Blood Sabbath

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.

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 wimpiest and whiniest Vietnam vet in cinema history (played by "Luke" from "General Hospital")falls asleep in the forest for some reason and when he wakes up he finds himself being assaulted by five beautiful, naked women, so he does what any guy would do--he runs away screaming. Later he falls in love with a fully-clothed water nymph (don't ask), but can't be with her unless he gives up his soul (really, don't ask). Fortunately, the head of the coven of naked women, played by Dyanne "Ilsa" Thorne, is willing to take his soul off his hands, especially after he becomes very insistent ("Take my soul, damn you!"). But then he drinks sacrificial blood which is a problem for some reason and his water nymph lover is horrified ("You're covered with blood. . . sacrificial blood"!). Then the movie just starts to get weird.

Obviously, the only reason to watch this movie is to see a lot of naked women, including the top-heavy Dyanne Thorne dancing around in nothing but a skimpy black bikini bottom. "Luke" has a brief nude scene too (one for the ladies, I guess). It's also pretty unintentionally funny. Besides the looney situations and idiotic dialogue, the movie is chock-full of other absurdities. You would think from the sylvan location of the story and the water nymphs, satanic coven, etc. that this would be set in the British Isles or somewhere in the Old World, but it is supposedly set in Mexico! It doesn't look anything like Mexico and no one maintains a consistent Mexican accent (let alone speaks Spanish), but the coven does decapitate a "padre" at one point. That's the only scene that might recommend this to horror movie fans, but you see one priest decapitated by a satanic cult, you seen 'em all. Then there's the "Vietnam" flashback footage, but the less said about that the better.

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.

A trippy, hippy horror from the 70s, this weird tale of witches and water nymphs features tons of full frontal nudity, a surreal atmosphere, a groovy soundtrack, and just a little graphic gore, giving it (in my opinion) a distinctly European vibe despite being made in the San Fernando Valley, California. And, like a lot of experimental, psychedelic Euro horror from the 70s, it proves to be rather incoherent, and very tedious.

Anthony Geary plays David, a young Vietnam veteran who falls in love with Yyalah (Susan Damante-Shaw), a mysterious, supernatural blonde woman who cannot love him back because he has a soul. In order to be with the woman of his dreams, David arranges for Alotta (busty Dyanne Thorne of Ilsa fame), the queen of a coven of witches that plagues a nearby village, to relieve him of his soul...

Despite featuring lots of babes with massive minges (as was the fashion at the time) cavorting together in the buff, plus the impressive sight of the legendary Ms. Thorne jiggling her huge cans and shaking her tush, Blood Sabbath is ultimately an unmemorable piece of trash that is unlikely to appeal to even the most desperate of perverts (even if birds with big bushes happen to be your particular thing!). The meandering storyline is extremely dull, and with only one instance of graphic violence (a manky severed head held aloft by Alotta), fans of exploitation and low-budget horror would be advised to approach with caution.