Blood Suckers (1971) User Reviews

So much potential...yet so very incoherent.

[Coventry · 3/10 · 3 August 2004]

I'll be a little less harsh than my fellow reviewers here, who all seem to agree that this `Incense for the Damned' is a giant waste of time, effort and film. I can't deny this is a failure in all viewpoints but I'm deeply convinced that the story's potential, along with the talent of the cast, could have resulted in a much better film. Although the screenplay remains faithful to Simon Raven's novel, the film completely lacks feeling and coherence. Small aspects, like the annoying use of voice-over, ruin the horror atmosphere and the occult-aspects are dreadfully overstressed. There's a drug trance/ sexual ecstasy sequence near the beginning of the film and it takes WAY too long! Even Imogen `the Queen of Cleavage' Hassall doesn't manage to keep you fascinated during this tedious scene.

But I still stand by my idea that the messy `Bloodsuckers' (the more appealing a.k.a of the film) contains several neat moments of clarity! Like a brief appearance by Edward Woodward, giving us a little insight on the unusual and slightly perverted sexual fantasies of humans… Or Desmond Dickinson's brilliant camerawork on location in Greece. I might even say that the entire substance of the story is excellent horror matter! Richard, a young and respected Oxford student has disappeared in Greece and a group of friends, including his girl, go on a search for him. Richard seems to be under the influence of a beautiful, sexy vampire who even forces him to perform sado-masochism. Believing they annihilated the ravishing bloodsucker, the return to Britain. Yet, Richard's behavior when back at Oxford remains bizarre and alarming… The plot is promising enough, no? If `Incense for the Damned' would have been directed by Roman Polanski, I might have enjoyed a classic status by now. Erotic morbidity is definitely more his field! Or, who knows, in the hands of Italian mastermind Mario Bava this could have been one of the greatest horror masterpieces ever. Instead Robert Hartford-Davis directed it and the only appreciation he gets is when people hear he took his name off of this project afterwards. Better luck next time.

Average horror film with secondary roles for Cushing , Woodward and Mcnee

[ma-cortes · 5/10 · 29 March 2006]

The picture concerns about a bunch of friends ( Patrick Mcnee , Johnny Sekka..) , as they are looking for a English young student (Patrick Mower) who is seduced into an old cult carried out by a beautiful vampire (Imogen Stubbs) and being disappeared while was researching in a Greek island . There happens various unsolved killings and the police blame him as perpetrator of the creepy murders but his friends and the fiancée whose daddy is the University Principal (Peter Cushing) no believing his culpability but is spelled by a blood-sucking vampire .

It's a mediocre British terror film with suspense , action and vampires but a little bit boring and slow-moving . However , it contains some spectacular and glimmer Greeks outdoors , besides set on Oxford University . Patrick McNee ( Avengers) interprets smartly , as always . The great Peter Cushing plays correctly the starring's dad but his acting is secondary , also Edward Woodward (The wicker man) acts in a minimum role . Patrick Mower (Devil rides out)as charmed young is good and Johnny Sekka (Naked prey) in a quite secondary role is nice . The movie is regularly directed by Robert Hatford Davies , author of some other Horror film as ¨Corruption¨ (with Peter Cushing) , ¨The Fiend¨ (with Patrick McNee) and Blaxploitation movies as ¨Black Gunn¨ (Jim Brown) and ¨ The Take¨ (Billy Dee Williams) . This director due to disagreements with producers signed the film as Michael Burrows and the motion picture was shelved during years until its cinematic exhibition.

A perfunctory horror, containing flashes of what might have been

[HenryHextonEsq · 4/10 · 3 June 2010]

Yes, "Incense for the Damned" is a rather shoddy piece of work; you can tell that right from the off with the ludicrous choice of yellow lettering against a grey background for the title sequence.

However, there are hints of what might have been; as David Pirie in the "Time Out" Film Guide and other commentators here have argued, a Roman Polanski or Mario Bava could have done great things with the basic material and with more adept use of a budget. Robert Hartford-Davis (who went on to disown this film) does not marshal whatever meagre resources were available to him with any panache. In fact, technically it is a mix of the ludicrous and laughable: the aforementioned titles, endless half-hearted scenes of fisticuffs and one of the most inane voice-overs in the history of cinema, dispensing exposition with all the perfunctory baldness of Iain Duncan Smith on auto-pilot. "Sunset Boulevard" and William Holden this is most definitely not! It is a shame that so much is bungled and botched; there was scope for an enjoyable occult romp, and potential even for an edgier exploration of vampirism and sexuality. The all-too-brief scene with 'guest star' Edward Woodward hints at a much more interesting film, with his straight-faced thoughts on the links between vampires and masochism: 'Sado-masochism, my dear man, is no joke [...] Some get their excitement from statues, what we call the Pygmalion syndrome. Other men can only make love in a coffin..." There is nothing as interesting in the way the narrative is developed, with Imogen Hassall's voluptuous Chriseis entirely uncharacterised, and the enigma of Patrick Mower's protagonist Richard Fountain untapped.

