A Satanic cult, apparently loosely based on the Manson family, moves into a new hunting ground. After terrorizing a local store and the family that operates it, one little boy finds a way to get revenge: infect the killers with rabies. While in the real world this would result in death, in the world of cinema it leads to a massive murder frenzy.
This film came to me highly recommended from the same man who passed along "Spider Baby" and "Dr. Humpp", both impressive and memorable films. It also happens to be the first film rated X for violence, which gives it a strong street credibility, in my opinion. As you may imagine, my expectations were a bit higher than average.
The film starts out a bit slow. Killers, with a strong attachment to Satanism and LSD, drifting from town to town. It's not a particularly interesting plot, and none of the characters -- even the leader (played by Bhaskar Roy Chowdhury) -- stand out as anyone worth caring about. The family is a bit more interesting, but for the most part the first half served no real purpose besides building up the potential for a bloody Hatfield and McCoy-style feud. But then the second half came.
Once the gang is infected with rabies (served in tainted meat pies), all heck breaks loose. Foaming at the mouth, thirsty for blood and wielding axes... these maniacs aren't going to rest until everyone in the county is dead. Limbs are hacked off and carried around like trophies. Today this level of violence wouldn't get you an X -- more likely an R or at most an NC-17 if the censors were feeling frisky -- but for the time period you're unlikely to find anything on this level. The blood is on par with Lewis' "Blood Feast", if not surpassing it.
I don't feel that "I Drink Your Blood" is a must see. I wouldn't rank it as high as "Spider Baby" or "Dr. Humpp", for example. However, I also wouldn't call this a don't-see film. It had all the exploitation and gore that any classic horror fan would be looking for, and it would scare the pants off your grandmother if she wasn't already dead. If your grandmother even wears pants, that is. Let's put it like this: if you get a chance to catch this movie, catch it, but don't go out of your way to put it at the front of your Netflix queue.
This film came to me highly recommended from the same man who passed along "Spider Baby" and "Dr. Humpp", both impressive and memorable films. It also happens to be the first film rated X for violence, which gives it a strong street credibility, in my opinion. As you may imagine, my expectations were a bit higher than average.
The film starts out a bit slow. Killers, with a strong attachment to Satanism and LSD, drifting from town to town. It's not a particularly interesting plot, and none of the characters -- even the leader (played by Bhaskar Roy Chowdhury) -- stand out as anyone worth caring about. The family is a bit more interesting, but for the most part the first half served no real purpose besides building up the potential for a bloody Hatfield and McCoy-style feud. But then the second half came.
Once the gang is infected with rabies (served in tainted meat pies), all heck breaks loose. Foaming at the mouth, thirsty for blood and wielding axes... these maniacs aren't going to rest until everyone in the county is dead. Limbs are hacked off and carried around like trophies. Today this level of violence wouldn't get you an X -- more likely an R or at most an NC-17 if the censors were feeling frisky -- but for the time period you're unlikely to find anything on this level. The blood is on par with Lewis' "Blood Feast", if not surpassing it.
I don't feel that "I Drink Your Blood" is a must see. I wouldn't rank it as high as "Spider Baby" or "Dr. Humpp", for example. However, I also wouldn't call this a don't-see film. It had all the exploitation and gore that any classic horror fan would be looking for, and it would scare the pants off your grandmother if she wasn't already dead. If your grandmother even wears pants, that is. Let's put it like this: if you get a chance to catch this movie, catch it, but don't go out of your way to put it at the front of your Netflix queue.