The Gruesome Twosome (1967) / A Taste of Blood (1967)

THE GRUESOME TWOSOME (1967)

Director: Herschell Gordon Lewis
Notable Cast: Elizabeth Davis, Gretchen Wells, Chris Martell, Rodney Bedell, Ronnie Cass, Karl Stoeber, Dianne Wilhite, Andrea Barr, Dianne Raymond, Sherry Robinson

One of the bigger issues that can plague a horror comedy is how the genre lacks the insight to make them work TOGETHER. While The Gruesome Twosome might earn a few credits for being one of the first to attempt blending the two genres, it doesn't necessarily do them well. The film tends to have a funny scene, followed by a horror scene, followed by a funny scene, followed by a horror scene, etc. It doesn't do both at the same time. It just trades off on slapstick basic comedy and then HGL's brand of splatter horror. While there are moments that work, not all of them do and when they don't, like the opening sequence of two wigs talking to one another about the story that is about to unfold (?!), it fails miraculously. Not only that, but the film seems very hesitant to even work any deeper plot than the basics into the film to get those scenes to flow together outside of the specific moments.

Color Me Blood Red (1965) / Something Weird (1967)

COLOR ME BLOOD RED (1965)

Director: Herschell Gordon Lewis

Notable Cast: Gordon Oas-Heim, Candi Conder, Elyn Warner, Pat Finn-Lee, Jerome Eden, Scott H. Hall, Jim Jaekel, Iris Marshall

Going into the fifth film of the Feast box set, there was some decently high expectations to go with Color Me Blood Red. The concept of a mad artist who becomes obsessed with using blood as a red paint fits right into the Herschell Gordon Lewis splatter film concept and the film is regularly referenced as part of his “blood trilogy” that is completed with Two Thousand Maniacs and Blood Feast (both of which I enjoyed). However, when compared to two films that are used in this trilogy, Color Me Blood Red is easily the weakest film and one that suffers from a lack of focus and a mixed intent. It’s fun, but hardly the quality that it might have had.

Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964) / Moonshine Mountain (1964)

TWO THOUSAND MANIACS! (1964)

Director: Herschell Gordon Lewis

Notable Cast: William Kerwin, Connie Mason, Jeffrey Allen, Ben Moore, Gary Bakeman, Shelby Livingston, Jerome Eden, Stanley Dyrector, Linda Cochran, Yvonne Gilbert, Michael Korb, Vincent Santo

Going into this latest – and very expansive – box set about Herschell Gordon Lewis’ filmography, there was only one film I had seen of his previously and that is Two Thousand Maniacs!. It’s easily considered one of his best and it even warranted a remake in the form of 2001 Maniacs in 2005. On my second watch of the film I found that I enjoyed it a lot more than I initially did and that the exploitative horror film really does deserve the love as a simple and effective little flick. This is due to the fact that the film runs at a fairly effective (and fun) pacing, rarely holding up the movement of its narrative for much more than the next kill sequence or plot progression. It delivers on the kills, giving some uniquely “backwoods” kinds of sequences that intrigue in their creative spirit, but also unsettle the audience with the amount of ‘fun’ the villains of the film are having while our protagonists writhe and beg against the horrific things that happen. The film also pegs in a great little twist into the finale that adds a rather smart bend to the straight forward approach that it used for the rest of the film and sets itself aside.

However, Two Thousand Maniacs! is not perfect and the one major piece that it lacks is a truly effective pair of protagonists for the audience to connect to. Both Connie Mason and William Kerwin can work as relatable leads (see Blood Feast), but the film is more concerned with building up the plot and kill sequences that it generally leaves them as bland characters. It’s not until the second half that it really starts to give them the feel of real characters and by then it’s a bit too late. Otherwise, outside of some silly performances and cheap editing, Two Thousand Maniacs! is a massively entertaining and energetic film worthy of a lot of the praise it has been given. If the rest of this box set can match the manic tone of this, it will be a blast to work through. 

MOONSHINE MOUNTAIN (1964)

Director: Herschell Gordon Lewis

Notable Cast: Charles Glore, Gordon Oas-Heim, Jeffrey Allen, Bonnie Hinson, Carmen Sotir, Ben Moore, J.G. Patterson Jr., Stanley Dyrector

For the fourth film in this Feast box set, Moonshine Mountain is a change of pace from the other three films. Instead of a blood soaked horror flick or an exploitation drama, this one is a backwoods dramedy about a country singer who goes out to the rural country to find inspiration for some new material. The resulting film then struggles to find its footing for the first half as a musical/fish out of water flick and sort of falls into being a moonshine powered action thriller with crooked cops and back road justice in the second half. Neither part is all that interesting in the end, unfortunately.