The premise has promise: young Oxford undergraduate cannot cope with the expectations and restrictions of university life and turns to the dark arts, in a bid to get revenge against Cushing's provost (who is again an under-developed character with little screen time) and the system. This theme only comes into focus with Fountain's outburst at the University 'formal', and then the effect is bewildering rather than illuminating, as one might expect it to be in Simon Raven's original novel. Mower is given poetic, pithy lines about the dons - "smooth deceivers in scarlet gowns" - but the source of his anger is barely addressed. Little is done with the classical allusions that are occasionally shoe-horned in. We are told that Patrick Macnee's character 'was fond of Greece', but this never comes across in the actual script: another case of Hartford-Davis's "Tell Not Show" approach.

The dialogue provided in Julian More's script is a mixture of the sharp and ridiculous, suggesting an imperfect adaptation of the novel, capturing some but far from much of its style. There are hints of a satirical approach not taken up - Cushing's "Bloody socialist ministers" jibe at the then-Labour government. The dialogue is far from the worst problem with the film, however, as many scenes retain an amusement value due to an absurd melodrama inherent in the dialogue; for example: 'You've got your witches' covens in Mayfair, voodoo in Soho! How do you explain that? Logic!? Science!?' No excuse, however, for hoary old chestnuts of hokum like these: "Suppose it was murder..." "I think I'll just go for a walk..." Too often, the film mutates into a tourist video for its Greek settings, and it wastes time on the most tedious 'orgy' you will ever see in 60s/70s British cinema and the many inexcusably risible fight and pursuit scenes. With such a cast and potentially potent elements - sexual deviance, Oxbridge, vampires, anti-establishment - it is ultimately very disappointing. Hartford-Davis was right to disown it, as surely he recognised how much better it should have been. "Show not tell" should have been the watchword. Having said all of that, this film remains watchable; its saving grace being that it is only 79 minutes long, and it does gradually get less boring after the desultory titles and voice-over, with one starting to appreciate that wasted promise.

A Good Piece of Advice

[BaronBl00d · 2/10 · 9 March 2002]

Two other reviewers have already made clear that this film is bad. I am not going to discourage that line of thought in any way. It is a muddled, worthless, boring film about some British scholar going off to Greece, because he is impotent and then turning into some type of vampire. The link is that vampirism is some kind of sexual deviation that relieves impotentcy. Hmmmm. The plot makes little sense. The editing, as mentioned previously, is a hatchet job. It looks like the presbiopic six(or seven?)got hold of it and put it together. Patrick Macnee supposedly is the star. He dies half-way through the film. The rest of the cast aimlessly wander through the film with little motivation and even less ability. Peter Cushing has so small a role as to have little bearing on the film's plot or feel. He is adequate but really has nothing to do with his role. The one lone bright performing spotlight comes from Edward Woodward in a five minute cameo as a scholar of mankind that knows something about vampirism. Woodward injects the only humour and wit the film has. More than half of the film takes place in Greece and the settings are not splendid or breathtaking but rather very tiring and weedy. Watching Macnee chase a beautiful Grecian woman(played with beauty if nothing else by Imogen Hassall)while astride a jack-ass was more Grecian scenery than I personally needed. Really and truly...an awful film!

Waste of time

[avalard · 6 February 2000]

One of the worst pieces of film I think any of the stars must have been in. Edward Woodward, and Patrick Macnee should really dissasociate themselves from it completely. Peter Cushing makes a cameo appearance, strong and wonderful as always. The film is a complete pile of nonsense. The script is half-baked and confused, and some of the worst editing ever has gone on as well. I was truly disappointed. Having expected a fine piece of British horror, all I saw was a mess of a film and lots of wobbly bits of flesh in a completely bizarre and unneccesary sex scene. My advice is to avoid it, even if it means your Peter Cushing collection isn't complete without it. On the other hand, if you love it, then try No Secrets from 1982. It makes about as much sense.

Awful British horror film, disowned by its own director.

[barnabyrudge · 2/10 · 22 February 2006]

Incense For The Damned is a poor, hastily-made and incredibly muddled British horror film that has acquired a small cult following. I am certainly not among this group of foolhardy fans - indeed, if I had things my way, this awful little film would be quietly disposed of in some dusty vault, and brought out only for die-hard fans of the stars so that they may tick it off their list. Even the film's director - Robert Hartford-Davis - was so disappointed with the movie that he refused to put his name on the credits, using instead the pseudonym Michael Burrowes. When the man who MADE it can't bear to be associated with the film, you know that it must be pretty bad!

