Blood Freak

Movie Information

In Brief: There is absolutely no excuse why Blood Freak was ever made, and there is somewhat less of an excuse as to why Orbit DVD is running it. That there is no excuse is, of course, exactly why this carbuncle on the posterior of cinema is being run — as a kind of Thanksgiving turkey. I will concede this much — it is the only faith-based, anti-drug gore movie with a turkey-headed monster ever made. That doesn't improve things much, but it makes it unique.
Score:

Genre: Christian Anti-drug Gore Horror
Director: Brad F. Grinter, Steve Hawkes
Starring: A bunch of people you never heard of before and never will hear of again.
Rated: X

There’s a lot of competition out there for the claim of “Worst Movie Ever Made,” but I’m willing to go so far as saying Blood Freak (1972) is in the running. It is without a doubt a singularly miserable movie. Its primary director — and onscreen, chain-smoking and prone-to-coughing-fits narrator — Brad F. Grinter seems to have run some kind of filmmaking school in Miami. (And people wonder why I tell them that film schools are mostly useless?). His most (in)famous opus is Flesh Feast (1970) in which poor, alcoholic and befuddled Veronica Lake (who was also conned into helping finance the thing) played a scientist with a plastic-surgery technique involving maggots — there is also some nonsense about bringing Hitler back to power. It may well be worse than Blood Freak — certainly, its use of Lake is more embarrassing and cruel than the talentless lot here. That doesn’t make Blood Freak any good, mind you. Of course, the very existence of a Christian-based, anti-drug gore movie featuring a blood-drinking monster with a papier-mâché turkey head sounds intriguing. On a curio level, I guess it is. Realistically, it’s more interesting to think about than to watch. The production values are non-existent. The gore is laughable. The level of writing and acting is a few notches below porn. (The heroine wondering how the children would feel having a turkey-headed monster for a father — indeed whether they might be similarly afflicted — is the highlight.) The story never makes any sense, and the ending is a total cop-out of the hoariest kind. Go on, don’t believe me. I had to see for myself, too, but don’t say you weren’t warned.

Orbit DVD will screen Blood Freak Wed., Nov. 27, at 9 p.m. at The Odditorium.

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About Ken Hanke
Head film critic for Mountain Xpress from December 2000 until his death in June 2016. Author of books "Ken Russell's Films," "Charlie Chan at the Movies," "A Critical Guide to Horror Film Series," "Tim Burton: An Unauthorized Biography of the Filmmaker."

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7 thoughts on “Blood Freak

  1. Orbit DVD

    Fun personal fact: BLOOD FREAK was used to induce labor with our first child.

  2. Ken Hanke

    Well, that’s disturbing. Hey, when are you going to get this…thing back from me?

  3. Ken Hanke

    Actually, I won’t, but I can give it to Justin tomorrow night at Sabrina — and he will be there on Thursday.

  4. lance

    Xpress must be feeling revisionist about insulting Orbit DVD in print. That being said, let me go on record as saying this film is pure GENIUS. Thanks Mark for shedding light on this gem of cinema satyrica. Films like this remind me why I loved Broadway Video.

  5. Ken Hanke

    Xpress must be feeling revisionist about insulting Orbit DVD in print.

    It’s not the first time I’ve “insulted” one of Marc’s crapfest selections in print. It probably won’t be the last. Part of his delight in programming this garbage is making me sit through it.

    gem of cinema satyrica.

    That implies a conscious decision on the part of the people who made it, rather than cosmic ineptitude. I suspect the latter.

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