Bloodsucking Freaks

If you enjoy a movie full of weird, sick and revolting content this is the one to watch! I absolutly love this movie. No their isnt any vampires in it (Although it does have similarities) but it is filled with sadistic, gross, torturistic images sure to satisfy any vampiristic desires..

Think of it as a sideshow of the grotesque for that is how I view it. If I had to point out the shortfalls in the movie I would say the ending although ok, could have been better and at times the content moves along rather slow but once it gets going you will love it..

In a strange way it reminds me of the "suicide club" segment in the "Nighttrain To Terror" movie.. You find yourself anticipating the next scene. Is this movie sick? Depends on the viewer and their outlook. I would say it was great grotesque entertainment..

It's VERY hard to believe that it has already been four years since I first saw this film. I vividly remember the non-stop tastelessness, the pathetic attempts at humour, the frequent gore, and of course, Ralphus, who is one of the most vile characters that I have ever seen in the movies. Yet, having said all that, I liked this movie. There are some scenes that are as funny as anything that you're ever likely to see...although in a SICK way. It isn't for the squeamish or the easily offended, but if you can appreciate low-budget trash for what it is, then you'll probably find that this movie is well worth your time.

Having acquired this on Blu-ray, I was most surprised to discover that I had never seen it. I certainly saw plenty of its ilk back in the video collecting days. It has to be said, however, that like the old sex film posters, there was a considerable gap between what was offered and what was provided. Imagine my surprise then to find not only had I never seen it but that it was as described complete with a cage of 'bloodsucking freaks', well naked ladies who eat chunks of human flesh. At the start we cut from an on stage atrocity to an audience shot where some 'complain' that it is all a sham, 'just acting'and the impresario informs us not so. As a film audience, of course, when we see the body parts cut off and eyeballs removed know well that this is acting and effects but it becomes clear that within the film these activities are real Its all very silly and over the top but the effects aren't bad, the humour is amusing and the low budget not as obvious in some. Trouble has been taken with the set design too and most scenes actually look good as opposed to ill lit basement sequences badly put together. Hardly something to recommend to just anyone but if the title appeals, give it a go.

Blood Sucking Freaks is often considered an exploitation classic, and is one of the select few Troma films to receive a reputation anything like that. It's not hard to see why this film is so well revered among fans of wayward cinema - the gore is disgusting, the torture scenes are extended and make for highly unpleasant viewing and there's an extremely misogynistic tone running throughout the film; something that is very popular with many fans of this sort of cinema. I definitely consider myself an exploitation fan, but I'm only going to rate this film as a must see for people like me; as in it's own right, Blood Sucking Freaks really isn't all that good. The film reminded me a lot of a HG Lewis movie, and the plot seems to take some influence from the "classic", The Wizard of Gore, as it follows a stage act. The stage act here concerns S&M and torture, and the "magician" at the centre achieves his realistic effects through actually killing his actors on stage while his crowd watch. Furthermore, the girls are put to use again for his own sick pleasure, and he has a cage full of rabid, meat-eating naked women in his basement...

The main problem with this film as far as I'm concerned is that it gets too caught up in the sadistic acts and the plot doesn't move fast enough, so after a while it starts to get boring. Director Joel M. Reed clearly has an eye for nasty torture, however, as this film features some of the sickest sequences I've ever seen; chief among them being the guillotine scene, and the part where someone drills a hole in someone's head and proceeds to suck out their brains with a straw! Seamus O'Brien is the lead actor, and it's not surprising that this was one of only two roles for him. His acting is campy and silly, and I really couldn't see him fitting into any other kind of film...which is both praise and a criticism. The locations and special effects all look very cheap, and it's clear that this film was shot on a very low budget; but this grittiness creates a very unclean atmosphere, which helps the film overall as it bodes very well with the nastiness of the action on display. Overall, Blood Sucking Freaks isn't exactly a classic film for my money - but it is mandatory viewing for exploit fans.

Anyone whose tastes run towards exploitation films kind of knows "the drill," the recurring themes, methodology, and clichés of the genre. We embrace them, and an exploitation film which effectively "plays the game" can get away with a multitude of since which would be unforgivable in mainstream cinema (bad acting, bad writing, bad production values, etc.).

By those standards, "Bloodsucking Freaks" should be hailed as a masterpiece of the genre, and, judging by its enduring cult popularity, it is. Still, there's something about this film which limits the viewer's ability to enjoy it for what it is, and, thus, limits itself. At first, it's hard to put one's finger on exactly what it is, but I think I've finally worked it out. Simply put, filmmaker Joel M. Reed made a film whose spirit is as mean-spirited and diabolical as what we see up on the screen.

"Bloodsucking Freaks," as often as not, plays its numerous horrors for laughs. (Indeed, Sardu and Ralphus occasionally come across as a kind of nightmarish stand-up comedy act.) The trouble is, the intention behind the humor is anything but good-natured. Any viewer with any kind of decency at all can't relate to the motivations behind what they see, and this diminishes the fun of watching this movie to a great degree. For exploitation fans, there is a fine line between brutal and unwatchable, and there are many times during which "Freaks" sinks below that line. And so while this film is an absolute must-see for fans of the genre (although how many such fans have not seen this movie?), it's not going to be one of the films in their collection which can be revisited often.