Oxford student Richard Fountain (Patrick Mower) is on a working holiday in Greece when he mysteriously disappears. Richard's friends back in Oxford are concerned for him, so they set out to Greece to find him. Tony (Alexander Davion), Bob (Johnny Sekka) and Richard's girlfriend Penelope (Madeleine Hinde), soon discover that their lost pal seems to have headed off to the tiny, isolated island of Hydra in the Aegean Sea. Upon arriving at Hydra, they stumble across some kind of vampire sect led by the deadly Chriseis (Imogen Hasall). It seems that Chriseis and her minions are murderers who drink the blood of their innocent victims, and that Richard may have been drugged or brainwashed into joining their pagan acts. The friends pursue Chriseis to her death and rescue the bewildered Richard, returning him to Oxford. But all is not well back in the UK, as Richard does not seem to have recovered from his ordeal - in fact, it is obvious to us (though not, it seems, the other characters) that Richard himself is now a vampire.

What drew me to the film was the fact that it "stars" Peter Cushing, Patrick Macnee and Edward Woodward. I consider these three actors to be among the finest talents Britain has produced (they certainly have each made telling contributions within the horror genre, if nothing else). It is with huge disappointment, therefore, that I must report they all have absurdly brief cameo roles that could easily have been cut from the film without making a hoot of difference. to the overall story. Talk about false advertising!! But that's not all that is wrong with Incense For The Damned. It suffers even further as a result of silly psychedelic sex-and-drug-abuse sequences, a confused script, ultra-low production values, and choppy editing. At least the Greek scenes highlight some pleasant locations - competently shot by Desmond Dickinson - but on virtually every other level Incense For The Damned is a damned mess! The film was completed in 1970, shelved until 1976, and all but forgotten soon after its belated release. Things like that happen to movies for a reason - and if you watch Incense For The Damned it won't take you long to figure out why it has faded into obscurity.

Flawed but interesting Greek-themed horror

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 4 August 2016]

I was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying this troubled production after hearing so many bad things about it. Sure, it's not a brilliant film by any means, but it's nowhere near as confused as it's made out to be and there are plenty of things going on to retain the interest. The film is one of those old-fashioned adventure yarns, set in a foreign country as a plot with our British heroes encountering mad cults on a Greek island. It may be nonsensical at times but to make up for these lapses there are also some fairly exciting moments to be had too. And above all this it's still worth watching to hear Edward Woodward's hilarious speech equating vampirism with sexual perversion - psychological mumbo-jumbo at its most unintentionally funny!

A good cast also helps to compensate for the negative aspects of this film. It's nice to see that one of the heroic leads is black, something very rare for a film from this period. I can't actually think of another British horror film where the protagonist is. Patrick Macnee is on hand to lend a much-needed air of authenticity but sadly falls off a cliff after being struck by polystyrene boulders in one amusing moment. Patrick Mower is good as the tormented man who falls under the curse of the cult while Edward Woodward and Peter Cushing both put in good cameos, Cushing excelling in a scene in which he is called upon to cry, totally convincing us in doing so.

Other things to look out for include the typical awful fashions; some out-of-place music playing over the action and a weird, psychedelic orgy which gives the film the opportunity to show lots and lots of gratuitous naked women. There are also a couple of smashing action bits in there too, the first in which Sekka is forced to take on four thugs single-handedly, the second being the fraught rooftop finale which ends in tragedy. Also catch the dramatic speech at the end, literally show-stopping. The vampirism angle is actually kept to a bare minimum in this film, the menace working best when it is unnamed and faceless. This film actually reminded me of RACE WITH THE DEVIL, with tourists being hunted down by rabid cult followers. It's flawed, yes, but interesting to watch for all the above reasons.

I'm incensed at the waste of talent.

[BA_Harrison · 2/10 · 27 October 2019]

A relic of the hippy, trippy, psychedelic early-'70s, this contemporary take on vampirism is a colossal waste of the acting talent involved. Peter Cushing, Edward Woodward, Patrick Macnee and Patrick Mower can do nothing to save this boring mess of a movie that treats vampirism as a sexual perversion, with impotent Oxford don Richard Fountain (Mower) only able to achieve orgasm while having blood sucked from his neck. This leads him to fall under the spell of sexy Greek vampire Chriseis (Imogen Hassall), and become part of a hippy cult that dabbles in ritualistic murder.

Concerned about Richard, his girlfriend Penelope (Madeleine Hinde) and friends Bob (Johnny Sekka), Derek (Patrick Macnee) and Tony (Alexander Davion) travel to Greece where they carry out a daring rescue mission.

Within the first fifteen minutes, a prolonged, multicoloured, kaleidoscopic orgy scene set to prog rock tests the mettle of even the most determined of bad movie fans. Make it past this and you will be rewarded with lots of pretentious dialogue, some incredibly poor action, a perplexing scene in which Richard harps on about an eagle, Macnee plummeting to his death off a cliff, and Richard upsetting his stuffy academic superiors during a banquet (a scene that is both dull and confusing).

The film finishes with Richard snacking on Penelope, being pursued by Bob across the Oxford University rooftops, and falling onto spiked metal railings (not a moment too soon).

