Blood Sabbath

Blood Sabbath (1972)

** (out of 4)

David (Anthon Geary) is walking around the country when he comes into a small town. He goes to sleep one night in the woods and is woken up by four naked women climbing over him. He manages to escape from them (why?) and then meets one woman and quickly falls in love but she keeps refusing him. It turns out he's gotten involved with a coven of witches and now they are going up against Alotta, the Queen of the Witches (Dyanne Thorne).

BLOOD SABBATH isn't a masterpiece or even a very good movie but it's got a few interesting aspects that make it worth watching. I'd be shocked if the budget was over $100,000 but that's not a slam on the picture. It's clear that they weren't working with much of a budget yet they appeared to find every woman that was willing to strip down. The film might not offer a very original story but it offers up plenty of nudity and then there's Thorne.

The biggest problem with this film is its pacing. The film moves way too slow for its own good and this was especially true for the final twenty-minutes or so. Before all of that, we're actually treated to a mildly entertaining film. I thought Geary was good in the lead role and at least kept you interested in what's going on. Susan Damante was good as well and it's always fun to see Thorne.

Another good thing about the movie was the setting as you really did get the feeling that you were out in the middle of nowhere. BLOOD SABBATH isn't going to have too many fans out there and especially since there are so many better movies dealing with witches. Still, if you're a fan of these types of movies this one is worth seeing.

The world's least convincing Vietnam Vet (Tony Geary) finds himself in the middle of a conflict involving a coven of hot naked chicks. Oh, and they all want to have sex with him/rape him (Oh no!)

Yes, that's the premise. Done while Vietnam was still in our psyche (and the hippie movement was dying, thank God), "Blood Sabbath" is one of those sleazy, strange horror/exploitation flicks that played in drive in theaters. As you can see from the premise, the movie is as dumb as it sounds. Nudity is abundant (not that there's anything wrong with that), dialog is stilted, Vietnam flashbacks are poorly done and have little to do with the ridiculous plot, and the movie in itself is a totally surreal experience.

Honestly, how do you rate a movie like this? It's bad, but it's so strange and stupid that it defies description. I honestly can't see an oddity like this being made today. See it if you want to see what independent horror was like before "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and after "Night of the Living Dead."

Awesome score by Les Baxter BTW.

I voted "excellent" because I have not seen the movie since 1972. I was involved with its production and, quite honestly, had no idea that there was a print out there, anywhere in the world. Thought for sure it had been lost and destroyed. lol I have ordered the film so that I can view it, and it will be fun trying to remember what was what. Tony Geary was an unknown at the time that this was made. Once he made it big on "General Hospital," he would have taken it all back. Again I am laughing because it is a part of my life that I find myself reviewing these days as I approach 71 years old as a little old grandmother. It will be fun to share this with my daughter who had not been born at the time. Bri was a lovely film photographer, a very nice lady, and did some directorial work. Her passing was mentioned a few years ago on the Oscar show. Took me back some. But then many of the people involved with that production have passed. Bill Bairn the producer is gone, Sam Gilman (usually associated as best friend of Marlon Brando's) is gone, Bri is gone, and god knows who else. It was an interesting experiment for everybody. There was an actors strike at the time and it was a bunch of pick up people who did it for fun on less than a shoestring. It was shot in 16mm and transferred to 35mm. Les Baxter took it on as a lark, but his music was hauntingly beautiful. Most of the film was shot on a ranch in the San Fernando Valley, and the Gower Street Studio's back lot. Can't wait to see it! P.S. I intend to go through my closet of slides to see if I still have the slides from the movie. I took hundreds. What fun this is going to be. If this is such a cult movie (?) maybne I can get some prints made and sell on e-bay. hahahahaha

I thought this movie was weird. First of all it's mainly about naked witches killing people. Well I like that stuff though, also besides tons of nudity it has some gore but not much. The acting is bad but the nudity in this film makes me forget the acting. If you like Witchcraft/nudity/bad acting rent this movie.

A passable load of nonsense lent a certain charm by the utter soppiness of the two main characters - a young man and his water nymph girl friend.

They are kept from getting together because he has a soul and so he seeks out an evil witch to take his soul away so that he can be with his water nymph forever. This seemed to involve a lot of topless jiggling by said evil witch.

The same weekend I bought this DVD I also bought Octopus II, She Lives by Night, and Boogeyman 2, and compared to them this was a masterpiece! Still I was glad I'd only paid £2.97 for it.