Video

A standard 1.33:1 (4:3) transfer, which is how the film was shot. The main thing that you will notice are the bright reds and pinks of all the fake blood that splatters around at various points. It all looks so incredibly fake that you really wonder why this film has caused so much controversy.

The print itself is in average condition, with marks and blemishes popping up now and again, and some discolouration evident at various points. The visuals put the film firmly in the 1960s.

Audio

The original mono soundtrack is presented here, with everything reasonably clear and audible. At some points it sounds like they used two tin cans on a piece of string to record some of the scenes, either that or a very cheap microphone!

The music for the film was written by the director, and is rather unsubtle. It fits the film perfectly though!

Features

Several extras for you to pick over. There`s the original trailer (complete with warning about the content of it), some notes on the film, filmographies, a stills gallery, plus trailers for other Tartan DVDs, including others by Herschell Gordon Lewis.

The biggest extra is an hour long audio interview with the man himself, which accompanies the film playing on your screen. It`s not a commentary, and is quite low quality (the reasons are explained on the DVD menu), but fans of the man will probably appreciate this one a lot.

Conclusion

"Nothing so apalling in the annals of horror!" Well, this film really is appalling, but not in that sense. The gore is laughable and the blood and limbs are obviously fake. It`s not scary, but at least you will be laughing at it instead. And luckily it only lasts for an hour.

It`s all incredibly dated now, and there`s nothing shocking about it at all. Fans of the director might want it in their collections for completeness, and for the audio interview, but unless you`re looking for a really laughable "horror" film, I wouldn`t bother with this one.