“This will go far beyond every STRETCH of the imagination.” What if you don’t want your imagination STRETCHED in that direction? Join your faithful Grue Crew - Doc Rotten, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr, along with guest host Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff from the Classic Era - as they, maybe foolishly, push through the ordeal of watching and discussing Sardu, Ralphus, et al in Joel M. Reed’s Bloodsucking Freaks (1976).
Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 142 – Bloodsucking Freaks (1976)
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Sardu, master of the Theatre of the Macabre, and his assistant Ralphus run a show in which, under the guise of 'magic', they torture and murder people in front of their audience. But what the spectators see as a trick is actually real.
IMDb
Writer/Director: Joel M. Reed Cast Seamus O'Brien as Sardu Luis De Jesus as Ralphus (as Louie de Jesus) Viju Krem as Natasha Di Natalie Niles McMaster as Tom Maverick Dan Fauci as Sergeant Tucci Alan Dellay as Creasy Silo Ernie Pysher as Doctor Helen Thompson as Sardu's Assistant - Curled Hair Ellen Faison as Sardu's Assistant - Straight Hair (as Saiyanidi) Alphonso DeNoble as White Slaver Illa Howe as Girl on Guillotine
Bloodsucking Freaks. What can they say? Well, Chad says it’s full of wanton destruction, gore, and misogyny, and is the epitome of 70s exploitation. On a similar note, Bill describes watching Bloodsucking Freaks as an ordeal consisting of a series of atrocious scenarios with bad special effects, emphasizing that he would not recommend the film to anyone he likes. Jeff agrees Bloodsucking Freaks has no redeeming value whatsoever, recommending that if you must watch it, choose the Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs treatment. At least that way, you’re able to digest it in 15-minute doses interspersed with interesting and humorous stories about the filmmakers. Finally, repugnant, repulsive, and degenerate are the words Doc uses to describe Bloodsucking Freaks, adding that he was thinking at least we didn’t see anyone’s genitalia cut off, … oops, spoke too soon.
As of this writing, Bloodsucking Freaks is available to stream on Shudder and on physical media as a Blu-ray from Troma.
Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1970s is part of the Decades of Horror two-week rotation with The Classic Era and the 1980s. In two weeks, the next episode in their very flexible schedule will be Assignment Terror (1970), a Paul Naschy film chosen by Doc! Be sure to join us for that one.
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