Flesh and Blood

Amazon.com

A rarely screened cult favorite from Paul Verhoeven, this story of medieval war and revenge should please action fans and admirers of the director and his semi-regular leading man, Rutger Hauer, but its graphic scenes of sexual violence earmark it for mature viewers only. Hauer stars as a 16th-century mercenary hired by a Western European ruler (Fernando Hilbeck) to assault a neighboring kingdom; when the king reneges on his promises to Hauer and his men, they kidnap his son's fiancee (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and hole up in a nearby castle. Hauer and Leigh are standouts in a strong cast that includes Tom Burlinson, Bruno Kirby, the late Brion James, and Susan Tyrrell; Verhoeven's realistic approach to the down-and-dirty facts of medieval life and the bloody aftermath of warfare offers a refreshing alternative to most Hollywood period films, but a pair of brutal rape scenes may be too much for some audiences. MGM's DVD is widescreen. --Paul Gaita

Description

In the battle between good and evil, only the strong survive! From visionary director Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct) comes this "vivid and muscular" (Variety) epic adventure of medieval bravery and blood lust starring Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh! In the chaotic, morally bankrupt Europe of 1510, a cold-hearted warrior named Martin (Hauer) leads his motley crew of mercenaries into battle to reclaim the castle of an ousted nobleman. But when the despot betrays them, Martin and his band of ruffians strike back by kidnapping the innocent young maiden (Leigh) betrothed to the nobleman's sona fearless Renaissance man who must risk life and limb to rescue the woman he loves!

Customer Reviews:

Director deserves admiration.......2007-08-22

The movie is an interesting & honest portrayal of 16th Century Europe, and it's people. As the old saying goes, "There's the way it ought to be, and then there's the way it is"; this movie is the way it was, and actually, the way it still is in some other parts of our current world.
One interesting character is the Nobleman's son who is portrayed as a student of da Vinci. A wonderful example of how it is easy to be the 'better than thou' type until a personal interest is at stake, and then suddenly all is fair game. The director's commentary also highlights the hangup American society has with sexual issues, and unusual tolerance for violence and torture (as long as the victim is a male).

Flesh & Blood, Sex & War.......2007-08-03

Flesh & Blood is set in 1510, ironically at the height of the Renaissance in Italy. What Paul Verhoeven offers instead is the brutal side of civilization: an army (that includes several mercenaries) assaults a city for a nobleman who had previously been expelled. In order to inspire his troops, the noblemen offers them all they booty they can take but when the city has been taken he goes back on his promise and not only has the mercenaries expelled from his domain but robs them of their considerable booty.

The band of mercenaries is led by Martin (Rutger Hauer) and is a motley group that includes Brion James (who had been paired with Mr. Hauer as a replicant in Blade Runner a few years earlier). The mercenaries, who are comically led by a statue of St. Martin (who will is interpreted by a priest), decide to recover their wealth by robbing the first caravan they encounter, which happens to include the future bride (Agnes) of the nobleman's son (Steven), played by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Tom Burlinson. Steven is the only truly noble person; he has been well-educated and has progressive views but his thoughts are wasted on the rabble that surrounds him. Agnes has never been near a man and is shy and somewhat frightened by the idea of sex; she even has her maid seduce a guard so she can observe how things are done.

Agnes is claimed by Martin as his woman and she become not so much a kidnapped woman but a camp follower of the mercenaries: even if she had a chance to escape she would not take it. Gradually, she falls in love with Martin but when Steven attacks the castle the mercenaries have taken as their own, she has to choose between Martin and Steven.

Flesh & Blood attempts to show the cold-blooded life of a band of mercenaries and does succeed in providing a picture of how dirty and brutal life was for the average peasant of the times. The fighting scenes are bloody, and one should remember that Mr. Hauer is an expert with a sword. Soldiers being soldiers there are two rape scenes that will be rather intense for most viewers. There are also scenes that include frontal nudity and a nasty death for Brion James when he is skewered by three spears. The indecision of Agnes is the one of the most memorable parts of the film: does she want the noble Steven or the perfect warrior Martin. The film is not rated but is intended for mature audiences. All of the cast members turn in strong performances and the photography by Jan De Bont is very good. An interesting film that has its moments but not a great film, and, it should be added, one that Mr. Hauer does not talk about in his recent autobiography.

Hoisted by their own petards!.......2007-07-18

Not-so-noble men and women duke it out during the Black Plague years. No one is a saint and almost all are sinners in this violent, gory and raw action-adventure. Jennifer Jason Lee in an early role as the feisty "princess", seasoned actor Jack Thompson as a hero of sorts, and adventure stalwart Rutger Hauer plays the sly anti-hero. Admidst the carnage and orgies the film manages to raise questions about religion and hints at the upcoming Age of Reason with pseudo-DaVincian science and early medical theory. Other than that, the title of this fast-moving movie says it all. Technical note: Picture and sound quality of this DVD is a huge improvement over the earlier murky (and truncated) videocassette release.

Bloody good.......2007-05-14

A not too well known, but well respected, early gem from director Paul Verhoeven (Robocop, Basic Instinct, Starship Troopers) is a bloody, brutal, and highly enjoyable medieval romp. Rutger Hauer stars as Martin, a mercenary who finds he and his crew betrayed by the King (Fernando Hilbeck). Next thing you know, Martin is kidnapping the bride to be (the gorgeous Jennifer Jason Leigh) of the King's cunning son (Tom Burlinson), and what follows are a series of battles, chases, betrayals, and some great action as well. What makes Flesh + Blood so good are the performances from everyone involved, particularly Hauer and the young Leigh; both of whom are just plain brilliant here. The only real drawbacks of Flesh + Blood are the much lauded graphic rape sequences, but Verhoeven was attempting to make a film that reflected the violent times of the era, and Flesh + Blood certainly does just that. Also featuring Jack Thompson and the late Bruno Kirby, Flesh + Blood is a great medieval blast with some dynamite performances, and definitely deserves to be checked out for those who may have missed it.

An "A" Renaissance Romp Action Movie.......2007-03-27

This is a fantastic journey to the violence, despotism, and anarchy of the renaissance! Siege warfare, sadistic mercenaries, plague, looting, and rape, all in one movie, plus lots of very attractive nude women. We even have an interesting portal of Stockholm syndrome from Jennifer Jason Leigh, as well as full frontal nudity in at least three different seines. The graphic violence and gore is less than what is seen in many modern movies, but is still a big part of this movie.

