‘Night of the Blood Beast: Special Edition’
Film Masters
$29.95 (Blu-ray), $19.95 (DVD)
61 minutes plus special features
Not rated
By Mark Voger, author
‘Zowie! The TV Superhero Craze in ’60s Pop Culture’
Pairing two low-budget genre films is like selecting a wine to go with dinner. One must not overpower the other.
There’s no chance of this happening with “Night of the Blood Beast” (1958) and “Attack of the Giant Leeches” (1959), two sci-fi/horror hybrids with much in common. Both were produced by Roger and Gene Corman; both were directed by Bernard L. Kowalski; and they were filmed back-to-back by much of the same crew and a few of the same actors.
Film Masters has released newly restored prints of these two cult classics from American International Pictures (AIP), in an extras-packed double feature titled “Night of the Blood Beast: Special Edition.”
SINISTER SEAHORSES
AIP co-founder Samuel Z. Arkoff once told me of director-producer Roger Corman: “There were times we used to have to call Roger when he was on location and we’d seen the rushes, and we would say, ‘Roger, extras are cheap! Put some extras in the background!’ ”
“Night of the Blood Beast” is one of those “low on extras” movies. There are six cast members — seven if you count the guy in the monster suit (Ross Sturlin) at the climax. Sure, there’s talk of NASA guys who are “on their way,” like the cavalry in an old Western. But they never show up.
In a script (by Martin Varno, then 21) which borrows elements from “The Thing From Another World” and “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” Maj. John Corcoran (Michael Emmet) fatally crash-lands in his capsule, and his body is brought back to base. Assembled there are chain-smoking Dave (Ed Nelson); wingman Steve (John Baer); John’s fiance Julie (Angela Greene); wizened Dr. Wyman (Tyler McVey); and photographer Donna (Georgianna Carter).
Get used to these faces, because they’re all your gonna see throughout the film’s 61-minute running time.
Two strange things happen. John’s body shows no signs of life, but also no signs of decomposition. Also, all power shuts down. Not even wristwatches are working. Hmmm …
Things get worse. The doc is killed (“half his head’s gone!”); John (or a weird version of him) comes back to life; and a fluoroscope reveals that he has seahorses floating around in his stomach. At least, they look like seahorses.
It all leads to a showdown at good old Bronson Canyon, which is so steep, the actors clearly struggle to remain upright. “Night of the Blood Beast” has its moments — John’s resurrection is pretty creepy — but it hardly qualifies as a great movie. This doesn’t trouble horror nerds one iota.
Alexander Laszlo‘s excellent main theme was recycled in the Cormans’ subsequent films “Beast From Haunted Cave” and “Attack of the Giant Leeches” (both 1959).
DRAIN THE SWAMP
Kowalski’s followup “Attack of the Giant Leeches” has something going for it not seen in any other horror/sci-fi film from the period: a steamy subplot about a trashy young looker (the great Yvette Vickers) married to a 300-plus-pound cuckold (the greater Bruno VeSota) in the buggy Florida swamps that you’d swear is a Tennessee Williams adaptation. It is well-written (by Leo Gordon), well-cast and well-played.
Nothing else about “Attack of the Giant Leeches” — with its monsters that look like guys in modified trash bags, its throwaway exposition, and its thoroughly unsatisfying explanation for how the giant leeches came into being — matters. The essence and crux is the tragicomic chemistry between sexy Liz Baby and sweaty Dave, as the following dialogue exchange attests …
LIZ BABY: Don’t touch me.
DAVE: Who do you think you’re talkin’ to? ‘Don’t touch me.’ You’re my wife. I’ll touch you any time I feel like it. … Where ya goin’?
LIZ BABY: I’m goin’ out. Maybe I’ll be back, maybe I won’t.
DAVE: (Pleadingly) Liz Baby, I didn’t mean nothin’.
I nominate these as Vickers’ and Ve Sota’s finest performances on film. Not kidding.
The grotto scenes — in which the giant leeches keep their human victims in a barely alive state, in order to continue suctioning their blood — is horrible to watch. So by all mean, watch it.
THE SET
Film Masters’ new prints are crisp, but be aware that in “Night of the Blood Beast,” there are quite a few (albeit, infinitesimal) jump cuts. Film Masters warns us of this with a title card, explaining that they considered correcting it with elements from an inferior print, but wisely decided that leaving the jump cuts in would be a less disruptive viewing experience.
I highly recommend author Tom Weaver‘s commentary on both films. An intrepid interview hound, Weaver has spoken with many of the creatives connected with the films. He weaves in (no pun intended) audio from other sources, including his recorded interviews. Weaver also dishes the dirt about some surprising backstage drama, such as Varno’s lawsuit against the Cormans; agent-editor Forrest J Ackerman‘s behind-the-scenes maneuvering; and Vickers’ eerie 2010 death, which is like something out of a Gothic horror movie.
Extras include the “Mystery Science Theater 3000” treatment of both films; an 8mm print of “Night of the Blood Beast” (which so-called “monster kids” of the ’60s will no doubt find illuminating); a longer TV cut of “Blood Beast”; a short doc about Kowalski; and a booklet (also by Weaver).
VIDEO
MOVIE POSTERS
ADDENDUM
I have much affection for “Night of the Blood Beast” and “Attack of the Giant Leeches” for a personal reason: When I was a lad, Dr. Shock showed ’em on Channel 17 in Philly.
Dr. Shock, a.k.a. Manayunk magician Joe Zawislak, was on the air for 10 years, from his 1970 debut until his 1979 death from a heart attack at the tragically young age of 42. During that time, he showed movies of all stripes, from big-studio classics (“Dracula,” “Frankenstein”) to low-budget quickies (“Night of the Blood Beast,” “Attack of the Giant Leeches,” come to think of it).
Zawislak upped the horror-film scholarship of his fans by leaps and bounds. Every movie shown by “Shocky Doc,” the greats and the groaners, has a special place in my heart.
Thanks to John Skerchock’s book “The Frightful Dr. Shock” (2015, Dark Dungeon), I now know that I first saw “Night of the Blood Beast” on July 10, 1971, and “Attack of the Giant Leeches” on the following Oct. 2. Perhaps a psychiatrist can explain why knowing random things like this are actually important to me.