Mary, Bloody Mary

Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary (1975)

** (out of 4)

Forgotten Mexican horror film about an American painter named Mary (Cristina Ferrare) who is living in Mexico where she sells her works and also kills people for their blood. It turns out Mary is a vampire but not the traditional one with fangs. Since she has no fangs she must stab or slash the throats of her victims but soon she has a new man (David Young) in her life as well as a mysterious man (John Carradine) in black who appears to be doing the same type of murders. The term "less would have been more" certainly applied to this film because somewhere in this mess there's a good movie but sadly the direction is so poor and the film goes off in so many directions that you can't help but loose focus on the majority of everything going on. If you read the film details you're going to be reminded of George Romero's MARTIN, which would follow a few years later and it's pretty fair to say that the Romero film is a remake of this, although it's certainly much better done with many of the weak points left out. The film's screenplay never really makes anything clear including what's going on with Mary. We never really learn why she has no fangs or why she needs the blood at all. We never figure out why she keeps this guy in her life when he could have made another victim. There's a lesbian art seller who comes in then out of the movie without too much explanation. Even worse is that the film runs an incredibly overlong 91-minutes and while so much plot is left missing we get other scenes that just drag out for no reason. There's one sequence where a woman is hitchhiking yet it takes nearly two-minutes worth of screen time before she finally gets in the car where the action then starts. Why on Earth did they drag this out so much? The entire time of her waiting to get in the car adds nothing to the film other than the extended running time. Those wanting gory violence will probably have a smile on their face after the first murder, which is quite graphic as Mary is having sex with a man only to then cut his throat and out comes the red stuff. This first murder has a ton of gore in it but from this point on the murders become less gruesome and there are a few where no blood is shown. Those wanting nudity will find some here but it's mostly un-erotic stuff including the bit where the lesbian finally gets Mary in the bathtub. Ferrare isn't too bad in the role of Mary but she certainly can't compare with previous female vampires from the 70s. Carradine only appears in a few scenes as he apparently left the film before shooting was complete, which means we get a much younger stunt double running around with a cape over his face. MARY, MARY, BLOODY MARY has some very interesting ideas but sadly none of them ever come together. There's way too many dry spots but I'm sure with a little editing this thing could have been a little better. Romero's MARTIN certainly got the job done much better.

MARY, MARY, BLOODY MARY stars Cristina Ferrare as the serial exsanguinator of the title. All is well with her thirst-quenching endeavor, until she happens upon Ben (David Young), who sets her heart aflutter. Thankfully, romance doesn't slow her down one bit. The police are on the case, but there might also be a copycat on the prowl.

Director Juan Lopez Moctezuma presents us with a unique twist on the modern vampire tale. Instead of the usual trappings and tropes, he gives us a bizarre story of true bloodlust. This was a perfect Drive-In movie in its day, and still holds up well for Late-Night viewing. The grisly finale is a real grabber!

Watch for John Carradine in a small, but important role...

Ben Ryder (David Young) is hitchhiking across Mexico when he meets Mary (Cristina Ferrare) at an abandoned house on a dark 'n stormy night. The two hit it off and begin travelling together. But Ben doesn't know about Mary's insatiable need to drink blood, which leaves a path of corpses in its wake. Grabbed this one randomly to watch and it was pretty good. It can never live up to its amazing theatrical artwork, but what film could live up to that poster? One of the most interesting aspects of it is that it shot in Mexico. That doesn't really matter for the first hour or so, but toward the end director Juan Lopez Moctezuma starts to use the Mexico setting better. Especially good is a section in a Mexican parade where Mary is attacked by a stranger. The stranger is played by John Carradine and his face is cover 90% of the time, allowing the filmmakers to do lots of Lugosi/Plan 9 moments with the character. Also good is a chase in the finale the ends in a barren area that is perfect for the downbeat ending.

I rather liked this small budgeted movie from the 70's about a woman who acts like a vampire in terms of feeding on blood but in no other way. Mary is an artist who kills men - and a woman - for the blood in their bodies. The sunshine doesn't bother her, apparently Crucifixes hold no spell over her, or garlic or any other vampiric safeguard we have seen in movies before. But that really is not what the film is about. It is about Mary finding herself and something/someone she loves - maybe. If I do not sound too convincing, it is because it is not too direct in what it is trying to do. Mary has other problems. It seems her father holds some sway over her, even though they have not seen each other in many, many years. He is the one that gave her this insatiable thirst to feed on the living. Character actor legend John Carradine plays the role with gusto, and at least several stunt doubles as he drives cars maniacally, runs up hills, and fights like a street kid. I do have to say that watching the cloaked and masked figure of Carradine do all these things was quite amusing, especially later when he pulls the mask down and we see this somewhat feeble old man that was John Carradine. That leap of credibility aside and several other leaps as well, Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary has some interesting things going for it. It is a precursor to Martin, perhaps Romero borrowed from here. Christine Ferrare looks lovely, and I thought she did an OK job with the role. She was quite good at looking bewildered. Maybe that was not intentional but worked for me. The settings in Mexico and Southern California have that cheap 70's feel that always injects some nostalgia into me. That was a decade for films like this that I grew up watching late at night(on the weekends) and all summer long. The murders too are for the most part pretty unsettling. The opening flashback scene and the one with the fisherman were particularly well-shot. I loved the eerie paintings too. But before you get the impression I thought this was a great film, Ferrare is very limited in her acting range, the rest of the actors often more so, Carradine's character is ridiculous, and the second half of the film plunges into total unreality - I shook my head again and again. Notwithstanding these very real problems, because of the atmosphere, the weird, interesting story, and the nostalgic feelings it gives off - I give this film a qualified thumbs up!

First off, I loved the casting in this and the look and feel of it. I even thought the premise was interesting. That's why I kept watching. But when the killers so consistently get away when they could have been dealt with so easily over and over and over again, it really annoys me. Several victims drop their knives and/or guns or just ridiculously fall down instead of fighting back against their attacker. There was just no way for me to suspend disbelief in this movie and that really hurt it for me.

Honestly, the only real reason I kept watching was Cristina Ferrare. Her performance actually felt sincere and plausible almost no matter how ridiculous the situation was. It was a complex role to pull off, too. She's sort of bad and good at the same time. And she's gorgeous, to boot.

I'm seeing a lot of high reviews here with people who liked it a lot more than I did, so maybe you will too. I just couldn't handle how ridiculously often and easily the killer dispatched prey and evaded death. It reminded me of comedy bits where someone gets killed by a slow moving steamroller simply because they don't step out of the way of its path. The movie isn't quite that egregious, but it's up there.

Watch it for Cristina Ferrare's performance. As far as a thriller goes, it's only satisfying if you don't mind that it's mostly just people getting chased down and killed. It really did feel like a TV movie except for the nudity and light fake blood gore.

My two cents. Good luck.