Movie= A, Acting= B, Plot= B-, Action= A, Visual= B+, Sex/Romance= A- (WARNING GRAPHIC RAPE/ not for young viewers)

Average customer rating:

A real pleasure
EVIL AWAKENS 3000 YEARS TOO SOON
Lush Gothic Hammeresque Mystery/Horror with Lee & Cushing
Hard To Follow At Times
One of Britain's Most Offbeat Horror Films

The Creeping Flesh
Starring: Christopher Lee , Peter Cushing , Lorna Heilbron , George Benson , and Kenneth J. Warren
Director: Freddie Francis
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001Z3I08
Release Date: 2004-06-08

Amazon.com

The Hammeresque Creeping Flesh is a creepy thriller mixing one part Cain and Abel, a dash of Frankenstein, and a pinch of the Re-Animator with the best elements that '70s U.K. horror has to offer. Is evil a sickness that mankind can be cured of? Dr. Emmanuel Hildern (Peter Cushing) seems to think so. After returning from New Guinea with the ultimate skeletal specimen of evil it becomes his life's obsession. While Dr. Hildern closes in on the serum, James (Christopher Lee), his half-brother and rival, looks on with envy from behind the mental asylum he runs. He too is dabbling in science to find the cure of madness. However, with less of a success rate. After Dr. Hildern tests his evil serum on his daughter Penelope, she of course goes mad, goes on a killing spree, and ends up in Uncle James's asylum. Immediately recognizing his new inmate, Uncle James brings Penelope back home, only to find his brother's work and progress. In a fit of jealousy he steals the valuable skeleton which, unbeknownst to him, is slowly growing flesh and developing into an evil, uncontrollable monster. --Rob Bracco

Customer Reviews:

A real pleasure.......2007-08-13

This is by far my favorite Christopher Lee movie. I had seen it several times as a teenager and enjoyed it better each time.
It stands without saying that you do have to be a fan of classic horror films for this one but as with all of Christopher Lee films this one is well done as far as the story goes and the great Mr. Lee along with others of his time { Peter Cushing and vincent Price } stands out as a true master of horror.

EVIL AWAKENS 3000 YEARS TOO SOON.......2007-06-26

If evil is indeed a disease, as many have at least metaphorically postulated, then can it be cured? And if so, at what cost? That's the premise of this minor but interesting horror film starring genre stalwarts Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Cushing plays a good-hearted but rather misguided scientist who discovers a bizarre skeleton in New Guinea and brings it back to his laboratory for further research. There he discovers the secret of evil incarnate--wickedness is a sickness, and therefore cureable. But his unscrupulous and envious half-brother, played by the always domineering Lee, hatches devious plans from the dubious asylum he commands like a castle, while Cushing's beloved but repressed daughter struggles with inner demons of her own. Tension mounts inevitably and one crisis spirals into the next, leading to a harrowing confrontation with pure evil unmasked. Though THE CREEPING FLESH is not a Hammer production, it could have been, as it shares many of the usual Hammer traits. Stylish and literate, THE CREEPING FLESH is particularly well-acted. That's to be expected anytime Lee and Cushing team up, but the unheralded Lorna Heilbron nearly steals the show away from her elders with a superbly realized performance as Cushing's benighted daughter. The haunted young woman's painful transformation from wilting violet to cursed vamp is flawlessly executed and her subplot is one of the film's real triumphs. But for all THE CREEPING FLESH has in its favor, there are some siginificant flaws. It is a rather slow vehicle, and at times the plot seems to get lost in itself, so that even at a relatively spartan 94 minutes the movie seems to take a full two hours. Moreover, you can see the finale coming a mile away, and however symmetrical the denoument may be it's nonetheless very unsatisfying and a dramatic flop. Finally, while special effects are not what this period piece is about, there is a climactic moment when the low-budget FX are a real let-down. Sometimes it's better NOT to show the monster head-on. Sharing some thematic features with HORROR EXPRESS (which also stars Lee and Cushing), THE CREEPING FLESH is not quite as good as its cousin, but is still worth a look. The highly-developed and intricate plot, together with the very Hammer-esque atmosphere and exceptional acting, make this a good choice for any fan of classic horror to rent for a rainy evening's entertainment, warts and all.

Lush Gothic Hammeresque Mystery/Horror with Lee & Cushing.......2006-12-20

Although "The Creeping Flesh" (1973) is not technically a Hammer film, it was made by a rival British company with Hammer alumni Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and director Freddie Francis.

Lee and Cushing play two rival half-brothers; Lee runs a mental asylum and Cushing is a scientist trying to cure humanity of evil and insanity. Lee, it turns out, is also trying to find the same cure by experimenting on the lunatics in his asylum.

Cushing is driven by the insanity and recent death of his wife. He is so paranoid about the "infection" of evil and madness that he overprotects his daughter.

He discovers an 8-foot tall diabolical skeleton on one of his expeditions in New Guinea and becomes convinced that evil itself is somehow linked to this figure. He discovers that the skeleton strangely acquires flesh/blood when it gets wet. He subsequently develops a "vaccination" from the blood to supposedly give people immunization from evil and insanity, which he then administers to his daughter (!).

As you can see, the plot is highly creative, if nothing else. Numerous issues are touched on in the storyline, including:

The origin of evil and insanity.
Sibling rivalry.
The consequences of overprotection.
Is evil and madness a disease for which a person can be vaccinated?
The (lack of) ethics of "scientists."
An escaped lunatic running amok.
Having a carnal celebration after years of repression.
The 19th century English pub scene (alcohol, whores and brawls).
An 8-foot creeping horror.

Some would contend that "The Creeping Flesh" bites off more than it can chew (especially at only 95 minutes). Yet, I would say that it addresses all of these items very well. I should also point out that it's not hard to follow, as another reviewer argues.

Two parts of the film are very well done: First, when Cushing's daughter, Lorna Hailbron, finally escapes her father's overprotective clutches and attempts to "paint the town red" (naturally). Lorna does an exquisite job portraying the daughter in both her initial naive, modest state and, later, in her wild first-time-party-girl condition.

Second, when the skeleton finally comes to life after acquiring all its flesh. You can see it lurking in the moonlight with a hood and cowl. This creepy image brought to memory artist depictions of the Flatwoods monster that supposedly appeared near that West Virginia village in September 1952.

Interestingly, "The Creeping Flesh" has many similarities to "Horror Express," another Hammeresque film made the very same year. Each film stars Lee and Cushing; each features an ancient recently-discovered artifact that emanates evil (a skeleton and a frozen neanderthal respectively); each features numerous shots of people analyzing "evil" blood samples through a microscope. I like both films about equally, but give the slight edge to "The Creeping Flesh."

Don't hesitate to check out "The Creeping Flesh" if this sounds like your cup of java. Depending on your tastes, this is definitely a 4 or 5 Star film. I liked it so much I watched it a again a couple of days later -- something I rarely do. My official rating is 4.5 Stars.

Hard To Follow At Times.......2006-04-25

I agree with another reviewer that they could have explored the main theme of this movie more which is this ancient skeleton that is the embodiment of evil I guess.

Cushing believes that evil is a disease so he takes a blood sample from the skeleton to create a vaccine that he thinks will cure people from being evil.

I guess he feels there's something wrong with his daughter so he injects her with his new formula. But perhaps the only thing wrong with her was he kept her locked up in the house for her entire adult life.

That's when things get sad.

Somehow she inexplicably becomes possessed with the spirit of her dead mother who went insane.

She goes to a brothel and gets taken advantage of and finally slashes this guy's throat with a broken bottle.

Maybe I just took the whole thing too seriously.

Another reviewer also mentioned the strange painting that Cushing is working on at the beginning of the movie. I guess the painting sort of encapsulates the entire movie.

One good thing is apparently back then most of the women in London had gigantic breasts and they kept falling out of their dresses in the pubs.

I would recommend this movie to horror fans because it's got horror legends Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.

