USA, 1963
58m; 67m (USA); 70m (Australia); 75m (most likely incorrect)
colour
English
An American gore film – the first of its kind although the Japanese Jigoku (1960) beat it to the punch internationally – directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis who would become synonymous with violent horror films. Originally banned in the UK, the film was finally awarded an 18 certificate in 2001 but with a token 23 seconds of cuts. It was submitted again in 2005 and was this time passed uncut.
Plot Summary
A mad Egyptian caterer collects female human body parts in readiness for the resurrection of his goddess, Ishtar. He plans to use an engagement party, for which he’s been hired as the caterer, to stage the ritual that will bring the evil Ishtar back from the dead.
Credits
* = uncredited
Crew
Directed by: Herschell Gordon Lewis
© Copyright MCMLXIII [1963] Box Office Spectaculars, Inc.
Box Office Spectaculars, Inc. presents a Friedman-Lewis production
Produced by: David F. Friedman
Screenplay by: A. Louise Downe [A. Louise Downe is credited as screenplay writer but in fact only typed the script for Friedman and Lewis]
Story: David F. Friedman, Herschell Gordon Lewis [both uncredited]
Photographed by: Herschell Gordon Lewis
Film Editors: Robert Sinise and Frank Romolo
Original Thematic Music by: Herschell Gordon Lewis
Sound: David F. Friedman
Special Effects: Herschell Gordon Lewis *
Cast
Thomas Wood [William Kerwin] [Pete Thornton]
Mal Arnold [Fuad Ramses]
Connie Mason [Suzette Fremont]
Lyn Bolton [Mrs Fremont]
Scott H. Hall [police captain]
Toni Calvert [Trudy]
Ashlyn Martin [Marcy]
Astrid Olson [motel victim]
Sandra Sinclair [Pat Tracey]
Gene Courtier [Tony]
Louise Kamp
Hal Rich
Al Golden [Dr Flanders]
Links
Sequel
Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat (2002)
Remakes
Blood Diner (1987)
Blood Feast (2016)
Extracts included in
100 Years of Horror (1996)
Filmgore (1983)
Film House Fever (1986)
Mau Mau Sex Sex (2000)
Terror on Tape (1983)
Press
1964
Variety 6 May 1964
Incredibly crude and unprofessional from start to finish, Blood Feast is an insult even to the most peurile and salacious of audiences. The very fact that it is taking itself seriously makes David F. Friedman production all the more ludicrous. It is a fiasco in all departments […] Herschell Gordon Lewis served in the three-ply capacity of director-cameraman-composer and has failed dismally on all three counts. The acting is amateurish, top to bottom. – from a review by Tube
2001
Sight & Sound vol.11 no.10 (October 2001) p.65
Tasteless, technically inept, appallingly acted and possibly (alongside George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and Herk Harvey’s Carnival of Souls) one of the most important horror films of the 1960s. […] Comically entertaining as a movie, genuinely significant as a genre document” – from a DVD review (Home movies: Premiere releases) by [DL] Danny Leigh
References
Periodicals
- Castle of Frankenstein no.6 p.56
- Continuum vol.9 no.1 (1996) pp.25-45 – article (“There never was a party like this…!”: Blood Feast and the primal act of cannibalism by Mikita Brottman)
- Midi-Minuit Fantastique no.8 (January 1964) p.33 – credits
- Motion Picture Herald vol.230 no.7 (4 September 1963) p.884 – credits
- Positif no.171/172 (July/August 1975) p.81 – review
- Sight & Sound vol.11 no.10 (October 2001) p.65 – DVD review (Home movies: Premiere releases by DL [Danny Leigh])
- Starburst no.70 (June 1984) pp.22-23 – illustrated interview with Eric Caidin (Blood Feast 2 by Alan Jones)
- Variety 6 May 1964 -credits, review (by Tube)
Books
- 500 Essential Cult Movies: The Ultimate Guide by Jennifer Eiss with J.P. Rutter and Steve White p.233 – illustrated credits, synopsis, review
- The Amazing Herschell Gordon Lewis and His World of Exploitation Films by Daniel Krogh, with John McCarty pp.12-16; 146 – illustrated production details; credits
- The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror by Phil Hardy (ed.) pp.151-152
- Caligari’s Children: The Film as Tale of Terror by Siegbert Solomon Prawer p.249
- Cinematic Vampires by John L. Flynn pp.154-155
- Creature Features Movie Guide Strikes Again by John Stanley p.48 – credits, review
- Cult Horror: Dark Fantasy, Horror and Supernatural Movies by Russ Thorne p.45
- Cult Movies 2: 50 More of the Classics, the Sleepers, the Weird, and the Wonderful by Danny Peary pp.25-27
- Feature Films, 1960-1969: A Filmography of English-language and Major Foreign-language United States Releases by Harris M. Lentz III p.42
- Herschell Gordon Lewis, Godfather of Gore by Randy Palmer pp.38-65; 183 – illustrated production details; credits
- Hoffman’s Guide to SF, Horror and Fantasy Movies 1991-1992 p.48 – credits, review
- Horror! 333 Films to Scare You to Death by James Marriott & Kim Newman p.109
- Horrorshows: The A-Z of Horror in Film, TV, Radio and Theatre by Gene Wright p.241 – credits, review
- The Mammoth Book of Slasher Movies: An A-Z Guide to Over Sixty Years of Blood and Guts by Peter Normanton pp.84-86
- Reference Guide to Fantastic Films by Walt Lee p.40 – credits
- Regional Horror Films, 1958-1990 by Brian Albright pp.187-188
- Seduction of the Gullible, The (2nd edition) by John Martin pp.22-25 – credits, synopsis, review
- Serial Killer Cinema: An Analytical Filmography by Robert Cetti p.61-64
- Sixties Shockers by Mark Clark and Bryan Senn pp.69
