Blood Freak

Blood Freak (1971)

Genres - Horror, Science Fiction  |   Sub-Genres - Creature Film  |   Release Date - Jan 1, 1972 (USA - Unknown), Oct 12, 1972 (USA)  |   Run Time - 80 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - R
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Review by Donald Guarisco

This bizarre, Florida-lensed oddity attempts to be an ecology-themed monster movie, a sensationalistic exploitation item, and a religious anti-drug propaganda piece all at once, but the resulting mess doesn't get anywhere near succeeding at these aims. Technical credits are generally awful; the photography is grainy and poorly lit and the editing is choppy. Even the sound effects are bad; the same scream is used over and over during the scare scenes. The film also suffers from inept acting (leading man Steve Hawkes is particularly wooden) and dialogue that would make even the best actors look silly. Despite all these problems, Blood Freak is guaranteed to entertain fans of cinematic misfires because it is bad in such a strange and uniquely creative way. It is full of touches that push the film out of the realm of mere bad filmmaking and into the realm absurdly surreal. For instance, the narration delivered on camera by director Brad Grinter mixes scientific mumbo-jumbo and brain-damaged mysticism in a manner worthy of Criswell and the title creature's sublimely goofy design must be seen to be (dis)believed. In the end, Blood Freak's thorough ineptitude is likely to frustrate most viewers but any brave soul with a yen for filmmaking at its most misguided will find plenty to be amused by with this one-of-a-kind effort.