Jeff Marzano

Recommended further viewing:

Brides Of Blood / Beast Of Blood
Horror Hotel
IT ! (The Terror From Beyond Space)
Invasion Of The Saucer Men
Not Of This Earth (original)
Phantasm
The Blob (with Steve McQueen)
The Brain That Wouldn't Die
The Flesh Eaters
The Fly / The Return Of The Fly / The Curse Of The Fly
The Four Skulls Of Jonathan Drake
The Hideous Sun Demon
The Hypnotic Eye
The Incredible Shrinking Man
The Indestructible Man
The Manster
The Thing (from another world)
The Thing That Couldn't Die
The Twilight Zone Collections

One of Britain's Most Offbeat Horror Films.......2006-01-29

Freddie Francis' "The Creeping Flesh" is one of the oddest, most eccentric British horror films of the 1970s. I can't claim that it's one of Francis' best directed films, but it has a sincerity often lacking in horror films of the period, and it also has an excellent performance by Peter Cushing. It's definitely worth a look, and worth adding to your collection if you're a diehard fan of the great, underrated Peter Cushing.

Cushing portrays a Victorian-era gentleman paleontologist. In other words, he uses his family's own money to support his various world explorations and site digs. He's something of a dabbler, and the film quickly establishes that he's regarded by most as an eccentric lightweight and not a true scientist. As the film opens, Cushing's enthusiasm over his latest finding - an enormous humanoid skeleton - is quickly tempered by blunt reminders of his family's finances via his spinster daughter (who still lives with him), and his psychiatrist half-brother (ably played by Christopher Lee). Cushing's understanding of evolution is quite different from Charles Darwin's, and he comes to believe that the giant-sized fossil in his laboratory is actually the skeleton of an ancient evil.

"The Creeping Flesh" combines several different genre elements. The story is probably inspired by the real-life Cardiff Giant hoax in the US, or the Piltdown Man hoax in Britain, but Francis and the screenwriters take it far beyond that. At times, it's a tragedy of Victorian sexual repression when we learn some of Cushing's backstory and witness his daughter's actions when she is infected by serum extracted from the fossil. At other times, there are Lovecraftian references. At yet others, we have a good-old-fashioned tale of inmate abuse at Christopher Lee's asylum. There's even a little bit of typical creature-feature shenanigans towards the end. Thankfully, there's no tasteless gore or tedious tongue-in-cheek comedy.

The DVD transfer looks and sounds excellent, especially compared to the VHS version. There are minimal extras (mainly consisting of trailers for other films, subtitles, and a Japanese language track of all things). As I alluded to earlier, "The Creeping Flesh" also has a lot of negatives that keep me from rating it higher. The plot elements are as clumsily stitched together as the Frankenstein Monster, and despite Francis' brilliance as a director he can't overcome many of the period anachronisms inherent in the film. Hairstyles and topical references are often woefully inappropriate for a film supposedly taking place in the 1890s, for example. Furthermore, it's painfully obvious that no one even pretended to consult with a scientist regarding the accuracies of the script - the more you know about human biology, the more ridiculous the laboratory scenes are. Even Cushing's excellent delivery can't help distract me from such gaffes as the claim that Neanderthals had smaller cranial capacities than modern man (they actually had larger capacities, particularly relating to visual acuity).

If you already love Cushing or Francis, you'll want this one. Christopher Lee fans who'd like to see what the youthful Lee was like when he wasn't playing Dracula will also want to take a peek. Although the movie is flawed, it definitely has its charms if you're in the right frame of mind.

Average customer rating:

Gory and Cheesy but Interesting too!
this night was so bad it was good!
These people wouldn't know a bad movie...
your all doomed to be eaten up!
Love the movie, but....

Hell of the Living Dead
Starring: Margit Evelyn Newton , Franco Garofalo , Selan Karay , José Gras , and Gaby Renom
Director: Bruno Mattei , and Claudio Fragasso
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
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ASIN: B00005R24H
Release Date: 2002-02-19

Customer Reviews:

Gory and Cheesy but Interesting too!.......2007-09-03

A scientific experiment goes wrong at a lab in New Guinea resulting in the outbreak of a deadly virus with horrifying symptoms. The disease spreads quickly, and soon the island is overrun by flesh-eating zombies. When a commando squad shows up on the island without knowing the situation, they proceed on dead reckoning, picking up an attractive television reporter and her cameraman along the way. Those that survive make their way to the Hope Centre laboratory where the disease originated to discover it's dark purpose.

"Hell of the Living Dead," AKA "Virus," AKA "Zombi 4," AKA "Zombi 5: Ultimate Nightmare," AKA "Zombie Creeping Flesh" and a slew of other names, is, in many ways, your typical Italian "Dawn of the Dead" wannabe. There's plenty of cannibalistic gore, a swat team, lots of shooting, and they even borrow the music by Goblin. The film also uses stock footage to give the impression that it takes place in New Guinea when it was actually shot in Spain (it's not THAT badly done though). Nevertheless, "Hell of the Living Dead" is somehow more engaging than other films of its type. Perhaps it's the characters, badly dubbed as they are (hate that UN scene). Perhaps it's the breasts. For some, it's probably the butcher shop gore and crocodile gutting scene. There's also the origin of the disease that is revealed at the end, which I think definitely takes the film up a notch. I also love that the film includes a final scene, similar to what Fulci did in "Zombie" though not quite as grand, showing that the virus has moved out of the jungle and on to a highly populated area, as I personally prefer seeing zombie films set in more civilized locales to the jungle zombie films. It's just scarier when you see it happening in an area that looks more familiar to you. Overall, if you enjoy zombie films you should see this one, and especially if you're a fan of the Italian entries into the genre. The DVD from Anchor Bay (mine is the double feature version with "Rats") looks great in widescreen and includes a trailer, still and poster gallery, a text bio of director Bruno Mattei, and a pretty good interview with the director as well (entitled, "Hell Rats of the Living Dead").

this night was so bad it was good!.......2007-07-29

This film from spain was just a splatterfest.Sure its actors are terrible and the dubbing is bad....That's the point! Like the previous writers said its so bad its good.I only wished they would of focused more on the city area and not the natives.The birds diving and the other animals hunting their prey was not necessary.I found it distracting! Overall this one stays in a collection for a cheap laugh providing my mood.

These people wouldn't know a bad movie..........2007-06-19

I don't know if we're even talking about the same movie here -- this is definitely NOT the worst zombie movie ever made. A big problem on Amazon reviews is that reviewers just say a product is "good" or "bad," but give no actual description. So instead of doing that, I'll just describe a few things about it, then let you decide if it sounds good or not.

Is it boring? In order for something to be boring, I would say it needs to have pretty much nothing happen for a very, very long period of time. Thats not so in this film; there are several scenes of zombie attacks, a plethora of zombie shootings, and quite a few zombie bitings (all the makings of a good zombie movie). Also, there is some pointless (and culturally offensive) nudity. As far as the acting -- not great, but at least they show emotion (even if it is too much), which is better than a lot of the lifeless acting in most Euro-sleaze.

