This is actually a fascinating relic of a number of influences circa 1972 that just happens to take the form of an "Erotic Witchcraft" thriller, which is a horror subgenre that seems to have thrived between 1969 and 1980 or so before falling out of favor. Tony Geary plays a war scarred Vietnam vet who stumbles upon a coven of witches who have staked a claim on the slopes of a mountain beside a state park reservoir in Southern California. If that sounds like stretching things, their high priestess is Dyanne Thorne [of ILSA infamy and a 48" bustline] who is named "Alotta". Far out. There is also a kindly water nymph inhabiting the lake who has taken the form of a half naked & soaking wet Susan Damante, and you could do worse.
The film purports to be about Thorne's efforts to basically corrupt and ruin the existences of everyone she comes in contact with, and the impromptu romance struck up between the young combat vet and his water nymph just will not do. Child sacrifices, a beheaded Padre and lots of naked witchcraft ceremonies ensue, and the film ends on an oddly nihilistic downbeat as our hero is run down by giggling hippies in their Microbus & gets to live happily ever after in the lake with Susan Damante. And again, you could do worse.
But what this movie is really about, I think, is the Drive-In subculture that it was obviously aimed at. It has a grade Z production budget, a mostly amateur cast, and looks like it was a hell of a lot of fun to make. The plot is also more a series of reference points upon which director Biranne Murphy [sadly passed away in 2003, I note] hangs a series of set pieces that consist of nude women with fantastic bods all swaying and grooving to the movie's dynamite, psychedelic soundtrack by the great Les Baxter, using the name "Bax" to sound like less of a square. The music is actually the film's finest quality and could in itself account for much of BLOOD SABBATH's cult following to this day. It's a fabulous music score that seems to have been composed right on the spot out there in whatever state park they filmed most of it in, complete with an obligatory theme song/ballad that plays as Geary walks across the sunny landscape carrying a folk guitar. And the one film it reminds me of more than any other is Joseph Sarno's 1973 masterpiece VEIL OF BLOOD VAMPIRE ECTSASY], which is basically 90m of nonstop naked lesbian witches dancing to psychedelic bongo drum music.
Perhaps BLOOD SABBATH was an influence.
The entire film plays out like a trip of sorts, and isn't so much "horrifying" as it is a series of moods and color schemes, with the swaying bodies of the film's delightful witches as the focal point.
The rest of it is just there to give those who aren't hip enough something to concentrate on between necking sessions or passing around whatever was on hand to pass around. It doesn't seem like a film that wants to make a huge impression upon it's viewers as much as deliver a series of sights and sounds that would keep it's viewers occupied for 80 odd minutes, and on that level of consideration it's something of a success. Even after two or three viewings I could not remember how the movie ended, which is telling of how challenging the script is.
Yet this is actually kind of a daring production for 1972 in many ways: We not only hear it's male lead talk about being in Vietnam but are actually shown images of him in battle -- To heck with the fact that they look like they were filmed in the underbrush at a rest stop on the highway during their drive back to Los Angeles, name another film other than BILLY JACK perhaps that actually tried to paint a sympathetic image of our soldiers in Vietnam while portraying them in battle. The film also has a decidedly multi-ethnic cast, and while the idea of naked sex witches of color dancing alongside of caucasian witches may not be everyone's ideal of integration, in this case it will have to do.
BLOOD SABBATH is currently Out of Print and unavailable as a new retail release to US & Canadian audiences. There is a British codefree PAL DVD release featuring an 82m version that is available though the quality of the picture is not up to current day standards and was probably made from a VHS or otherwise analogue source. All of the known home video releases are also fullframe presentations, though due to it's low budget and drive in origins it is very likely that it may have been filmed as a 4x3 presentation anyway. The preferred version of BLOOD SABBATH is a 1984 VHS release by JLT Films that came in an over-sized slipcased box and has the film's entire 85m length with a surprisingly good picture quality & great color, though they are incredibly rare and considered a collector's item ... if you can find one.
I give it **1/2 out of **** for being a fascinating reminder of a time when going to the movies was supposed to be fun.
The film purports to be about Thorne's efforts to basically corrupt and ruin the existences of everyone she comes in contact with, and the impromptu romance struck up between the young combat vet and his water nymph just will not do. Child sacrifices, a beheaded Padre and lots of naked witchcraft ceremonies ensue, and the film ends on an oddly nihilistic downbeat as our hero is run down by giggling hippies in their Microbus & gets to live happily ever after in the lake with Susan Damante. And again, you could do worse.
But what this movie is really about, I think, is the Drive-In subculture that it was obviously aimed at. It has a grade Z production budget, a mostly amateur cast, and looks like it was a hell of a lot of fun to make. The plot is also more a series of reference points upon which director Biranne Murphy [sadly passed away in 2003, I note] hangs a series of set pieces that consist of nude women with fantastic bods all swaying and grooving to the movie's dynamite, psychedelic soundtrack by the great Les Baxter, using the name "Bax" to sound like less of a square. The music is actually the film's finest quality and could in itself account for much of BLOOD SABBATH's cult following to this day. It's a fabulous music score that seems to have been composed right on the spot out there in whatever state park they filmed most of it in, complete with an obligatory theme song/ballad that plays as Geary walks across the sunny landscape carrying a folk guitar. And the one film it reminds me of more than any other is Joseph Sarno's 1973 masterpiece VEIL OF BLOOD VAMPIRE ECTSASY], which is basically 90m of nonstop naked lesbian witches dancing to psychedelic bongo drum music.
Perhaps BLOOD SABBATH was an influence.
The entire film plays out like a trip of sorts, and isn't so much "horrifying" as it is a series of moods and color schemes, with the swaying bodies of the film's delightful witches as the focal point.
The rest of it is just there to give those who aren't hip enough something to concentrate on between necking sessions or passing around whatever was on hand to pass around. It doesn't seem like a film that wants to make a huge impression upon it's viewers as much as deliver a series of sights and sounds that would keep it's viewers occupied for 80 odd minutes, and on that level of consideration it's something of a success. Even after two or three viewings I could not remember how the movie ended, which is telling of how challenging the script is.
Yet this is actually kind of a daring production for 1972 in many ways: We not only hear it's male lead talk about being in Vietnam but are actually shown images of him in battle -- To heck with the fact that they look like they were filmed in the underbrush at a rest stop on the highway during their drive back to Los Angeles, name another film other than BILLY JACK perhaps that actually tried to paint a sympathetic image of our soldiers in Vietnam while portraying them in battle. The film also has a decidedly multi-ethnic cast, and while the idea of naked sex witches of color dancing alongside of caucasian witches may not be everyone's ideal of integration, in this case it will have to do.
BLOOD SABBATH is currently Out of Print and unavailable as a new retail release to US & Canadian audiences. There is a British codefree PAL DVD release featuring an 82m version that is available though the quality of the picture is not up to current day standards and was probably made from a VHS or otherwise analogue source. All of the known home video releases are also fullframe presentations, though due to it's low budget and drive in origins it is very likely that it may have been filmed as a 4x3 presentation anyway. The preferred version of BLOOD SABBATH is a 1984 VHS release by JLT Films that came in an over-sized slipcased box and has the film's entire 85m length with a surprisingly good picture quality & great color, though they are incredibly rare and considered a collector's item ... if you can find one.
I give it **1/2 out of **** for being a fascinating reminder of a time when going to the movies was supposed to be fun.