my review of Bloodsucking Freaks

[DefJeff]

This time its one of my all time favorite movies, the ultimate date movie, the great Bloodsucking Freaks! Wow Troma released a DVD of this quite awhile ago, is it worth it? Read on.......

I'll get the technical stuff out of the way first. This is a Troma DVD we are dealing with here-- so dont expect anything good. The video quality is bad...VHS quality, maybe a little above.. the audio is about the same as the visual. The extras are the same as all Troma releases, with the addition of a commentary by Eli Roth and the trailer for Bloodsucking Freaks.

But now the movie itself is a different story!

In short, its about an off, off, off, off, offf Broadway show of the torture/murder/humiliation (not in that order) of women by Sardu and his assistant Ralphus.....but Sardu wants more. He has higher hopes to be a true Broadway director. So when he receives a bad review, he kidnapes the reviewer and keeps him prisoner, promising him that he will put on a great show with the star being the great prima ballerina, Nastasha D'Natalie. Sardu sends his assistant Ralphus to kidnap her--- and now its up to her boyfriend and a cop to uncover whats really going on at "The Theatre of the Macabre" and save Natasha!

I LOVE this movie. Sardu is easily one of the best characters EVER to be put on screen. Did i mention his assistant Ralphus is a black midget who among other things, hides in gym lockers with a blow gun? Do i even need to mention Sardu has a cage of naked cannibal women in his basement? How about just ONE of the classic lines of this movie-- "Her mouth will make a very interesting urinal" . plus there is brain slurping, feet chopping, penis eating, severed head masturbating and more fun. HIGHLY entertaining movie to say the least.


DVD (extras, audio, visual): :banana: :banana: out of 5
Movie: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: out of 5

A classic of exploitation not to be missed by anyone! Highly recommended viewing by me.... the dvd is cheap too :)

opinions anyone?

[mcchrist]

This is the only Troma DVD worth buying IMO, the movie is truly crecent fresh, and that would be an understatement! Plenty of sleaze, gore, naked chicks (there's a few nameless chicks on here that are hotter than anything you'd see in hardcore pornos), gore, white slavery, Sardu... RALPHUS! Any movie that has some pervy ripping out teeth from a chick so she doesn't bite during a blow job has to be entertaining at the least.

[Wez4555]

i thought it was strickly just..ok. i enjoy popping it in every now and then but its not one of my favs. there are some cool scenes like using a chicks ass as a dart board. :lol:

[mutleyhyde]

"DON'T YOU DARE RUIN MY DINNER!"

Ralphus wasn't black. Well, he may have been black at heart... like me. :)

Ralphus rules, yo.

[Broken]

Too over the top for me. I have the vhs and I only watched it once.:(

[rxfiend]

the movie is great for parties! LOL. i remember having it on vhs and showing it to all kinds of people just to get their reaction.

didn't this movie have a different title?

[DefJeff]

i THINK it was AKA The Incredible Torture Show

Ralphus wasnt black eh? what was he? spanish?

nice to see there is at least a couple other fans of this movie

[NickyDoyle]

Your right, Jeff, it's AKA The Incredible Torture Show. And according to the IMDb, some other aka's are:
Bloodsucking Freaks (1976) (USA: alternative spelling)
Heritage of Caligula (1976)
Heritage of Caligula: An Orgy of Sick Minds, The (1976) (USA: video title)
House of the Screaming Virgins, The (1976)
Incredible Torture Show, The (1976) (USA: alternative title)
Sardu, Master of the Screaming Virgins (1976) (USA: original script title)

[mcchrist]

Sardu, Master of the Screaming Virgins

That is a great fucking title!!!

[mutleyhyde]

Originally posted by DefJeff
i THINK it was AKA The Incredible Torture Show

Ralphus wasnt black eh? what was he? spanish?

nice to see there is at least a couple other fans of this movie

Yeah, Ralphus is of hispanic descent, but he was born in New York, or so the IMDb says. I can see how one may be confused though... the man has one righteous assed fro goin' on in Bloodsucking Freaks. :D

I love this movie! It's simply a fuggin' classic.

[Nemesis]

sorry to dig this thread up but i didnt want to start a whole new thread about the dvd..


can anyone tell me if this is still orderable?? (ie is it OOP?) most websites ive searched on dont seem to have it.. i did a bit of a search using www.happyhunter.com and it found a few but im worried that most of these wont have it in stock and are just listing it coz theyll throw me on backorder for 6 months

[Andrew]

Same here, but I saw a copy at Suncoast a while ago for $10 or $15, so I'm gonna head there. I haven't had luck finding it online though, and when I did it was more than I was willing to spend.

[Mortis]

I've seen the same copy sitting at Suncoast for the longest time now. I think it's $19.99, though. I hate Suncoast's prices.