Silly and confusing

[preppy-3 · 4/10 · 10 April 2005]

An Oxford don (Patrick Mower) goes to Greece to study mythology. Suddenly he disappears and nobody hears from him. A bunch of his friends and fiancée travel there to find him. They discover he is traveling all over Greece--and wherever he goes there's a murder. He's also under the spell of beautiful but deadly Chriseis (Imogen Hassell)...

This DOES have some good points. The initial story is intriguing and there is some beautiful location shooting in Greece and a few exciting fights here and there. Also Peter Cushing and Patrick Macnee are in it--they're not given much to do but they're both very good. Also Mower is pretty good and Hassall is VERY good (and beautiful).

But the plot gets increasingly confusing (and sillier) as it goes on. When they threw in the vampirism it was badly handled and just too ridiculous to take seriously. There were obvious production difficulties--quite a few scenes just have narration. Also Madeleine Hinde is just horrible playing Mowere's fiancée.

Basically though--it's boring! I dozed off a few times...and didn't miss a thing. And, as a horror movie, it just doesn't work. It plays more like an action film or a travelogue of Greece.

Not totally worthless (because of Cushing and Macnee) but not really worth seeing. I give it a 4.

Sub-Hammer shocker - only shocking in that it was released at all

[chrisjtyler · 2/10 · 6 September 2005]

Got to say I agree with much of Wayne's comments on this film and the note that the director refused to be associated with the screened version doesn't surprise me. This film was shown on TV in the UK in 2004 and I have to say it has to be the worst quality film I have seen on the box. It seems to be made up of the film shot by the director covering the story, inter-cut with stock travelogue shots of Greece. The lighting is such that the black character's facial features are lost in a lot of scenes. The acting from the supporting cast is wooden and even the stars are on the verge of rabbit-in-headlights unease. Not a pleasant evening's viewing!

When Peter Met Patrick

[ferbs54 · 3/10 · 31 January 2014]

Perhaps I should state at the outset that my only reason for renting out the 1970 British film "Bloodsuckers" is that it stars two of my very favorite English actors, Peter Cushing and "The Avengers"'s Patrick Macnee, appearing in a theatrical picture together for the first and only time. Well, I suppose that helps to explain my double disappointment with this film, a horror outing without a single shiver, and moreover, one in which Cushing and Macnee share not a single scene together. A fairly incomprehensible, ineptly put-together goulash of a film, "Bloodsuckers" (aka "Doctors Wear Scarlet" and the title under which I saw it in its current Something Weird DVD presentation, "Freedom Seeker") turns out to be something of a labor to sit through, and a picture that will truly be of interest only for the hard-core completists of those two great actors.

In the film, Richard Fountain, an impotent professor of Greek mythology at Oxford University, gets into major-league trouble when he becomes involved with a hard-partying, jet-set cult while on vacation in Greece, and comes under the mind control of a vampiress named Chriseis. (Fountain is played here by Patrick Mower, who three years earlier had portrayed another hapless Brit who falls under the spell of an evil cult in "The Devil Rides Out"; Chriseis is portrayed by Imogen Hassall, who had appeared with Macnee in the 1967 "Avengers" episode "Escape In Time.") To avert an international scandal (Fountain is also the son of the Foreign Secretary), the British government sends its agent Tony Seymore (Alexander Davion) to retrieve Fountain, and he is accompanied by the professor's fiancée Penelope (Madeline Hinde) and best friend Bob Kirby (Senegalese actor Johnny Sekka, "the British Sidney Poitier," who had appeared with Macnee in the 1968 "Avengers" episode "Have Guns--Will Haggle"). Once in Greece, they are aided in their search by the British military attache Derek Longbow (Macnee, here in his first theatrical film since 1957's "Les Girls"; he wouldn't appear in anything outside of television until 1980's "The Sea Wolves"), while back at Oxford, provost Dr. Walter Goodrich, Penelope's father (Cushing, who also appeared in the infinitely superior horror films "Scream and Scream Again" and "The Vampire Lovers" that same year...as well as the 1967 "Avengers" episode "Return of the Cybernauts"), frets and worries. But even after Fountain is ultimately saved from the clutches of the drug-addled vampiric cult and brought back to England, it would seem that his problems are far from over....