Is it a blatant rip-off of "Dawn of the Dead?" Yes and no; the costumes are clearly designed to look like the SWAT team blue uniforms in Dawn, and they even "borrowed" some of the Goblin soundtrack from Dawn (hey, at least they "borrowed good music). Other than that, its very different -- the group is constantly moving, not trapped in a single space, the cause of the zombies is explicitly stated to be intentional and man-made, and it is not a "zombie holocaust" like Dawn -- for almost the entirety of the movie, the zombies are confined to New Guinea, and several cut-away scenes reveal that the rest of the world is still operating normally (although panicy).

Is the story oscar-worthy? No, but then again, if you're considering buying a movie called "Hell of the Living Dead," you probably know what kind of story to expect. The plot is very simple -- nuclear plant-look-alikes are being used to create some sort of super secret project, which has accidentally (or was it?) been released into the Native population of New Guinea. A crack para-military unit is sent to the site of original infection for reasons explained in the film.

Are the special effects bad? For a 1980 Italian movie, no. In fact, there are several quite good head-shots. Of course, there are several scenes where the actors are clearly holding raw meat on the victim and chewing on that, and many of the zombies are simply painted blue -- then again, so are practically all the zombies in Dawn.

The worst part of the movie is the director's annoying habit of splicing in stock footage of wildlife, footage which is clearly of lower quality and not blended into the film well at all.

So, is this a terrible movie? No, certainly not. In my mind, terrible movies are movies that are technically inept or that have incomprehensible plots, like "Oasis of the Zombies" and "Children of the Living Dead." Other than that, its just a matter of opinion. If you like sleazy Italian horror, especially Italian zombie movies, you should find this entertaining. If you're looking for a well-crafted Romero-esque film with biting and deep social commentary, this isn't your film.

your all doomed to be eaten up!.......2006-11-20

perhaps one of cheesiest and most bizzare zombie films ever made, hell of the living dead is a very enjoyable undead gorefest. the story involves a team of swat commandos encountering zombies in the jungle of some foreign country. obviously inspired by dawn of the dead, hell of the living dead is a perfect example of the 70's and 80's cannibal and zombie craze. if it wasnt for the bloody gore effects and comical cheesiness of the film, it would be nearly unwatchable. the horrible overacting, riddiculouse dialouge and mind numbing use of stock footage are what keep this film from reaching 4 stars. overall hell of the living dead is an enjoyable, blood soaked zombie atrocity. only for hardcore zombie and euro sleaze fans, everyone else may want to avoid this one.

Love the movie, but...........2006-07-26

The big problem I have with this movie isn't the storyline. I love the storyline, it is a very Faustian, very grim, storyline about the desire to end world overpopulation by...well...as the chemicals show...creating zombies across the 1st and 2nd world countries. And things work out pretty darn well...no more overpopulation, everyone's a zombie, and everyone has a meal... the living... a great story, and while the actors and special effects aren't anything to write home about, I think the movie does a great job bringing the story from beginning to end. The big problem I have with the movie is the transfer of the movie onto DVD. Now, yes this is a fairly old movie, and it seems that the DVD company that's selling it isn't around (at least I couldn't find it on the net). Still, one would hope for this price we would see the transfer far clearer than when the movie was viewed on vhs. I really wish the film was cleaned up enough so that I can see what's going on. Still, if you like zombie movies, this is a great one, I give the movie itself thumbs up...you'll just be straining your eyes to see what's going on!

Average customer rating:

One of the most moving movies I have ever seen.
hard to believe
a good look at an unbelievable situation
My Flesh and Blood- Anthony Tom
My Flesh & Blood

My Flesh and Blood
Starring: Anthony Tom , Xenia Tom , Faith Tom , Margaret Tom , and Joe Tom
Director: Jonathan Karsh
Manufacturer: New Video Group
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ASIN: B0003JAO8Q
Release Date: 2004-11-30

Description

Winner of the Audience and Director's Awards at the Sundance Film Festival, the deeply affecting MY FLESH AND BLOOD follows one remarkable family's most tumultuous year as it confronts a litany of daily routines, celebrates life's small pleasures, and copes with major crises. Who says you can't choose your family? "I think when I found that I could survive raising four kids, that it wasn't that far of a leap to add another one," says Susan Tom of Fairfield, California, who has done more than just that, adopting 11 special needs children. For a single mother who receives only limited help from the state, Susan gives her kids love, hope, and as close to a normal childhood has possible. Her limits are tested, however, when her angry teenage son threatens one of his siblings. And after another child's condition becomes erratic, the entire family learns that living for the moment is the keystone to happiness. Tenderly directed by Jonathan Karsh, MY FLESH AND BLOOD presents a family portrait like no other--a bittersweet and unforgettable experience filled with unexpected humor, stirring pathos, and an optimistic view towards morality.

Customer Reviews:

One of the most moving movies I have ever seen........2007-07-09

Charity personified. An unforgetable portrait of courage and sacrifice on the part of the mom, and of courage and tenacity in the children. This movie speaks to the meaning of life (which is never seen in modern media).

hard to believe.......2007-01-25

Susan Tom is a divorced, single mother in California who after having two biological children adopted eleven handicapped children. This emotionally intense documentary film is not about a smiley Brady Bunch, but about a raucous household of children with serious and severe problems--mental, physical, emotional and medical. Faith was horribly disfigured in a fire as an infant. Xenia was born with no legs. Teenager Joe is a deeply angry and explosive child who threatens to kill Xenia; he eventually dies from Cystic Fibrosis. Others are mentally retarded. Susan describes herself as "fat but interesting." Both adjectives understate the case. She does not work outside the home, but instead supports everyone, and her $600 a week grocery bill, from SSI income. Margaret, age 18, is unwillingly conscripted to help make it all work, and breaks down in screams to get her mother's attention. Perhaps the mark of a fine film is that in watching it you think far more about its subjects than about how they are portrayed. My Flesh and Blood won the Audience Documentary Award at the 2003 Sundance festival.

a good look at an unbelievable situation.......2007-01-16

This is an excellent, well made documentary. I like documentaries because in real life, we don't get the binary good-person/bad-person thing we do in fiction. Watching this movie, you see good things and bad things in all of the characters and in the living situation in which they find themselves. I couldn't help but be drawn into this documentary, and would recommend it to anyone with interest in adoption, family dynamics, individuals with special needs, or just looking for a good movie.

My Flesh and Blood- Anthony Tom.......2007-01-06

One of the best documentaries I have ever seen. A family composed of a mother and thirteen children, eleven of them adopted, is followed for a year of their lives in such a way that each child can be appreciated as an individual, without disabilities or other special needs overshadowing the person. The extra features are excellent, too, especially the discussion between the filmmaker and the mother.

My Flesh & Blood.......2007-01-03

Really great movie and it was from a real life experience so I enjoyed it even more. It is amazing what some people go through and still maintain their sanity as well as never giving up on people.

Guinea Pig Flower of Flesh and Blood/Making of Guinea Pig Double Feature

Average customer rating:

Lame, don't believe the hype..
Disappointing
Gore goldmine!
If You've got a Stomach of Steel and Forty Minutes; Have I got a Movie for you.
"And now, her bowels start dancing wildly."