[Latency]

Originally posted by DefJeff
i THINK it was AKA The Incredible Torture Show

Ralphus wasnt black eh? what was he? spanish?

nice to see there is at least a couple other fans of this movie

Yep, otherwise known as "T.I.T.S" :D

[Atmims]

Gread old thread, makes me wanna pop in my copy of the movie and watch it again, might just do that tonight. :D Ralphus was awesome. I just checked out IMDB and he died way back in 88 from a heart attack sadly. He did play in some pornos though! hah hah! He's in "Let my Puppets Come" too (a puppet porn movie)! I've always been interested in seeing that movie but now I just gotta find a copy.

[Deaddevilman]

Originally posted by mutleyhyde
Yeah, Ralphus is of hispanic descent, but he was born in New York

Newrican is the proper term.

[Nemesis]

Cheers guys, think ill add it to my list of upcoming purchases

[b-oblivion]

Just saw this in the theatre on Sat. We had a 30 years of Troma special in town and got to see Cannibal:The Musical and all the Toxic Avengers in one sitting(which isn't a good thing after all.) Even got to interview Lloyd Kaufman for a local movie show I host.

[x666x]

I love this fim. Saw a bunch for sale at an HMV in Montreal a month ago for anyone who is looking.

[Andrew]

Dammit, I went back to Suncoast today and it seemed as though they had sold off their copy. Guess I'll have to spend a bit more than I was hoping...

[Atmims]

awesome avatar Andrew!

[RyanPC]

Last week I found a copy of the old Vestron VHS that was in great condition for sale at a local video store. It was my first time seeing it and I absolutely love it! I should write a sequel... :lol: :eek2:

[mutleyhyde]

Why not order the dvd from Troma (http://store.troma.com/index.php?SCREEN=item&store=default&item=637)?

http://store.troma.com/SiteImages/TR9830-lg.jpg
BLOODSUCKING FREAKS: One of the most popular cult classics in film history, Bloodsucking Freaks is the gore-filled masterpiece from director Joel M. Reed. Bloodsucking Freaks is a grand guignol tale of horror set in a New York theatre of the macabre, where the audience gets sex, violence, and cannibalism! No one can remain unmoved by the intense scenes of carnage - from the human dartboard to the infamous brain sucking scene. Bloodsucking Freaks is guaranteed to turn stomachs!

“Three and a half stars.” - Joe Bob Briggs

DVD FEATURES

Intro by Troma President Lloyd Kaufman
Full-length commentary from blood and guts expert Eli Roth, director of Cabin Fever
Original Trailer
Troma Public Service Announcements
No Regional Coding - Playable Worldwide!

Just 7.99, plus a small shipping fee ;) , and it's yours!

[RyanPC]

Why not order the dvd from Troma (http://store.troma.com/index.php?SCREEN=item&store=default&item=637)?

http://store.troma.com/SiteImages/TR9830-lg.jpg


Just 7.99, plus a small shipping fee ;) , and it's yours!

Hmm, that's a great deal. Thanks, Hyde! :p

Is the Director's Cut any different from the Vestron VHS?

[DefJeff]

I am not sure about the differences in the versions Ryan, but it's nice to see you enjoyed the movie. At that price, the disc is an absolute steal!

[Revoltor]

It's a trick!!

Shipping costs the same as the movie!!

[mutleyhyde]

Yep, shipping does suck, but if you can't find it anywhere else...

And the dvd is well worth $16.

Ryan, I don't remember any major differences, but then again, I don't know if I watched the Vestron vhs so many years ago, or another company. What I can tell you is that the great commentary isn't on the Vestron video.

[RyanPC]

Yep, shipping does suck, but if you can't find it anywhere else...

And the dvd is well worth $16.

Ryan, I don't remember any major differences, but then again, I don't know if I watched the Vestron vhs so many years ago, or another company. What I can tell you is that the great commentary isn't on the Vestron video.

Well, even if there weren't any differences I'd get it anyway. The movie just rocks. :)

[SaviniFan]

I've always passed up this movie numerous times but after reading this revived thread I think it's time for me to get off my ass and get this movie before it's no longer available. I've seen it just recently at one of my local Media Play, so I'm there before the end of the week.

[mutleyhyde]

There's a great Troma and Roan sale (http://horrordvds.com/vb3forum/showthread.php?t=16983) going on right now for anyone who needs Bloodsucking Freaks and other Troma flicks, as well as the vintage label, Roan. Check it out, yo. :banana:

[dwatts]

I'll simply add my review hin this thread :)

Pulp horror - exploitation - body horror - gorefest - sado-masochistic - so bad it's good - brutal. That about sums up my feelings about Blood Sucking Freaks.