As "Maltin's Movie Guide" so correctly suggests, "Bloodsuckers" sports many segments in which narrator Seymore spits information at us in machine-gun fashion to fill in the gaps of what was almost certainly cut footage in post-production. The entire film feels choppy and unfinished somehow, and while all the performers try hard to put the conceit over, Julian More's script sadly lets them down. It is an unfleshed-out mess, dribbling out bits of Greek mythology here, pseudo psychology regarding impotence and susceptibility to vampirism there, in place of a coherent story line. Director Robert Hartford-Davis, whose only other pictures I have seen are the indescribable "Gonks Go Beat" (1965) and the blaxploitation thriller "Black Gunn" (1972), does a lousy job at keeping things coherent here, and those previously mentioned cuts and splices surely don't help. To add to the befuddlement, many scenes are shot way too darkly for home viewing, especially on this SW DVD. In addition, the film seems to pile on weirdness for weirdness' sake; thus, we are treated to an extended sequence showing the cult popping acid, smoking pot, shooting dope, having sex and sucking blood, under stroboscopic lights and via a zooming camera, as well as an hallucination on Penelope's part that signifies...well, absolutely nothing. The film dishes out at least three scenes featuring some well-choreographed fisticuffs, but these are unfortunately undermined by the remarkably cheesy action music supplied by Bobby Richards. On the plus side (and I always endeavor to find SOMETHING to like in even the most egregiously drecky of films), "Bloodsuckers" sports some very nice-looking scenery, both of the Oxford countryside and the Greek islands, and one truly shocking sequence. In this scene, the Macnee character is involved in a literally cliffhanging situation that should stun all longtime fans of the immaculate and imperishable John Steed; a scene, moreover, that is intercut suspensefully with one in which Kirby fights the beautiful Chriseis to the (un)death. But other than this well-done two minutes of screen time, "Bloodsuckers"--or whatever other title you happen to catch it under--does not offer much. It is a film that will surely disappoint the casual viewer, and even fans, like myself, of its two great male leads.

As for this Something Weird DVD itself, the good news is that "Bloodsuckers" shares the disc with a 1965 B&W Filipino movie entitled "Blood Thirst," a surprisingly effective, noirish horror thriller set on the streets of Manila. Unfortunately, when viewed back to back as a double feature, it becomes even more apparent to the impartial viewer that "Bloodsuckers" really DOES suck.

was pleasantly surprised

[osloj · 7/10 · 9 December 2009]

Incense for the Damned (1970) or Blood Suckers (USA), is one of those odd English horror films you find at some rare store. Judging from the extremely bad reviews, I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised.

After a dreadful acid orgy with unpleasant "Zoom ins", I began to think that this film was not going to be typical. It's truly not very good but I found it unique in some ways and it rises above average barely. There were some really wonderful topless women complete with beautiful aureoles, including the main seductress, Imogen Hassall as Chriseis, who is pretty hot. The acting is passable, but the editing and fight scenes are hilarious since they are the old type, 4 on 1 guys who never get pounded or killed off. Patrick Macnee as Derek Longbow adds some class along with Peter Cushing, Edward Woodward.

Basically the lack of information regarding the vague seductress makes the film interesting and ambiguous. We are never sure as to what is going on. There's plenty of anti-establishment sentiments that make it seem like the elite academia (led by Peter Cushing as Dr. Walter Goodrich) are actually the "Blood Suckers".

Messy Brit-horror

[The_Void · 3/10 · 31 July 2004]

Incense for the Damned is a huge mess. The director, Robert Hartford-Davis changed the name he would be credited as for this movie, and anyone that sees the film will see why he did that.

The movie tries to be a horror movie and a social satire, but it succeeds at being neither; it just can't get away from the fact that it's a trashy load of rubbish. The plot is meandering, and is loosely strung together by a narration, which seems more like a way for the movie to save money from it's poor budget than anything else. It follows the story of Richard, an upper class Oxford University student that has got lost somewhere in Greece. A group of his friends then set out to find him, only to discover that he has come under the spell of a female vampire, and then, believing they have killed her, the group take Richard back to Oxford, unaware that he is now a vampire also.

This movie bills Peter Cushing as one of it's main stars, but in actual fact he appears in the movie for a combined time of about five minutes. Furthermore, Edward Woodward appears in the film, just before he would go on to make the best British horror movie of all time; The Wicker Man. However, his appearance is little more than a cameo. Patrick Mower, who was in The Devil Rides Out, also appears in the film, and he is an actor that will be best known by British people for his role in the rubbish, yet popular soap opera; Emmerdale. The movie also features performances from Patrick Macnee, who would later appear in The Howling and Alexander Davion, who appeared some years earlier in the British horror; Plague of the Zombies. The cast is very much B-movie, but all are somewhat experienced in the horror genre. The fact that the cast is B-grade is evident through the acting if nothing else; which, with the exception of Cushing and Woodward (both of which also aren't great) leaves a lot to be desired.

Overall, Incense for the Damned is a waste of time that manages to be neither memorable nor interesting. I even recommend that Peter Cushing fans skip this one.

Confusing AND boring, even the worst Hammer movie I've seen is ten times better than this!

[Infofreak · 22 January 2004]

"Oh, this looks good" I thought scanning the DVD slick of 'Bloodsuckers'. Horror legend Peter Cushing, 'The Avengers' Patrick Macnee, Edward Woodward just before 'The Wicker Man', plus Patrick Mower, who was in 'The Devil Rides Out' and Alex Davion from 'The Plague Of The Zombies', two of the best and most underrated Hammer movies. Well nothing could prepare me for how poor it turned out to be! Even the worst Hammer movie I've seen is ten times better than this. It's confusing AND boring, with way too much narration and production values that make it look like an episode of 'The Champions' or some other half forgotten 60s/70s TV show. Cushing is hardly in it, Woodward even less (one scene), and the highlight is a donkey chase! I'm not kidding! The disc I watched included a 6 minutes deleted scene of a psychedelic drug orgy which wasn't used in the final cut. Too bad because it's better than anything that was used. Director Robert Hartford-Davies ('The Yellow Teddybears') apparently disowned this movie and I don't blame him one bit!