Guinea Pig Flower of Flesh and Blood/Making of Guinea Pig Double Feature
Starring: Kirara Yugao , Satoru Ogura , Hideshi Hino , Masayuki Hisamot , and Masahiro Satô (II)
Director: Hideshi Hino , and Jyunko Okamoto
Manufacturer: Unearthed Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00007H24I
Release Date: 2002-11-26

Description

Infamous Manga artist Hideshi Hibino received an 8 mm snuff film in the mail. After contacting the Japanese police and handing over the evidence, Mr. Hibino created a semi-documentary film on what he witnessed. The Flower of Flesh and Blood is a recreation of the snuff film that is in the hands of the Tokyo Police. Now that you know do you have the guts? Also included on this DVD is the making of the Guinea Pig films. See how they worked the effects on one of the most brutal, horrifying films ever made in the annuls of cinematic history.

Customer Reviews:

Lame, don't believe the hype.........2007-06-21

I suppose if you were told this was real, and didn't have an "eye" (what a pun, eh?) for special effects.. you might see this and feel sick. But, come on.. where do I start on how fake this is? I know, I know, the whole story about the producer doing this as a remake of what he originally saw. If that's true, then I'd say the original is probably pretty sick and twisted.

But I'm talking about effects here that give it away.

For one thing, the blood. I grew up with chronic nose bleeds. I used to wake up in the middle of the night and find my pillow soaked in my own blood. So I know what blood looks like, both when fresh and after five minutes of drying time. It doesn't look like raspberry sno-kone syrup like in this flick. After more than five minutes it starts turning brown. By the end of this flick it would have coagulated into strands and looked almost black in many areas.

Another thing.. the cut-away edits that conveniently happen just before any real cutting occurs. Like the decapitation scene. Speaking of which, since when does decapitation cause a head to go flying like a basketball into a wall five feet away?

And then the whole eyeball thing. I once stayed up until 1a.m. removing an eyeball from a sheep that got hit by a car. I know from experience, it takes a hell of a long time to remove an eyeball without damaging it. The eyes in the jar were from a sheep, the one he pulls from the latex head was manufactured.

Then the disembowelment thing. Drugs or no drugs, without turniquettes she'd have bled off and died long before wincing while her leg was being sawed. But back to the guts.. do you know how much distance there is between even the upper-G.I. tract and the throat? You have to pass the stomache and go up the esophagus, then past the throat. YET.. here he is playing with intestines and she starts leaking pure, red blood out of her mouth for no damn reason other than dramatic effect.

Lame, lame, lame. Unless you come across it for free online (like I did), don't waste your money on this over-hyped flick. I'm not saying pulling off this finished product was easy. This guy had some talented people working with him to design these latex parts, pumps and the custom bed that allowed her real head to show while hiding her body.

One last minor detail.. the worms at the end of the flick in his 'collection' of body parts. If you watch the maggots, only in one scene are they actually feeding on an old piece of meat. The rest of the time they're traveling around looking for something besides latex and red sugar water. Also, the earthworms.. earthworms don't come oozing out of a skull that's been sitting there for weeks in a tumbled pile (on cue) all slimy.

Save your money, what you've imagined in your head is probably ten times worse than what they produced on film.

Disappointing.......2007-03-16

The reviewer crowsomething pretty much summarized it well- the victim should have died much quicker and lost buckets of blood - it just oozed out. The body parts looked rubbery. Did I miss something but how did her head go flying against the wall? And what's with the maggots and earthworms. Wouldn't the body parts have to decompose for at least a few days and then flies would have to come and lay eggs? The killer was kind of weak and dopey, as well.

I watched the video on the internet, i would say definitely don't buy it.

Gore goldmine!.......2007-03-02

This movie is short and sweet with some of the best special effects I've ever seen.The Japanese build a replica of a human body and dismantle it before your eyes. The special effects are so amazing you can actually see each pore in the skin.They obviously spent a lot of time on the effects and thats about all they spent time on. No story, no character development, just a home video made to look like a snuff movie. This is the one movie that actually turned my stomach a little bit. Go buy it now, if you think you can handle it.

If You've got a Stomach of Steel and Forty Minutes; Have I got a Movie for you........2007-01-29

If there's anything to take from this film (anyting at all)
it's perspective.
Take for instance, any given horror scene you've loved;
Because it's only on screen for a few seconds, it's enjoyable.
Now take that same cherished scene and slowly stretch it out for 40 minutes. That about sums up this gorefest.

With that being said, I had to watch this flick on the subway, on my way home from work. (Unfortunately, that's where I have to watch all the movies my wife refuses to watch with me.)
Now I couldn't hear the comments from my fellow commuters, but I could certainly see the horrified looks on their faces as the movie ran its course. And all those dropped jaws said "This guy is one sick puppy"
More than a few of them stood up and abandoned their seats.
Now if you know anything about City Subways, you know people wouldn't give up their seats, even if their pants were on fire.
At any rate, that anecdote should serve as a general idea of just how depraved this simulated snuff film is.

There's no plot, so don't expect one. (A guy in a samurai hat takes his sweet time cutting up some poor, unfortunate, Japanese chick; before adding her parts to his collection)
Instead; expect a torturous mutilation for about 40 minutes.
The mutilation itself wouldn't have been so unnerving, had it not been done at such a casual pace. The "Psycho Samurai" (as I've come to know him) takes his time doing everything.
From selecting his instruments of torture, to making his cuts, he's a man of leisure, a man whose got time on his hands.
All the while, he's talking philosophy, (like he's not some kabuki theatere reject in white face paint, and a black samurai hat, preaching in an abandoned warehouse basement)
I've got to say though, the scene where I actually had to pause the film for a breath of air, involved a hammer, a wedge, and a shoulder.
Now I don't know about you, but something about the sound of metal on bone makes me lose my cookies.
I must admit, the special effects were amazing.
The director definitely owned a genuine snuff film at one time or another. Because he is spot-on.

This film is a testament to depravity.
It's sole design is to freak you out and make you sick.
and to that end: Mission Accomplished. 5 Stars.
A fine addition to any gorehounds library.
Or any horror fan, for that matter, who thinks they have an iron-clad stomach. But be fore-warned this is the litmus test by which all other gross-out movies will be compared. This is the epitome of "gorefest".
(It's especially fun to freak company out with this little gem.)
Watch at you own risk. You've been warned.

MORAL OF THE STORY:
Sticks and Stones may break your bones,
but The Psycho Samurai prefers lille fun-size pieces.

"And now, her bowels start dancing wildly.".......2006-06-13

INTRODUCTION: When Guinea Pig came out in 1985, It was a huge straight to video hit in japan. There were 6 films and in 1991, Charlie Sheen saw Guinea Pig and reported it to the FBI, claiming it was a snuff film. THe FBI were informed that there was no snuff footage. in 2001, GP comes out on DVD.,

I had recently just rented this one (and Devil Doctor Woman) from a Japanese video store. And I loved it! I loved HE NEVER DIES, so I knew I was going to love this one.

STORY: A man captures a woman in the middle of the night. Later on, the woman wakes up in a blood splattered dungeon run by a a man dressed as a samurai with a white face. Slowly, this man dismembers and disbowels the woman to add to his collection.

THOUGHTS: An excellent splatter horror film. Just to let you know, there is a disclaimer at the beginning at the film saying that no one under the age of 15 should see it.

OVERALL: Go rent this movie!