Perhaps I’m just not all that familiar with the idea of a country, hillbilly drama comedy with action and suspense pieces, but Moonshine Mountain was a struggle for me to latch onto as a film. None of the characters, outside of a few fun smaller secondary roles, seemed at all that interesting and the stuttering narrative doesn’t quite seem to know where it’s going either resulting in a film that occasionally overstays its welcome. The film is made with a decent enough amount of energy, plugging in plenty of songs and just enough of Lewis’ horror pieces in the final act (that seemingly come out of nowhere honestly) to keep things just off beat enough, but Moonshine Mountain is not even close to being one of the better films in this set. There are certainly a sect of fans out there that will enjoy this for being a time capsule of the drive in era, but I highly doubt I will ever find myself digging into this one again.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Blood Feast (1963) / Scum of the Earth! (1963)

BLOOD FEAST (1963)

Directed: Herschell Gordon Lewis
Notable Cast: William Kerwin, Mal Arnold, Connie Mason, Lyn Bolton, Scott H. Hall

As a film that essentially kicked off the entire "splatter film" movement for horror films and cult cinema, Blood Feast is definitely ahead of the curve. It uses its crisp color schemes and bright red blood drenched death sequences to surprising effect to pop right off of the screen. It's ambitious for its budget, made with a strong sense of heart, and it occasionally goes artsy enough to sell itself as a piece of cinema that isn't completely in on its own gimmick. This last piece includes the infamous tongue sequence that is preceded by a longer set of soundless takes to set up the tension. The film is a tight one as it spends very little time really building up many of the characters and instead focuses on moving the plot along in a speedy and efficient manner. In many ways, the structure and tone of scenes would seem to be heavily pulled from the styles and structures of classic Universal Monster films, although Blood Feast only sparks some semblance to The Mummy at times with its actual plotting and modernizes things beyond that. The film, in the end, was much more effective than I expected going into it.

Truthfully, the acting can be horrendously hit or miss and the narrative flow is staggered a bit too much from a director that was finding his voice. The editing can be a bit off-putting and the conveniences the plot takes to keep up the pacing can be occasionally eye rolling so keep that in mind when going into the film. However, the 'out of the box' thinking of its spin on the murder mystery and genuine intent for the film cannot be overlooked. Blood Feast is a film with rough edges, but when it works it's a splendidly campy good time with just enough thoughtfulness that shines through to make it resonate. Not to mention, the version available on this latest Arrow Video release is a pretty stunning new restoration that brings out some of the best elements that the film has to offer visually. 

SCUM OF THE EARTH! (1963)

Director: Herschell Gordon Lewis (as Lewis H. Gordon)

Notable Cast: William Kerwin, Allison Louise Downe, Lawrence J. Aberwood, Sandra Sinclair, Mal Arnold, Craig Maudslay, Jr.

Released the same year as the fun and quirky Blood Feast, Scum of the Earth! is a film that struggles to find the one key component to sell its story: the tension. Instead of a splatter film that Herschell Gordon Lewis was known for later in his career, Scum is a film that features a weighty and dramatic tale of a young woman coerced into a pornography ring and the various characters involved with her nightmarish decent. While the story seems simple enough and one that might be featured on television now in a show like Law & Order: SVU, Scum goes to take the exploitative elements of its concept and give it a sad and dramatic undertone. Think of it as a film that aims for the Jack Hill approach to exploitative filming, but Lewis is not nearly as talented as a director or writer to pull it off.

This leads to the overall approach and tone that can be a bit scattered. For a film that’s dependent on the audience to connect with the characters and the gray areas that they exist in, the acting and the editing can undermine a lot of the flow and tension needed to build in the film. There are moments, William Kerwin as the camera man Harmon shines here in the film and gets many of the key pivots of the script right, but overall it falters in being nearly as interesting or as effective as it potentially could have. When compared to Blood Feast, Scum does showcase the diversity of Lewis as an exploitative film maker in his earlier career, but this film lacks the budget and tight execution needed to elevate its concept to the next level. It’s ambitious and respectable there, but it’s hardly as good as it could have potentially been.

Written By Matt Reifschneider