Truly awful

[slmstanley · 1/10 · 18 September 2000]

What were these big-name stars thinking? Patrick MacNee and Peter Cushing star in this hideous excuse for a horror movie. Cushing obviously couldn't have read the entire script, as his portions are dignified, well-acted, and have nothing whatsoever to do with the rest of the movie. Otherwise, bad script, bad acting, bad direction, bad writing and a truly bad plot hold sway.

The highlight for me of this cinema mudpie is an "orgy" scene shot with a dragonfly-eye lens so that the filmmakers wouldn't have to pay more than two actors. The worst of the worst. Don't waste your time watching a second of it.

Confusing British horror that at least tries to be different.

[poolandrews · 5/10 · 15 May 2007]

Incense for the Damned, or under it's more common & commercial title of Bloodsuckers, tells the story of Richard Fountain (Patrick Mower) who happens to be the British foreign secretary's son, he is also a brilliant Oxford don & an expert on ancient Greek Minoan rites & mythology. Tony Seymore (Alexander Davion) is contacted by Richard's father & told that he has become involved in weird cults in Greece while doing research for a book he is writing, both the British & Greek governments want to avoid an international scandal so Tony is sent out to Greece to bring Richard back. Tony takes Richard's best friend Bob Kirby (Johnny Sekka) & his girlfriend Penelope Goodrich (Madeleine Hinde) who are also concerned about Richard's well being, once in Athens Tony meets up with his British contact Major Derek Longbow (Patrick Macnee) who says that Richard is involved with a girl named Chriseis (Imogen Hassall) & that they need to find them, meanwhile the dead mutilated body of a girl is discovered & Richard & his cult are the prime suspects...

This British production was directed by Robert Hartford-Davis although he was apparently unhappy with the film claiming it to be unfinished (hard to argue with that) & had his name removed from the credits, in fact the version I watched had a full set of opening credits but they never even listed a director which is very unusual. Anyway, the script by Julian More which takes itself extremely seriously was based upon a novel called 'Doctors Wear Scarlet' by Simon Raven & quite frankly it's a bit of a confused mess, it's something a bit different I suppose but the narrative is poor & it's hard to keep track of what's going on or understand what the bloody thing is all about. A fair amount of Incense for the Damned is narrated & I wonder if that was put in at the last moment to try & explain things & make the film a little clearer, it wouldn't surprise me if that was the case. The basic premise is about Vampires although it's never made 100% clear whether they were real Vampires or whether it was just in their minds, I'm sure the filmmakers wanted to make a psychological horror film which explored the Vampire myth from another angle unfortunately it doesn't really work & the notion that people who are impotent may drink the blood of other's for a sexual orgasm is just a stupid idea that's poorly executed. The film also tries to have a little dig at the establishment at the end as well just to sidetrack & confuse things even more. Having said that I found it interesting to an extent, I thought it was something different & at only 80 odd minutes it's not too long.

Director Davis does a decent job, I must admit that I love the Greek locations & scenery in Incense for the Damned & they add a really cool look & feel to the film as opposed to if it was totally shot in England. There's not much in the way of scares although there is an orgy sequence at the start with a fair amount of nudity which is at odds with the rest of the film, forget about any gore though as their isn't any worth mentioning. Apparently shot in 1970 but remained unreleased until 1976 according to the IMDb (although I find that hard to believe as the BBFC lists it was passed for theatrical release here in the UK in 1971) & you can definitely understand the change of titles from Incense for the Damned to the somewhat misleading but much better & more exploitative sounding Bloodsuckers.

Technically the film is fine & has that indefinable sleazy 70's atmosphere, it's well made generally speaking & has a few stylish moments in it. The acting isn't the best although there's a good cast here including the always watchable Peter Cushing, Patrick Macnee & Edward Woodward in a cameo role.

Incesne for the Damned is an usual film where the filmmakers probably had the ambition to do something different & meaningful but only succeeded in making a bit of an unwatchable mess. I think I'll end this review by calling Incesne for the Damed an interesting failure although it's not a film I could recommend to anyone really.

Not very well put together but odd enough for a watch

[Red-Barracuda · 5/10 · 22 March 2012]

Blood Suckers is a bit of an oddity really. On the surface it looks like yet another typical British horror movie from the early 70's. A little bit of the occult, some nudity and starring Peter Cushing. But, in all honesty, it's not that typical at all. Despite having a pretty impressive cast – Patrick Macnee (The Avengers), Patrick Mower (The Devil Rides Out), Edward Woodward (The Wicker Man) and Cushing – it doesn't really utilise them very well at all. Cushing is in it at the beginning and end but doesn't really register; Patrick Macnee is killed half way through, Woodward has an uninteresting cameo role, while Mower seems to sleep-walk through his role. Technically the film itself is, at best, a little haphazard. It appears to have been edited together using a hack-saw, while the storyline could charitably be described as a little confused and unfocused. In fact it begins with the kind of voice-over that is normally used to cover for the fact that a lot of material was not filmed; seemingly the film ran into some difficulties so this may explain this.

