Bloodsucking Freaks (1976) (4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray REVIEW)
Director: Joel M. Reed
Starring: Seamus O’Brien, Luis de Jesus, Viju Krem
RATED: UR/REGION 0/1:37/2160p/NUMBER OF DISCS 2
AVAILABLE FROM Vinegar Syndrome
Sardu, with the help of his dwarf servant Ralphus, operates New York’s most controversial theatre, Sardu’s Theatre of the Macabre, where each performance is an expertly staged display of gruesome acts of torture. Divisive as his take on “entertainment” might be, arrogant theatre critic, Creasy Silo, is having none of it and makes it his mission to put an end to Sardu’s grisly “dramas.” However, what audiences and critics alike do not realize is that each of these shocking shows is completely real; with innocent nude women being maimed and murdered live on stage! When Sardu sets his eyes on beautiful ballerina Natasha, he’s immediately smitten and determines that she must “star” in his next production, whether she wants to or not, and that her stage partner will be none other than Creasy Silo… A foundational film in establishing legendary genre cinema distributor, Troma Entertainment, Joel M. Reed’s masterpiece of gore-fueled debauchery, BLOOD SUCKING FREAKS (aka Sardu, Master of the Screaming Virgins), remains one of the most notorious, disgusting, shocking, perverse, and outrageously funny cult horror films to emerge from the sick and twisted 1970s. Starring acclaimed Shakespearian actor, Seamus O’Brien as the fiendish Sardu and Luis De Jesus (Let My Puppets Come) as the equally deranged Ralphus, and featuring a host of New York’s top sex starlets as the demented duo’s assorted victims.
I will say right up front that Bloodsucking Freaks isn’t really my cup of tea. It’s a blueprint for Grindhouse cinema and I totally don’t hate it but having watched and reviewed the DVD and Blu-ray from Troma and now the 4K from Vinegar Syndrome is more times than I ever really expected to watch this one in my lifetime. There is plenty good and bad about this one and it never hurts to get your 4K remaster handled over at vinegar Syndrome. This is a film that seems to be ahead of its time in the torture porn sub-genre. Going by the date it may very well be the grandfather of that sub-genre. The characters here are entertaining for what they are, they seem to have their own little gimmicks and that helps. The plot alone seems a little tossed together, but a film like this isn’t meant to give you a grade-A plot, odds are it is just meant to shock and I’m sure that back in 1976 it did just that. Today I found that it did have some somewhat shocking moments, so that just goes to show how far Joel Reed went. And if you look at who pops up in the extras alone, you’ll see that plenty of people found stuff they like here.
And this is a film that does pack the gore for all you gore fans out there. Given the time of the film some effects are a little cheesy and fake looking (made to look worse by the 4K), but the film still has some that works really well and really brings home the gross factor with what it is attempting to do. Some people find the movie to be a bit of a satire and I can see their point of view. If you don t want to look that close into it and just enjoy it for the wild and craziness it has in it you can do that too. It is what it is overall, it isn’t the greatest film you ll ever see, but it does have some fun moments and gore. If you liked this movie before you will like it even more now. If you didn’t then I’m not sure if it looking this good will make much of a difference.
Extras
- TWO-DISC SET (4K BLU-RAY/BLU-RAY)
- NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE INTERNEGAITVE
- HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
- Brand new commentary track with John Szpunar, author of Blood Sucking Freak: The Life and Films of the Incredible Joel M. Reed
- Archival commentary track with Eli Roth, filmmaker and fan of BLOOD SUCKING FREAKS
- “Freaks Come Out at the Drive-In” – a featurette about the TROMA-THON 2023 screening of BLOOD SUCKING FREAKS at the Mahoning Drive-In -Theater in Lehighton, PA – including an interview with Troma president Lloyd Kaufman
- Live commentary from a 2009 screening with director Joel M. Reed, Art Ettinger and Ken Kish
- Q&A with Joel M. Reed
- Cinema Wasteland hotel room interview with Joel M. Reed
- Archival introduction by Lloyd Kaufman
- Archival cast & crew interviews
- Archival interview with Eli Roth, BLOOD SUCKING FREAKS fan & filmmaker
- Archival interview with Chris Jericho, BLOOD SUCKING FREAKS fan & professional wrestler
- Alternate title sequence
- Reversible cover artwork
- English SDH subtitles
- BOTH DISCS: REGION-FREE
