Blood Feast (1963)

Director:

Herschell Gordon Lewis

Writer:

Allison Louise Downe (screenplay)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Adult Horror!

Plot:

An Egyptian caterer kills various women in suburban Miami to use their body parts to bring to life a dormant Egyptian goddess, while an inept police detective try to track him down.

Plot Keywords:

Goddess | Caterer | Police | Kill | Evil

Cast

William Kerwin	...	Det. Pete Thornton (as Thomas Wood)
Mal Arnold	...	Fuad Ramses
Connie Mason	...	Suzette Fremont
Lyn Bolton	...	Mrs. Dorothy Fremont
Scott H. Hall	...	Frank, police captain
Christy Foushee	...	Trudy Sanders (as Toni Calvert)
Ashlyn Martin	...	Marcy, girl on beach
Astrid Olson	...	Motel Victim
Sandra Sinclair	...	Pat Tracey
Gene Courtier	...	Tony, boy on beach
Louise Kamp	...	Janet Blake / Sacrificial Victim
Hal Rich	...	Hospital Doctor
Al Golden	...	Dr. Flanders

Also Known As:

Egyptian Blood Feast (USA) (reissue title)
Feast of Flesh (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

67 min | USA:58 min (edited version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (2001) | Germany:(Banned) (re-rating) (2004) | New Zealand:R16 | Singapore:PG (heavily cut) | Netherlands:16 (2006) (DVD) | Australia:R | UK:18 | USA:Unrated | UK:(Banned) (1984-2001)

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Company:

Friedman-Lewis Productions

Trivia:

Prints issued at drive-ins in New York carried the advertising title "Egyptian Blood Feast", though the title card remains the same.

Quotes:

Radio Announcer: And now, some tragic local news. We have a report of another murder tonight. A young girl has been found dead in Rogers Park. The body was badly mutilated. Because of these murders, the police request that all women stay inside their homes after dark. If you must go out, please have someone accompany you. Keep your door locked.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Fear in the Dark (1991) (TV)

Technically inept but highly entertaining

Herschell Gordon Lewis's pioneering 'gore' movie is one of those films, like 'Plan 9 From Outer Space', which is entertaining due to its sheer ineptitude. Almost everything that could go wrong, does go wrong. The acting ranges ranges from ridiculously over-the-top (Mal Arnold) to so wooden it makes the furniture look animated (Lyn Bolton and Playboy Playmate Connie Mason). The music is truly appalling, including hilariously misjudged musical 'stings' and out-of-tune strings. The editing, especially in the opening scene, is some of the worst you will ever see. The story is little more than an excuse to show a lot of very bloody (but also very unconvincing) gore. However, the film has plenty of unintentional laughs and is more enjoyable than much of the slick, soulless Hollywood 'product' that gets churned out at an alarming rate each year. A must for all lovers of Z-Grade exploitation.