Average customer rating:

Satan's Schoolgirls
Starring: J. Scott Green , Suzi Lorraine , Kerri Taylor , Jane Scarlett , and Shannon Moore (IV)
Director: Ted W. Crestview
Manufacturer: Plausible Denial Productions
ProductGroup: DVD
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Product Features:

UNRATED FEATURE FILM, Produced by TERRY M. WEST, a master of the modern EROTIC THRILLER!
TWO BONUS SHORT FILMS: "Bathwater", and "The Striptease", starring B-Movie Scream Queen and Penthouse Pet, TAMMY PARKS
SEXY PHOTO GALLERY
BEHIND THE SCENES FOOTAGE, DELETED INTRODUCTION
MORE INFO AVAILABLE DIRECTLY THROUGH PLAUSIBLE DENIAL PRODUCTIONS. VISIT WWW.PLAUSIBLE-DENIAL.COM

ASIN: B000G6MFEM
Release Date: 2006-03-01

Product Description

FROM TERRY M. WEST, A MASTER OF THE MODERN EROTIC THRILLER, COMES THIS TALE OF DESIRE, DEATH & THE DEMONIC!!! When seemingly well-intentioned Father Thomas signs on for a quiet summer school session at a rustic school for girls in the country, he gets more than he bargained for! Once inside, Father Thomas has his hands full dealing with four seriously troubled school girls, each with a taste for lust, and strict Sister Helen- a disciplinarian who serves up punishment with glee. This Catholic School's foundation is solid evil and the walls are drenched with blood! When all hell breaks loose, you can be sure that no one is what they seem! Produced by Terry M. West (Lord of the G-Strings, Flesh for the Beast) and directed by Ted W. Crestview (Roxanna, Pleasures of a Woman) SATAN'S SCHOOLGIRLS is a cheesy, sexy horror ride with tongue firmly planted in cheek! BONUS SHORT FILMS: THE STRIPTEASE- Rare sexy footage featuring B-Movie Scream Queen & Penthouse Pet, Tammy Parks. BATH WATER- A loser with the ladies uses a come on line that lands him in hot water! Directed by Matthew Reel. "West is quickly becoming one of the kings... of micro-budget horror..." -HorrorExpress.com Reviews: "Suzi Lorraine, arguably the most beautiful actress working in east coast B-cinema, has never given a better performance as the no-nonsense Sister Helen... The point of any exploitation film is to deliver the goods, ie. blood and boobs, and those they deliver with gusto...and often." -B-independent.com "[I was] delighted... to receive Terry M. Wests new SATAN'S SCHOOLGIRLS. Not only does it have a nun but it also has wayward girls (TRANSLATION: slutty bimbos) in private school outfits! That combination should be illegal...It will put a smile on your face." -JoeHorror.com "This movie pleases... I support anything that is this un-PC." -Deadpit.com MORE INFO AVAILABLE DIRECTLY THROUGH PLAUSIBLE DENIAL PRODUCTIONS. VISIT WWW.PLAUSIBLE-DENIAL.COM

Average customer rating:

It cost nothing to get in...because they'll never let you out!

The Flesh & Blood Show
Starring: Robin Askwith , Patrick Barr , Ray Brooks , Candace Glendenning , and Jenny Hanley
Director: Pete Walker
Manufacturer: Shriek Show
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000EWBNXW
Release Date: 2006-06-27

Description

A group of trendy young actors and actresses assemble at a run-down theatre at the end of a pier in an out-of-season British coastal resort. Hired by the mysterious Theatre Group 40 to put together the improvisation revue, The Flesh and Blood Show, the actors are soon at the mercy of a madman who begins working his way through their number.

Customer Reviews:

It cost nothing to get in...because they'll never let you out!.......2006-11-10

Shriek Show, a division of Media Blasters, provides us with another entry from The Pete Walker Collection, this one titled The Flesh and Blood Show (1974) aka Asylum of the Insane, directed by Pete Walker (House of Whipcord, Frightmare, Schizo), who considered himself an outsider within the British film industry, and featuring performances by Jenny Hanley (Scars of Dracula), Tristan Rogers (Four Dimensions of Greta), and Patrick Barr (The Satanic Rites of Dracula). Also appearing is Ray Brooks (House of Whipcord), Luan Peters (Twins of Evil), Judy Matheson (Crucible of Terror), Candace Glendenning (Tower of Evil), Penny Meredith (Night Train to Murder), David Howey (Cellar), and Robin Askwith (Horror Hospital), probably best know as the character Timothy Lea from the English `Confessions of...' softcore films.

As the film begins we learn of a group of actors hired to perform some kind of stage production, to which they're all supposed to go to a small English coastal town and rehearse in a gloomy, old, abandoned theater on the end of a deserted pier. As far as those attending there's Jane (Matheson) and her busty, blonde flat mate Carol (Peters), John (Howey), who's a bit of a prankster, an Australian actor named Tony (Rogers), Simon (Askwith), Angela (Meredith), Julia (Hanley), an up and coming film actress looking for some stage experience, and Mike (Brooks), who was hired on as a producer and director. Most everyone arrives about the same time, and after some introductions they all decide to settle in for the night at the theater since the local hotel is closed due to the fact it's the off season. The next day they begin rehearsals, which include performing some lame, interpretational dance numbers with the performers dressed in skimpy furs (I prayed for a murder or two at this point). That evening, after everyone's retired, the fun really begins as woman's screams pierces the night. A quick headcount indicates Angela's missing, but not for long as Mike finds her in a corridor under the stage, looking a bit under the weather if you know what I mean. He neglects telling the others, but rather runs off for the police, and when they return, the body's missing, but a note is left behind, supposedly from Angela claiming she wasn't keen on sticking around, so she left. The next day Mike contacts his agent and a new girl named Sarah arrives (Glendenning) to take Angela's place. After the group meets a local, friendly old timer named Major Bell (Barr), who was something of a performer back in the day, they continue rehearsals, but something's not right, probably given the fact some creep is stalking about the theater. What follows is, well, not much, but we do discover the theater has an interesting past, particularly in terms of a Shakespearian actor, his wife, and another performer who all mysteriously vanished some years ago, relating to a scandal of sorts. Eventually those left discern a killer is lurking about, leading up into a lengthy flashback that reveals all, with a slight twist thrown in at the end for good measure.

