Invasion of the Blood Farmers

It has been at least three years since I watched this somewhat piece of crap and to this day I can still not get it out of my head. The title is so intriguing that I find myself putting it into all of the scripts I write. The film it's self pretty much sucks and has no connectedness. It feels as if it has never been edited properly. Here are my thoughts on this film's integrity 1. The lighting is good for a film that is obviosly very cheap 2. The actors all look like hicks and thus gives reality to the piece 3. The most awesome part of this movie is that there is a character by the name of Jim Carry who goes missing and following this throughout the whole film character will repeat where's Jim Carry and it's funnier now since their is a famous actor by that name. This said the movie is pretty crappy aside from that one recurring joke thats not even really a joke. I say avoid unless you like crap like I do!

Invasion of the Blood Farmers sure is a great title; shame that this trashy slice of '70s schlock doesn't live up to it. Written by Ed Adlum and Ed Kelleher, who also scripted the equally impressive sounding Shriek of the Mutilated (1974), IOTBF is nowhere near as much fun as it sounds, the wooden performances, clumsy direction (also by Adlum), dreadful editing, and dire script adding up to a rather painful 84 minutes of amateurish drivel.

The premise for the film is that a group of druids (known as the Sangroids) are abducting and killing people in their search for the blood-type that can revive their queen (Cynthia Fleming). Over the course of the movie, several victims are drained of their blood before the druids finally target pretty blonde Jenny Anderson (Tanna Hunter), daughter of scientist Roy Anderson (Norman Kelley); her blood turns out to be just the ticket, and it is up to fiancé Don Tucker (Bruce Detrick) to rescue his love from the druids before they can complete their ritual.

There is, admittedly, a little fun to be had from the film's sheer ineptitude: laughable scenes include Jim Carrey's tongue waggling death scene (no, not THAT Jim Carrey), the death of Jenny's dog Buster (the animal turns into a flokati rug as druid Agon kills it), and a rocky start for soon-to-be-dead newlyweds Mr. and Mrs. Greenman, hubby Milton opting to take a long shower rather than see to his young wife (Lucy Grant), who waits eagerly on the bed in sexy underwear. But as unintentionally funny as these moments are, they cannot adequately compensate for the lifelessness and shoddiness of everything else.

Which fan of horror and exploitation could honestly say that they don't enjoy goofy Z-grade horror flicks from the 70s with a budget near zero from time to time. "Invasion Of The Blood Farmers" of 1972 is a god-awful film, of course, and fails entirely as a Horror movie. It is an awesome unintentional comedy, however, though the 'unintentional' is doubtable, since it seems as everyone involved in the film, especially director Ed Adlum, was very aware of the fact that they were not exactly filming a masterpiece, and the folks were just having a heck of a time on the set of the "Blood Farmers".

The story is extremely far-fetched, which contributes a lot to the fun-factor. The film is basically about a bunch of hicks, farmers from New York State who also happen to be members of a bizarre druid cult...

This is, of course a quite promising storyline if you're into the really trashy stuff. The performances are almost incomparably awful, which is no surprise regarding the fact that none of the actors were ever involved in another movie. What "Invasion of The Blood Farmers" provides is pure fun. Unfortunately, the movie also has several periods of pure boredom in-between. The awful performances, as well as the film-making that sometimes seems intentionally amateurish, provide good laughs throughout the film. Once again, if you're interested in any form of suspense whatsoever, this film should be avoided! This is strictly reserved for my fellow lovers of hilarious super-cheap cult-trash. In case you like awful cinema every now and then, I recommend to enjoy this zero-budget film and have a great time.

INVASION OF THE BLOOD FARMERS deserves a 10 for the title alone. Unfortunately, as great a "bad" movie as it is, the film doesn't live up to its amazing title. There are some brilliant moments here and there that transcend cinematic reality or just plain reality but the film is too casual about everything and the fantastically brilliant "bad" moments are too far in-between to make this another PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. There is some gore for gorehounds. There's a very goofy story and set-up for those who love unintentional comedies. There some really bad acting for those who love watching nobodies make fools of themselves. There's some nudity for those who need that in order to be entertained. The film also has a great "local" atmosphere to it that no movie made in Hollywood can recreate. And the ending has to be seen to be believed. But I wasn't amused by it as much as I expected to be with a film with such a sensational title. It's fun but you need to press the fast forward button from time to time.

Invasion of the Blood Farmers holds a very special place in my heart since my father played Chief Spano. At various times in my life, I've been asked, "what is something we don't know about you?" I respond with, "I'm a movie star's daughter!" I know that's stretching it a bit but my father did star in a movie :) I realize that Invasion of the Blood Farmers is not an award-winning movie but you get what you pay for in life. The Adlums (producer) were our next-door neighbors and my father and other people from the block were recruited to star in the movie. My father worked for the telephone company so he was not hired for his acting talent! They even tried to get my Aunt to record her scream for the movie - but she refused. There was not much money spent on making the film - Jenny's house in the movie was the Adlum's home and "going on location" meant a five-minute ride into town (I frequently drive-by the motel where my father made a phone call in the movie (the phone booth was taken down a few years ago)).

Given the meager support it received, the movie exceeds my expectations. I know my father's performance was not Oscar-caliber, and I bet you won't find it hard to believe that this was his only film (although he was on Bowling-for-Dollars!). But I enjoy watching it every now and then, not because it has the best special effects or award-winning acting. But because it's simple - kind of like a child's artwork. It may not be a Picasso, but it is a pure reflection of them. Only a few of the actors were "professional" - most were just playing --> no visions of "getting discovered". How many films can we say that about these days?

Just a few more notes about my dad that you might find interesting -->

when the movie came out in the theater, my dad took my brothers and a few neighbor kids to see it. They all got in free because the clerk recognized my dad's deep voice from the movie!

we always complained to him about the glasses he wore in the movie (they're not his real ones).He told Eddie he didn't want to wear them but for whatever reason,Eddie wouldn't let him take them off.

In the late 80s, my dad found out that he had a "fan club" in California. Two friends who liked the movie called out of the blue and told him how much they liked the movie and that they scheduled viewings of it at their college. My dad sent them a signed picture for their Invasion of the Blood Farmers viewings and they sent my dad an annual birthday card for over 10 years.

Our favorite line of my dad's is "Oh, I think understand." (he's in Jenny's house talking to her father).

Finally, give my dad some credit on his last scene - I think he gave an Oscar-caliber performance of dying!