Blood Mania

Blood Mania: A scumbag doctor is blackmailed by a former associate to fork over $50,000 in hush-money for performing illegal abortions. To make matters worse, one of his despicable bed-ridden patients has a slutty daughter that won't take "no" for an answer-- she just wants some scumbag doctor sex! It doesn't take long for the daughter to realize the doctor needs a lot of cash--stat. Finally, she has the opportunity to make the doc her personal sex-slave boy-toy: murder dad! This movie seizes every opportunity to take the low road: it has a great deal of nudity, perhaps to distract the audience from the fact that the characters are all generally nasty and repulsive. It's more of a sleazy, soft-core porn/soap opera than it is the horror film it bills itself as. Pay no attention to the opening credit sequence, as it has nothing to do with the rest of the film. For cartoon fans, there is a wickedly cool animated title card at the film's opening.

Why did I rent this? Because I kept seeing it on the video store shelf and finally gave in to see what it was like. I don't know why I do these things.

Victoria is a pretty bad girl, as the box says. And I guess she is. She seduces every guy she comes across, and then kills her father for his inheritance. Then her sister and some other woman come to their house, and Victoria learns her sister is getting the inheritance instead. A little more, some weak horror, a sudden ending, and there's your movie. Nothing scary, nothing interesting, just a lot of cheesy make-out scenes put together with one scene of bloody murder, and there's your film. It's quite dull, and lifeless. Leave it be.

Blood Mania (1970)

* (out of 4)

Victoria (Maria DeAragon), the slut daughter of a rich old man, gets the bright idea to impress the doctor (Peter Carpenter) she likes by killing her father so that she can give the doctor his inheritance money. The sex maniac daughter eventually kills her old man and this here gets the doctor interested because the money can keep his good name from being ruined by a blackmailer. However, the good doctor has around five other women on the side and this isn't going to sit well with Victoria.

That's basically what happens in this film but once again, I haven't the slightest clue what this film is about. If you're looking for any blood then you might as well skip to the final five minutes where we get one good kill scenes but don't fear, the movie makes up in other ways. I'll state the obviously bad stuff first however. Everything from the acting to the directing is lower than what you'd expect from an Ed Wood film and especially any scene where one of the characters has to be emotional. Another incredibly silly thing is Peter Carpenter and his playboy act. The actor also served as producer and I can't help think he used this ability to be in sex scenes with beautiful women. His macho act never works but it does bring several laughs to the film.

Is Blood Mania a complete bus then? Nope and I'll tell you why. Outside an interesting animated sequence to start the film, this movie, like no other I've seen, has an outrageously good amount of nudity. You've heard people say a horror film needs at least one murder every ten minutes well this film has a nude scene at least every three minutes. All of the doctor's lovers are happy to get naked and they do so throughout. Even though the story and actors were bugging me to death, I could never call this a complete disaster since the director was smart enough to throw in plenty of good looking women.

There are people who are keen to point out Peter Carpenter's back- to-back 1970/1971 films Blood Mania and Point of Terror aren't horror movies at all. Which is in a sense fair, because the promotional material would lead one to believe that they were, but so what? Still others want us to know they think Carpenter was a Tom Jones wannabee and the music in Point of terror is bad. So what? Blood Mania and Point of Terror are perfectly trashy and entertaining pieces of early 70's schlock that are unique, wonderfully shot, and chock full of pretty people to look at.

Tonight I'm watching Blood Mania for the first time, and I have to say it's a lot of fun. Not in the traditional sense of the word "fun," but the sense someone who enjoys seeing movies that are unusual and enjoys finding something new and unique. Sure, peter Carpenter probably didn't have the chops to be a leading man in A movies, but he was every bit up to carrying these B movies on his shoulders, surrounding himself with beautiful scenery and beautiful women, and telling an outrageous story that challenges ones ability to believe.

It's sort of shame as a movie fan that we don't get these kinds of movies anymore. I mean we get bad movies, but not these kinds of bad movies. Blood Mania is an entertaining movie for those who aren't looking to waste their own time picking it apart.

The Plot.

A sex-crazed nympho helps speed along her father's death so she can use the inheritance to help out her depraved boyfriend.

Firstly the movie sucks. It's one of the weirdest films you'll ever see, and not in a good way.

It's really horribly tedious to watch.

On the plus side the technicolor rendering is great.

But to be perfectly frank, all three stars I am giving this movie are because of the female lead who had the hottest body I have ever seen.

Coupled with this is her complete willingness to strip down every 5 seconds. It's an amazing body to observe. Not an ounce of fat and the longest, flattest torso you will ever see.

Get out the Vaseline.