Conduct an online search for Michael Reeves and you will be met with a barrage of information about a typically overpaid and under-talented internet "personality" of the same name. Slightly curious, I watched about a minute of a You Tube video he made. Once more I am reminded of something Frank Zappa said many years ago. I paraphrase: "Substance is a bore to most people".
Michael Reeves, the late English film director, is one of the great tragedies of horror. He only made a few films, but his potential was enormous. His final feature, The Witchfinder General, is a near-masterpiece, and it's arguably the greatest Vincent Price performance. Price eschewed his lovably campy sensibilities to portray a grim witch hunter and executioner.
Revenge of the Blood Beast (released in America by AIP as She Beast), is a study in contrasts. One one hand there are scenes of horror that work extremely well. Yet the tense tone of these moments are offset with bumbling humor worthy of The Benny Hill Show.
The opening is especially potent. In the seventeen-hundreds a religious ceremony is interrupted by an hysterical, bloody child. He cries that a witch has murdered his sister. The congregation rousts a monstrous woman and executes her. The makeup for the accursed witch is crude, but effective.
Cut to the present. Gothic Queen Barbara Steele and her newlywed husband stop at a decrepit hotel in Italy. They meet the slovenly and corrupt innkeeper as well as a nutty descendant of Abraham Van Helsing. The formerly wealthy Van Helsing lives in a cave, drinks a lot of vodka, and waits for the day the witch makes her return.
It's an odd mix. There are sped-up chase scenes involving the local constabulary that look like something out of an old Keystone Kops one-reeler. There's also a messy cockfight and a nasty attempted rape, complete with brief nudity. Which is surprising for a GP-rated movie.
The entire production looks great, especially in moments when the grotesque she beast is shambling along the countryside. Reeves obviously had a lot of talent, and he should have been one of the biggest genre directors of all time.
I suppose Swinging London was too much for the rising young director. Michael Reeves reportedly suffered from depression and was on various medications. He was found dead in his apartment on February 11, 1969, from an overdose of alcohol and barbiturates. The death was ruled as accidental. Reeves was twenty-five years old. He didn't even make it into Club 27.
While far from a perfect movie, Revenge of the Blood Beast is an auspicious debut for Michael Reeves. His next two films, The Sorcerers and The Witchfinder General, display remarkable growth and maturity.
I recommend Revenge of the Blood Beast to fans of sixties gothic horror fans. I found a copy of the out-of-print Raro Video Blu-ray at a thrift store a few years ago for a pittance. Copies go for a pretty penny now. It's available to stream at Amazon Prime.
Written by Mark Sieber
Michael Reeves, the late English film director, is one of the great tragedies of horror. He only made a few films, but his potential was enormous. His final feature, The Witchfinder General, is a near-masterpiece, and it's arguably the greatest Vincent Price performance. Price eschewed his lovably campy sensibilities to portray a grim witch hunter and executioner.
Revenge of the Blood Beast (released in America by AIP as She Beast), is a study in contrasts. One one hand there are scenes of horror that work extremely well. Yet the tense tone of these moments are offset with bumbling humor worthy of The Benny Hill Show.
The opening is especially potent. In the seventeen-hundreds a religious ceremony is interrupted by an hysterical, bloody child. He cries that a witch has murdered his sister. The congregation rousts a monstrous woman and executes her. The makeup for the accursed witch is crude, but effective.
Cut to the present. Gothic Queen Barbara Steele and her newlywed husband stop at a decrepit hotel in Italy. They meet the slovenly and corrupt innkeeper as well as a nutty descendant of Abraham Van Helsing. The formerly wealthy Van Helsing lives in a cave, drinks a lot of vodka, and waits for the day the witch makes her return.
It's an odd mix. There are sped-up chase scenes involving the local constabulary that look like something out of an old Keystone Kops one-reeler. There's also a messy cockfight and a nasty attempted rape, complete with brief nudity. Which is surprising for a GP-rated movie.
The entire production looks great, especially in moments when the grotesque she beast is shambling along the countryside. Reeves obviously had a lot of talent, and he should have been one of the biggest genre directors of all time.
I suppose Swinging London was too much for the rising young director. Michael Reeves reportedly suffered from depression and was on various medications. He was found dead in his apartment on February 11, 1969, from an overdose of alcohol and barbiturates. The death was ruled as accidental. Reeves was twenty-five years old. He didn't even make it into Club 27.
While far from a perfect movie, Revenge of the Blood Beast is an auspicious debut for Michael Reeves. His next two films, The Sorcerers and The Witchfinder General, display remarkable growth and maturity.
I recommend Revenge of the Blood Beast to fans of sixties gothic horror fans. I found a copy of the out-of-print Raro Video Blu-ray at a thrift store a few years ago for a pittance. Copies go for a pretty penny now. It's available to stream at Amazon Prime.
Written by Mark Sieber
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