Having said all this it is a little unusual and that does garner it some points. The story of the are-they-or-aren't-they vampires is a little different, if admittedly not all that successfully told. The varied locations do offer something a little different to the norm too, although it does feel more like an action-adventure than an actual horror film a lot of the time. So, it's a mess but a mess not without some interest. Also, on the DVD release I saw, the deleted scene was an extended psychedelic orgy which was completely removed for some unfathomable reason; it would have easily have been the best sequence in the film proper if it had been included.

Ridiculous!

[guy-bellinger · 3/10 · 10 March 2021]

In Greece where he spends his vacations, Richard Fountain, an Oxford student, falls in love with Chriseis, a pretty young girl who has the particularity of practicing black magic. Through her, he finds himself involved in a vampiric adventure. His friends will try to get him out of it.

A vampire movie with Peter Cushing, how enticing ! The result unfortunately does not live up to expectations, to say the least. Granted, there is Peter Cushing and his impressive natural authority, but in a frustrating minor role. But besides him and a few beautiful views of Greece, everything is mediocre, not to say ridiculous: the very approximate direction, the discourse on vampirism and sexual deviations, a thrilling chase... on the back of a donkey, etc. Moreover, apart from Cushing, the actors are anything but convincing, the worst being Alex Davion who fascinates more by his long ears than by the subtlety of his acting. One consolation though, many of the characters die before the end!

A non-horror horror ...

[parry_na · 4/10 · 18 January 2016]

Minutes into this film, we are bombarded with information, some star names and some sumptuous foreign filming. It's a project desperate to hit us from the very beginning. Only when things calm down a little do we get know any of the characters – played by an impressive array: Peter Cushing, William Mervyn, Edward Woodward and Patrick MacNee. Of them all, MacNee gets the most to do, but even he is killed off well before the final curtain.

Patrick Mower (currently hamming it up in missable Brit-soap Emmerdale) is extremely good as Richard Fountain, who has gone missing in Greece. This allows us some expansive foreign locales, but sadly, this film lacks the ability to deliver a straight-forward, comprehensible film.

Whilst the idea of Fountain having been attacked by a Grecian vampire in this sunny, most un-vampiric paradise is an appealing one, so little time is given over to any kind of character development that we don't really care about Fountain's plight – or indeed have time even to notice the girl is a vampire until the brief act is carried out and she is dispatched. Things become interesting when Mower's character behaves more and more erratically, climactically speaking out in a rousing rejection of the well-to-do scholars that would see him sensibly married off and educated. That only vampirism can free him from the shackles of his peers is also an interesting idea, but has no time to breathe before Fountain his unspectacularly killed.

This was a troubled shoot, apparently. Director Robert Hartford-Davis found the budget ran out before the film was finished and he removed himself and his name from the project. I was very much reminded of the work of Director Peter Walker (Schizo, Die Screaming Marianne etc) such is the mishmash of pleasing directorial flourishes and messy narrative, but at least at 89 minutes, the project isn't allowed to meander too much. A horror film filmed in a determinedly un-horrific way, a few more chills – or indeed any at all – would have helped balance the tone out a little.

Booorrring!!!

[duncancorbin · 3/10 · 10 July 2018]

Unless you like incoherent exploitation films that focus more on dialogue, you will be bored senseless with this movie. It has very minor interesting bits, but other than that you'll be paying attention to literally anything else for an hour and 20 minutes.

Nothing in this film matches!

[mark.waltz · 2/10 · 1 July 2020]

Whether it be the music just not fitting with the footage it is dubbed over or the story twists or the pacing, this is a film where I eventually forgot to keep an eye on the plot and just passed through it like a stranger in the night glancing at the exotic sets, weird costumes and characters with no real motivation or direction. Veteran British actors Patrick MacNee and Edward Woodward are saddled with the pathetic story of searching for a virginal young man who has somehow become involved with the occult.

Then there's Peter Cushing, once again showing that he pretty much accepted everything that was offered to him providing that he had the time, adding dignity along wituh MacNee and Woodward to a film that desperately needed it. After half an hour of this flying around in so many different directions, I simply just forced myself to finish it, realizing that I just didn't have the desire to give it any detailed attention. The sex orgy in the beginning seems gratuitous, and scenes in dungeons with women having their tops ripped off for no real reason. Attempts for a Gothic theme fail miserably. This only scores a 2 for the three veteran actors who gamely go through their assignments, but other than a few thrilling brief moments, this is a dreadful failure.

Vampires! Cults! Cambridge Dons! Mule Chases!