Have you ever wanted to see a slasher film without any, actual slashing? Well here's your chance. Now I haven't seen all of Pete Walker's films, but of the ones I've seen this one is the tamest and, quite frankly, most boring. Given the ones I have seen I'd recommend, for someone new to Walker's films, starting off with either Frightmare or House of the Whipcord (or Die Screaming, Marianne if you're a Susan George fan, of which I'm not). It's not that The Flesh and Blood show is a terrible film, but it grows tedious quickly given the fact there's huge chunks of time where very little happens. Given the healthy sized cast I was expecting a larger body count by the end but in reality it was very low. Now I'm not all about the gore but a little thrown in here or there really couldn't have hurt things any. There's no actual killings depicted anywhere in this film, but there is plenty of obvious misdirection intent on putting suspicion on various characters, the idea, perhaps, to keep you guessing up until the very end the identity of the killer. If the whodunit aspect had been stronger I could have passed on the fact there was no blood or depicted violence, but the mystery seemed like no mystery at all as it was pretty obvious to me whom the killer was about halfway through. Even the slight twist at the end wasn't much of a shock as if you paid attention to the flashback sequence as it foreshadowed what was soon to come. I thought the atmosphere of the theater decent and certainly creepy, but often scenes were too dark and it was hard to discern what was happening. I thought most of the performers did all right and the direction solid, but the material seemed lacking and often obvious, which really did little to help the either the director or the actors. One thing the film does have a lot of is nekkidness. I think by the end of the film, nearly every actress appeared topless at one point or another and many of them could have easily found themselves roles in a Russ Meyer film, given their healthy `endowments' (Ms. Glendenning seems the only exception). One interesting aspect, at the beginning of the film there's some text talking about a three dimensional sequence within the film, informing viewers to don their theater supplied viewing glasses when necessary. Obviously the 3D element didn't make it onto this DVD release, but I'm guessing it occurred during the flashback sequence given the performers propensity to `push' objects towards the camera. All in all if you're looking for a frightening, visceral experience you'd best keep looking as the show here features a whole lot more flesh than it does blood. If you're interested in a middling mystery with few shocks, decent atmosphere, and a bit of skin, then this one's for you.

The picture, presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) on this Shriek Show DVD release looks pretty sharp and relatively clean, although it does exhibit signs of aging from time to time. The Dolby Digital mono audio comes through clearly enough. Extras include an original theatrical trailer, an interview piece with the director titled Pete Walker: A Man of Flesh and Blood, a photo gallery featuring production shots and promotional materials, and a slew of trailers for other Pete Walker releases including The Comeback (1978), Frightmare (1974), Die Screaming, Marianne (1971), The Confessional (1976) aka The House of Mortal Sin, and House of the Whipcord (1974).

Cookieman108

Average customer rating:

Blood Feast: B30
Not Classic HGL...
Herschell is back for more!
In the R version, more funny than gorey!
I'm Full

Blood Feast 2 - All You Can Eat
Starring: John McConnell , Mark McLachlan , Melissa Morgan , Toni Wynne , and J.P. Delahoussaye
Director: Herschell Gordon Lewis
Manufacturer: Shriek Show
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00009EIRF
Release Date: 2003-07-29

Description

From the godfather of gore, Herschell Gordon Lewis, comes the most eagerly awaited sequel in the annals of splatter cinema! The cannibal caterer is back with a new recipe for gross-out, comedic carnage that literally blows chunks across the silver screen! From the groundbreaking production team of H.G. Lewis and David Friedman, the maniacal masterminds responsible for Blood Feast, 2000 Maniacs, and Color Me Blood Red, Blood Feast 2 is a gorehound's wet dream!

Customer Reviews:

Blood Feast: B30.......2007-09-01

Herschell Gordon Lewis may have directed Blood feast 2, but he really doesn't consider it one of his films. The reason for this is because he was pretty much a hired-on director for the film; It wasn't his script, the whole idea had been put together and planned out before he even came on board. In fact, the film was all edited, cut and released without Lewis even seeing it! Lewis knew what he was getting into, but he took on this project because he had the itch to make a movie again. Hell, he'd had that itch for quite a few years and when he was approached with a treatment for Blood Feast 2, he happily accepted. He did have fun shooting the film though. Regardless of Lewis' lack of final cut, this movie is pretty fun. It's pretty much what you'd expect one of his films to look like in the 21st century. The acting hasn't improved(or Lewis won't allow it to), the gore is still plentiful and of varying degrees of quality, and it's all still done for laughs, maybe moreso in this film than any of his others. The film is very low budget, yet it looks higher budgeted than any of his previous films. The plot of Blood Feast 2 has the grandson of the killer from the first film inheriting his grandfather's catering business. The new and younger Fuad Ramses decides to set up shop and run his catering business, but he quickly falls under the spell of that evil goddess, Ishtar, and soon he's out collecting those body parts for a brand new blood feast to resurrect the goddess. Opportunity knocks in the form of a wedding reception he's hired to cater. Soon the bridesmaids are becoming ingredients for the feast. Two detectives are hot on the case, one of them is the son of the detective from the first film. Essentially, it's a rehashing of Blood feast, you could almost call it a remake. Lewis piles on the gore, which like his later films, consist of many shots of hands digging in bellies/torsos, pulling out organs and squeezing them and playing with them. And people thought Lucio Fulci lingered on gore shots!! The gore scenes are accompanied by music from rockabilly/surf band Southern Culture On The Skids, giving the scenes a goofy yet different feel from the organ and jazz music we used to hear in the gore scenes in Lewis' older films. I found this movie to be quite funny. It's full of bad puns(which I love), cartoony slapstick and sometimes clever exchanges, usually between Ramses and the detectives. The detectives are a hoot. While Blood Feast 2 may not break the ground that Lewis' films did years earlier, it's a nice throwback to those good ol days, and shows that 30+ years out of the director's chair hasn't hindered Lewis one bit. Lets just hope he gets the urge to do this a bit more often.

Not Classic HGL..........2006-12-27

I wanted to like this movie because I like HGL in interviews, I love his commentaries on his older DVD's, and I like horror. Campy horror is okay, exploitation films are great, gore is fine by me. Sadly, I cannot recommend this movie. The good? Well, this is the type of film where women decide to have a "lingere shower" prior to a wedding and model said lingere for each other. More nudity than you can shake a stick at. The bad? Most everything else. The jokes are occasionally funny, but mostly just terribly unfunny. The acting is miserable because it seems intentionally bad (one of the hallmarks of a good bad movie is that it wants to be good). Fuad Ramses III is cringe-inducing; the music is over used and too campy; the script is closer to "Hell Asylum" than "2,000 Maniacs." If you like gore flicks, stick with the original.

Herschell is back for more!.......2006-08-09

Blood Feast 2 finds Herschell Gordon Lewis returning to the genre that brought him the most recognition - the splatter film. A lot of things have changed in the 39 years since the original Blood Feast (1963), but the essences remains. Blood Feast was widely influential in its time. Many directors followed Lewis' lead using exploitative gore to various degrees of success. However, with Blood Feast 2 (2002), Herschell is no longer the innovator. Where films such as 2000 Maniacs, She Devils on Wheels, and the Gore Gore Girls forged new paths in the 60s, There are two new generations of horror directors working today from John Carpenter and George Romero to Takashi Miike and Eli Roth and this is reflected in Blood Feast 2. The film contains countless references to other films such as Halloween and Fritz Lang's M. It even references the electric knife from The Gruesome Twosome!

Herschell Gordon Lewis is proud of his oeuvre, as he has stated in many interviews and commentaries, but he also knows that his films are not "high art". A number of factors such as time, money, personnel gave his films a special cheesy look. I was interested to see if the results would change now that Lewis has a bigger budget, more time, and a fair amount of celebrity. I'm happy to report that the film still feels as though it were finished in about five days. The camera work is in focus (as Herschell always insisted), but that's about all that can be said for it. The sound recording ranges from moderate to very poor. Some parts have such obvious dubbing that it seems almost intentional. The color isn't too bad, but the film looks cheap and a little grainy. This, however, could be the fault of Media Blasters who do a consistently terrible job of producing DVDs.

