Queen of Blood (1966)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Curtis Harrington

Writer:

Curtis Harrington (writer)

Release Date:

March 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

HIDEOUS BEYOND BELIEF with an INHUMAN CRAVING

Plot:

The year is 1990. An alien species makes contact with Earth through radio transmission, notifying of an imminent visit...

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Blood | Egg | 1990s | Mars

Cast

John Saxon	...	Allan Brenner
Basil Rathbone	...	Dr. Farraday
Judi Meredith	...	Laura James
Dennis Hopper	...	Paul Grant
Florence Marly	...	Alien Queen
Robert Boon	...	Anders Brockman
Don Eitner	...	Tony Barrata
Virgil Frye
Robert Porter
Terry Lee
Forrest J Ackerman	...	Farraday's aide (as Forrest Ackerman)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
T. Pochepa	...	Woman on alien planet (archive footage)

Also Known As:

Flight to a Far Planet (USA) (working title)
Planet of Blood
Planet of Terror
Planet of Vampires
Space Vampires (USA) (working title)
The Green Woman

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG | USA:Unrated

Company:

Cinema West Productions

Trivia:

This was an ultra low budget production. The elaborate special effects were taken (uncredited) from the big budget Soviet production Nebo zovyot (1960).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The Cyrillic letters CCCP (USSR) can be seen on the side of the "American" rocket ship, betraying the fact that this film used stock footage from a Russian sci-fi film.

Quotes:

Allan Brenner: How are the musical spheres?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Son of Svengoolie: Planet of Blood (1966) (#1.115)" (1981)

Loved it as a kid

When I was growing up (late 70s) a local TV station used to show this constantly on Saturday afternoons along with other AIP horror movies. I liked it back then...the vampire woman spooked me and the "attack" sequences gave me nightmares. Seeing it now as an adult it, unfortunately, doesn't age well.

The print I saw was brand-new so it looked good--that helped a lot. The vampire woman is still spooky (what an evil little smile!) and there are plenty of eerie scenes. But the film is punishingly slow and dull...I was fast forwarding through most of it.

The only saving graces were good performances from the whole cast--especially Basil Rathbone, John Saxon and Florence Marley. Also some of the special effects (stolen from a big budget Russian sci-fi film) are great. Neat ending too. And who ever knew Dennis Hopper was that young ?:)

Still, it's slow going and there are much better films to be seen. Skip it.