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I DRINK YOUR BLOOD Starring Baskaar, Lynn Lowry and Tyde Kierney
In many cases, theatrical trailers hype a film to the point where moviegoers do not want to miss it. On the other hand, the name of a film itself will cause a person to see it. Enter I Drink Your Blood, directed by David Durston. The marketeers over at Cinemation, the legendary Jerry Gross' distribution company, re-titled Durston's film (originally shot as "Phobia") to fit a double bill with I Eat Your Skin (another re-title, this time of 1960s voodoo film). Upon its original release and in order to avoid an X-rating, the film was cut by several minutes, leaving out much of the gore that was still intact in its trailer. Only available for years in cut form or uncut with distracting Japanese subtitles, I Drink You Blood has been brought to the fans through Grindhouse Releasing, the people responsible for restoring and re-issuing Umberto Lenzi's Cannibal Ferox, Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust and Lucio Fulci's The Beyond. This new disc, originally available in a limited, numbered and signed edition by Box Office Spectaculars (aka Grindhouse Releasing), is now available at local retailers.
A satanic cult of hippies become stranded in a near-ghost town when their van's engine fails. They occupy an old, deserted hotel, causing all sorts of trouble for the locals. An aging veterinarian sets out to stop the hippies when the hippies beat him and force him to take PCP. The vet's grandson takes him home, and decides to avenge his grandfather. Later that night, the vet's grandson kills a dog with rabies. He then injects the blood into a batch of meat pies at the bakery, where he works. The hippies eat the pies, and all come down with rabies. They then proceed to kill the locals - and each other. One of the rabid hippies help spread the disease to a group of construction workers, making a bad situation much worse. A small group of uninfected people must now seek refuge - anywhere - against the mad hippies AND the crazed construction workers, at least until the disease kills its hosts. Due to cuts made to the film, I Drink Your Blood did not become as legendary as other films from this period, such as Night of the Living Dead and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Several years later - after the demise of distributor Cinemation, director Durston re-assembled and restored his film to its uncut version. This version appeared most prominently in the form of a Japanese home video release.
For this special edition, Gindhouse decided to also include several deleted scenes and an alternate "downer" ending not shown in theaters. Thanks to the random nature of digital technology, I Drink Your Blood can be seen in both the original X-rated version or the unrated director's cut without having two whole features on the DVD; when the director's version is selected, the disc plays the X-rated version and then "jumps" to the deleted scenes at specific time cues. There is a slight pause, but otherwise there is no real disruption. The deleted scenes can also be accessed as an extra feature, separate from the film. Grindhouse presents I Drink Your Blood in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The image quality of I Drink Your Blood is quite amazing when one considers that the film was made in 1971, had a low budget and has been assembled from segments that were thought to be lost. The colors are vivid and the general image is sharp. There is some print damage, however, this is probably the best the film will ever look. There is a slight shift in quality from the original cut to the director's cut scenes. The image is not as clean and contains some scratches. The color of these scenes is a little washed out.
The Dolby Digital mono audio track is as clear and strong as it can possibly be. The sound on this film was never a problem because it seems that great care had gone into recording sound when it was produced. Luckily, there are no digital enhancements, such as beefing the soundtrack up with added bass or new 5.1 sound effects. The extras are as plentiful as a fan of this film could ever hope for. In addition to the deleted scenes, there is an audio commentary with director Durston and Baskaar, the actor who played cult leader Horace Bones. This track includes technical information, background information and set anecdotes. Such a commentary track represents what fans would consider to be a satisfying track. The commentary is not all anecdotes or recollections of actors who haven't seen their film since it was made, lacking technical perspective or historical perspective. Durston and Baskaar seem to have vivid memories of not only the production of I Drink Your Blood, but also their careers and how their careers relate to each other's work. The viewer will not be in want of further information. A featurette is included on this disc titled "The I Drink Your Blood Show." This featurette is set up in the "talk show" format. The host is David Durston and he interviews actors Lynn Lowry and Tyde Kierney along with the marketing genius who came up with the title and poster art for both I Drink Your Blood and I Eat Your Skin. The exchanges are genuine and pleasant, except for the segment where actor Kierney reminisces about a practical joke that he played on Durston during the film's wrap party.
The theatrical trailer is included, most probably sourced from the Mad Ron's Prevues from Hell VHS from the 1980s. This version of the trailer is a bit darker and fuzzier than the one that has shown up on a Something Weird Video trailer tape in the mid-1990s, but unlike that version, it is complete from beginning to end. Trailers for other Grindhouse releases (and hopeful releases) include Fulci's A Cat in the Brain, The Beyond, Cannibal Ferox, Cannibal Holocaust, Mad Ron's Prevues from Hell, An American Hippie In Israel, among other exploitation films. A radio spot is included as well. There is a photo gallery included that contains production stills, promotional stills, advertising and video artwork. The viewer has a choice of watching the montage with either commentary by Durston or music from the film. There are filmographies for Lynn Lowry and Baskaar, including video footage of Baskaar's demonstration of the "Cobra Dance." There are a few Easter Eggs with this release. A short clip from the beginning of the second feature from this classic double bill, I Eat Your Skin, can be found on the main menu. On the special features menu, the viewer can find a ten minute video summary of the audio commentary. The DVD credits feature holds footage of director David Durston singing a song, paying tribute to the exploitation film industry.
A comprehensive release, if there ever was one, I Drink Your Blood is finally available to the masses in its uncut form - as well as in a director's version. With the long-awaited, and even long-delayed release of Grindhouse's Cannibal Holocaust, fans can only hope that they release the European chain saw epic from the early 1980s, Pieces, in due time. |
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