This film is part all of the things mentioned above. When I went into this one I was fully expecting a little bit of exploitation nuttiness, something campy, over-the-top, and daft. And honestly, I got that. But underneath it, somehow it managed to bother me. For all the cheesy stupid moments, for the incompetence of the not so special effects, and over-acting, Blood Sucking Freaks has at its core a meanness that is rarely seen on the screen.

f course this is a low low budget affair, and the budget they had clearly went on naked women and lots of the red stuff. Much of the time the actors appear to be on an amateur theatrical stage, with great swathes of dark shadow covering their surroundings, presumably because there was nothing there, or at the very least, only a poorly dressed set. Given that the plot, the sets, and the acting, weren't exactly top of the priority list for this one, I suppose we shouldn't complain.

So what exactly is the point? Well, the point of this one undoubtedly was that old favorite, the desire to shock. At its heart, Blood Sucking Freaks is attempting only to generate controversy, to make audience members feel ill, and to cause the general populace to question the very nature of film itself. It's only when it's playing to this simple truth that it becomes truly effective.

Back in the day of Video Nasties this was the perfect film to practice your use of the fast forward button with. It works perfectly well without the remnants of the plot, and the dialog is nothing to write home about after all. On the other hand, to do so would rob you of the crazed performances of Luis and Seamus O'Brien as Sardu. O'Brien doesn't look like an actor, doesn't act like one, and doesn't seem to care to pretend to be one. Which probably explains his short filmography, just this and one other film, The Happy Hooker, starring Lynn Redgrave.

One should also say that if you enjoy black humor, and I do mean black black black humor, then you might also find something to enjoy in this film. Take for instance the backgammon game, where Sardu and Ralphus are wagering the fingers of their slaves. As each of them is chopped off, the coldest of hearts among you might find time to grin, ever so slightly. There are also several scenes of cannibal women (evidently driven mad by Sardu's incarceration) that are good for a hoot. The over-acting is extreme, and it's only the fact that the women are butt naked that adds a serious edge to it.

In the end then, this is a desperate little movie, made by desperate people, for desperate people. It succeeds in most everything it sets out to do, and is deserving of its reputation. Don't forget though, gorefests like this are never frightening, just disgusting. There's no real horror here, just over-the-top madness and scenes sure to set mainstream audiences into some kind of fit. I wish I could brush those concerns away by proclaiming, "Oh, but it's just a good bit of fun", but honestly, there's something about Blood Sucking Freaks that suggests it's a bit more than that.

Use of terms such as "misogynistic" might at first glance seem appropriate, and the vast majority of times us horror fans brush such claims off as coming from people who simply don't understand the films they see. However, with this one, it's more difficult to come to the films defense. Whether that's a good thing, or bad, is up to the viewer. Personally I think this is essential viewing for gore fans, for horror fans, and for fans of exploitation cinema. However, for other people with more conventional tastes, watching the film might be more akin to appearing in it. That wouldn't be a good.


The longer, fuller, review - with screenshots, can be found at this place here (http://www.xtheunknown.com/Reviews/bloodsuckingfreaks.html).

I think this is an interesting little film, mostly for the wrong reasons :D

[tobaccoman]

Apparently there's a Bloodsucking Freaks II to be made... and I'm not talking about Maniac Nurses Find Ecstasy. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462202/)

[RyanPC]

Apparently there's a Bloodsucking Freaks II to be made... and I'm not talking about Maniac Nurses Find Ecstasy. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462202/)

WTF! I had an idea for a sequel when I first saw the original, but then I found out that Seamus O'Brien and Luis De Jesus were both dead so I scrapped those plans. :(

[baggio]

Gread old thread, makes me wanna pop in my copy of the movie and watch it again, might just do that tonight. :D Ralphus was awesome. I just checked out IMDB and he died way back in 88 from a heart attack sadly. He did play in some pornos though! hah hah! He's in "Let my Puppets Come" too (a puppet porn movie)! I've always been interested in seeing that movie but now I just gotta find a copy.


This Ralphus? :lol: :lol: :lol:

http://www.obsessedwithwrestling.com/pictures/r/ralphus/03.jpg


Bodyguard Extraordinaire!

[satans-sadists]

Too over the top for me. I have the vhs and I only watched it once.:(
I generally love over the top grindhouse. This movie was too over the top for my tastes too.

[Wez4555]

Apparently there's a Bloodsucking Freaks II to be made... and I'm not talking about Maniac Nurses Find Ecstasy. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462202/) is it about the Bush administration?

[Numania]

This Ralphus? :lol: :lol: :lol:

http://www.obsessedwithwrestling.com/pictures/r/ralphus/03.jpg


Bodyguard Extraordinaire!

BAH!! hahahahahhaha

That guy fuckin' ruled!!!