[By-TorX-1 · 6/10 · 14 November 2019]

Incense for the Damned (AKA Bloodsuckers) is not a great film, and nor is it always a very coherent film. For instance, within the first half it sometimes feels like you are watching the film on fast-forward as it jumps from scene to scene and scenario to scenario. However, for all of its obvious faults, there is much to like and a lot of charm on display. Of the latter, much of this derives from the improbably impressive and engaging cast (boasting stellar and iconic thespians such as Peter Cushing, Patrick Mcnee and Edward Woodward). In some respects, the film is similar to The Devil Rides Out (although not nearly as effective) in that poor Patrick Mower has again fallen in with a sinister group and needs saving by his gallant collective of chums (he really needs to check out the cults he signs up with!). However, at least he gets to see some lovely Greek countryside as he is conveyed here and there by the seductive Chriseis and her cohorts (quite literally, as Mower spends most of the picture in some prone position or other). In terms of action, Johnny Sekka proves to be an effective hero, and Imogen Hassell is great in her role as the tenacious vampire. In terms of vampirism, the film deftly never categorically confirms whether Chriseis is a supernatural entity or not, which is an interesting and intriguing touch. However, further mitigating against the narrative shortcomings, Incense for the Damned is also noteworthy as it features an invisible eagle that acts as a dire portent of doom (which sadly comes to pass for one character) and, best of all, arguably displays horror cinema's first (and perhaps only) thrilling mule chase.

No-one's mentioned the editing!

[callingham-87016 · 3/10 · 4 September 2021]

Pretty much everyone so far has the same opinion of this film, but I couldn't find any comments about the horrendously brutal editing, which goes some way to ruining the pace and flow of the film. I'm pretty sure there's a half-decent film on the cutting room floor!

"An oddity in the British horror genre."

[jamesraeburn2003 · 13 April 2004]

Whilst in Greece researching a book on Greek mythology, a young Oxford Don (Mower), falls under the spell of Chriseis (Hassal), a beautiful but sexually perverted vampire who murders her victims for their blood.

An oddity in the history of the British horror genre. Director Robert Hartford Davies disowned the picture due to never fully explained production problems, although it has been suggested that the low budget ran out and that scheduled re-shoots never happened. As a result the film was pasted together quickly and it's disgruntled director was credited under the pseudonym Michael Burrowes. The film got a trade show in 1972 but it wasn't given a London showing until 1976.

The picture does show a few scars of it's troubled production like when a studio rock is quite clearly seen bouncing off an actor's head without doing him any injury, but it's interpretation of vampirism as a sexual perversion is interesting although there quite clearly wasn't enough time to develop it properly. The location shooting in Greece of Desmond Dickenson is first class and the best performances come from Patrick Macnee (who had just finished The Avengers) as Major Longbarrow, Patrick Mower as the ill-fated scholar and Peter Cushing as Dr Goodrich who put the pressure on Mower academically to such a degree that it made him tempted to join the perverted vampire for excitement.

The film has been reissued on DVD under it's alternative title, "Bloodsuckers", featuring a deleted scene which attempted to add drug addiction to the mixture of sex and vampirism.

Seems awfully quaint now....

[lurch99-198-323833 · 24 May 2016]

People under a certain age may find it puzzling that once upon a time being gay was considered a very big bad deal, very "infra dig," the utmost discretion had to be exercised. We see that in "Bloodsuckers" where the relationship between the doomed professor and the Senegalese guy (or at least the actor was Senegalese) is just hinted at in the mildest possible terms. Could have been fun to delve into that in connection with vampirism, but then, "Could have been..." could be this movie's epitaph. This was certainly a different "take" on the vampire genre, going the psychological route, even bringing in an "expert" late in the going to explain everything (like the Simon Oakland character in "Psycho") which unfortunately bogged things down a bit. I thought it took a while for "Bloodsuckers" to "settle down" and focus on the story; before that we had a seemingly endless "orgy" sequence (or whatever was supposed to be going on) which dated itself badly with it's "groovy" soundtrack and "kaleidoscopic" special effects—it seems whenever a movie tries to be "trendy," a few decades later it seems ancient. Don't know if it was intentional or not but the action had a kind of clipped, perfunctory feel to it---if you've ever seen the old Monty Python sketch with the military character barking "Right, get on with it"---felt like that a little. (Not surprising that the director disowned it, as per IMDb.) Seemed a shame that the two best actors, Patrick Macnee from "The Avengers" and Peter Cushing from those great old Hammer horror flicks, had so little to do. Imogen Hassall as the Greek vampiress didn't impress me much; since she had hardly any lines, couldn't they just get some hot-looking local Greek chick and let her "strut her stuff"? My favorite scene was probably Richard telling off all the red-robed "toffs" near the end. On the whole I'd say it was worth a look, especially since it didn't cost me any money (a friend gave me a copy to watch).... what I personally found interesting is that a few years before this movie was made, Greece had a military coup which lasted until the mid-1970's, so that sinister Colonel character had a nice built-in "back story." But of course I'm sure the filmmakers had to promise not to put the regime in a bad light to be allowed to film there….