The acting is as terrible as ever. It's not always apparent whether the actors are trying to be cheesy or not. It's hard to believe that so many talentless individuals could be gathered to appear in one single movie. This results in many many laughs. There's nothing funnier than an actor tripping over the punch-line of a joke that is itself so bad it that it hurts. Characters, their motivations, and their temperaments can turn on a dime. One minute the young detective is bullying his secretary, the next minute he's cracking jokes. There are some wonderfully over-the-top moments featuring character actors being silly - Herschell is not above resorting to slapstick humor if necessary. There are even a few cameos by John Waters (Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble etc.), David Friedman (Lewis' partner in crime), and others.

The big draw is of course the gore, of which there is plenty. It's not so constant that it becomes tiresome, but rather is interspersed throughout the film. It's most similar to Wizard of Gore - lots of digging around torsos and such. The gore is no more convincing than it ever was. When Faud III is digging eyeballs out of a corpse, it looks as much like a dummy as the earlier films.

Overall, there is a lot here to interest the rabid HGL fan. If you've seen all of his movies, listened to the commentaries, and read the books about his work, Blood Feast 2 is incredibly rich. There were more little inside jokes than I could count. Herschell went all out with the puns for this one. There are some terrible, awful jokes that make your eyes roll right out of their sockets.

The best part of Blood Feast 2 is that it's consistently bad, but never dull. Lewis directed some steaming piles that drag on and on (Monster A-Go-Go springs to mind), but this has nice pacing through and through. There aren't any moments of obvious filler as in The Gruesome Twosome - everything seen is justified. Well, as much as a gratuitous lingerie party featuring five "model/actressess" can be justified!

The down side is the DVD production (lack of) quality. Media Blasters should be simultaneously thanked for releasing titles that are guaranteed to be poor sellers and scolded for putting out such shoddy releases. The video quality is substandard. There are some interesting special features (especially on the Special Edition), but some aren't even worth messing with because the quality is so bad. Disc one features a photo gallery of HGL and company that is so pixelated that one must wonder how much work went into making this "Special Edition". Complaining is probably useless because few others would want to touch this project, but Media Blasters should take a look at Cult Epics, Synapse, and even Criterion.

Aside from the poor video quality, the extras are pretty lame. The special edition comes with a second disc that contains about twenty minutes of video - TOTAL. There's an "on the set with HGL" where we get to see Herschell talk about how a camera is going to come down a flight of stairs. Wow. There's a "behind the scenes with the cast and crew" where a guy goes around to various people asking what they do. Amazingly, literally 80% say "nothing" or "I don't do anything" and the other 20% are actresses. There's a "behind the gore" feature that's an amazing minute and forty seconds of an actor cutting off a head and then digging through a skull. Finally, there are three deleted scenes which are uniformly dull. These extras are pathetic. The original price of $35 is beyond obscene! I wouldn't even recommend the special edition to anyone. The movie itself is the *only* good thing about this package. The extras will disappoint you - they're worthless. I think the presence of an extra disc for the "special edition" is a sneaky move on the part of Media Blasters to trick consumers into thinking that they're something of substance to be found. Certain they could have fit these twenty minutes onto the movie DVD, especially considering the video quality that they found acceptable. Don't be fooled.

Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat is a great film from a true innovator. It's constantly entertaining, campy, and always funny. Don't bother with the two disc set though. There's nothing there.

In the R version, more funny than gorey!.......2006-05-08

I first saw the R rated version of this that had about 6 minutes of gore cut, resulting in this tame version to have little gore. Still, I liked this movie! The gore level was low but this movie redeemed itself with its comedy and sexy scenes!!! This still was a hell of a good film even without the gore! Later I bought the unrated uncut version which is the orgiinal film with all 6 minutes of gore put back. It still basically is the same movie with or without the gore, but the unrated movie just featured extended scenes of unneeded storyless torture, violence, disembowlment and even more that was kinda fake looking,but still at a gross out level. I liked this movie with or without the gore, but for those gore hounds out there, check out the unrated version, cause this has wall to wall with gore!!

I'm Full.......2006-03-07

I have nothing against "camp": camp can be funny, camp can be entertaining. I have nothing against "schlock"; it has its place in cheap horror films, too.

But I had no idea what kind of garbage I was about to see when I watched Blood Feast 2 - All U Can Eat. Someone needs to tell the, uh, "director" a/k/a Herschell Gordon Lewis that his special effects used in his original Blood Feast might have scared a 10-year old then. In 2006, well, it's pretty pitiful when you recycle the same old garbage--and come up with worse trash.

I am not going to tell anything about the storyline because, well, you have to have a storyline first. All this movie entails is "dialogue; gruesome scene; dialogue; gruesome scene; dialogue/nakedness/then gruesome scene. To borrow a phrase uttered by Beavis and Butthead, "these effects aren't very special". That phrase sums up this lame attempt at movie making. If I could give this "zero" stars, I would.

Don't waste your time or your money. This is probably the WORST movie I've ever seen.

Blood Feast 2 - All U Can Eat (Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

Blood Feast: B30
Not Classic HGL...
Herschell is back for more!
In the R version, more funny than gorey!
I'm Full

Blood Feast 2 - All U Can Eat (Special Edition)
Starring: John McConnell , Mark McLachlan , Melissa Morgan , Toni Wynne , and J.P. Delahoussaye
Director: Herschell Gordon Lewis
Manufacturer: Shriek Show
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00009EIRH
Release Date: 2003-08-19

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Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror

Average customer rating:

Bloody Okay!

Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror
Starring: Christopher Lee , and Peter Cushing
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0002W4TV2
Release Date: 2004-10-05

Description

Explore the most legendary horror studio of all time with this fascinating, frightening journey hosted by terror titans Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. England's most successful independent film company, the "fear factory" of Hammer Studios, has a history filled with feuds, censorship battles and streaks of luck both good and bad. Now the legacy of horror returns, featuring interviews with such Hammer legends as Raquel Welch, Veronica Carlson, Caroline Munro, Ingrid Pitt, Jimmy Sangster, Hazel Court, Martine Beswicke, Freddie Francis, Val Guest and Ray Harryhausen. Plus you'll be treated to behind-the-scenes home movies and nonstop shock scenes from over 40 classic films, including Horror of Dracula, Curse of Frankenstein, The Devil Rides Out, Curse of the Werewolf and many more! It's the definitive study of one of the greatest names in horror!

Customer Reviews:

Bloody Okay!.......2005-01-15

The documentary is interesting, of course, but it seems to be sort of a budget production, with archival material that ranges from acceptable to, well,... scans from cheap horror magazines. More, a lot of it appears to have been transferred from videotape. Considering that the Hammer movies themselves are so lush, it seems a pity that the definitive Hammer documentary should be so cheap-jack. And I would have liked to hear about Amicus and the other Hammer offshoots, but I can see how that would be a problem to arrange. As with many British documentaries, it seems awfully formal at times. I don't want to make it sound all that bad, though. There are interesting interviews (many that I'd never seen before), behind-the-scenes home-movies, production footage and other surprises. In all, it's well worth the price if you are a fan of Hammer, or Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, who happen to be the hosts of the documentary!.

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