6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
This weird and chilling tale of vampires and the undead seeking to bring their kind back to life features the evil Marco (Ronald Remy), an updated version of the vampiric Count Dracula replete with cape, fangs, and clean-shaven head! Marco seeks to reanimate his long lost love and infuse her with the blood of his victims as he casts his evil spell over the inhabitants of a lonely village. Sharp fangs gleam in the night as bloodsuckers and bats seek fresh blood from the veins of their victims in this eerie drive-in favorite, also known as "The Vampire People" and featuring unusual color photography and tinting effects. A must for any vampire film collection!
Starring: Ronald Remy, Amalia Fuentes, Mary Walter, Vic DiazHorror | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Note: This film is also available as part of The Hemisphere Box of Horrors.
For certain lovers of cult cinema, the name Hemisphere Pictures will most likely forever be linked to The Blood Island Collection, and perhaps more generally to Philippine shot outings in
general,
but as the movies collected in Hemishpere Box of Horrors make clear, this relatively small scale independent “studio” (if it could even be
called that) at least attempted to try a few (marginally?) different things through the years. The five films assembled for this set document an
approach that might be thought of as part Hammer, part Roger Corman (especially his Poe adaptations), but with a very peculiar, and some may
reasonably feel distinctive, air. Part of that is due to the features shot in the Philippines, but there’s a weirdly exotic feel to even the stateside
shot,
admittedly low budget and often generally lo-fi offerings. One of the fun supplements on some of the Blood Island Collection discs were
the
reminiscences of Hemisphere marketing guru Samuel S. Sherman, and Sherman is back with more background information here, helping to
explain
how Hemisphere was seeking some kind of identity on the grindhouse and/or drive-in circuit(s), finding some unexpected success along
the
way. There's little doubt that any, and indeed probably all, of these films fits rather snugly into the confines of "cult cinema", but even devoted
acolytes of this particular cult may need to temper expectations based on the source elements Severin was able to procure.
The Blood Drinkers is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Somewhat hilariously, the film has been described as "the first color horror picture produced in the Philippines" (that's its tag line on the IMDb), but as is described in some of the supplements, the cost of actually shooting an entire film in color was prohibitive for Hemisphere, and so as can be seen in the screenshots accompanying this review, director Gerardo De Leon and cinematographer Felipe Sacdalan opted for long swaths being tinted, typically either in deep blues or reds. The result is actually rather evocative. Severin's back cover states this transfer was "scanned from the only complete 35mm print known to exist", and so has to be accepted on its own merits, which frankly are often variable. The blue tinted material actually features decent detail levels a lot of the time, but the red tinting tends to mask fine detail. The actual color footage appears faded, but has moments of vibrancy. Midrange and wide shots often don't offer much in the way of clarity, but a few passing close-ups have rather good fine detail. The source element is littered with age related wear and tear, with quite a few scratches, nicks, white and black flecks, and other issues like frame instability. There's also pretty bad wobble during the opening credits.
The Blood Drinkers features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono mix that can sound a little brash and even slightly too bright in its upper registers, something that's noticeable during some of the more bombastic scoring choices. The dubbing is what it is, which means (as Arrow is fond of saying) "sync can be loose against the picture". There are recurrent if minor pops and crackles along the way, and an overall boxy sound, along with some minor distortion and clipping in louder moments.
The Blood Drinkers may strike some as it struck me, namely that it's probably better than it could and maybe should have been, but it still isn't very good. This is perhaps more interesting from a stylistic perspective than from a story angle. Both video and audio encounter hurdles, but the supplements are well done.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Ibulong mo sa hangin / Creatures of Evil / Blood of the Vampires
1966
1966
50th Anniversary Edition
1968
1971
1971
2014
AIP Cut | 60th Anniversary
1963
L'amante del vampiro
1960
Malenka / Malenka, the Niece of the Vampire / Malenka, the Vampire / The Vampire's Niece
1969
2013
The Creature's Revenge / The Oozing Skull / The Undying Brain
1972
1967
Daughters of Dracula
1974
1985
Limited Edition of 5,000
1991
1963
Dracula's Dog / Kino Cult #16
1977
1971
1973
1945