I Drink Your Blood [DVD] [1971] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Satan was an acid head... And so we have I drink your blood. Simple really hippies get rabies. Hippies got nuts. Hippies kill eveyone. If your a fan of the video nastie or explotation then own this. Great transfer bucket loads of extras & a truely excelent entery into 70s cinema. Not overly violent but still a great film. Also worth saying that the supplier had this on my door step with in 3 days.

Back in 1970, on Cinemation Industries head Jerry Gross' wanted a shocking, unconventional horror film, stage actor turned low budget director David E. Durston delivered I DRINK YOUR BLOOD. Originally filmed under the less elaborate title "Phobia," it's simply a fun-filled sleazefest and one of the best examples of everything a drive-in horror film should be. Here's the plot, plain and simple. A group of sorted hippie Satanists known as "Sons and Daughters of Satan" ride their van into a small town that has been deserted except for a select few. The group is lead by the longhaired Horace Bones and take refuge in an old rat-infested abandoned hotel. Two of their members rape and beat-up a local girl, and her crusty grandfather (the local veterinarian) later shows up at the hotel with a shotgun. The hippies rough up the old man, give him LSD (causing him to go into hysterics) and set him free.

The old man's scene-stealing grandson Pete (Riley Mills) decides to carry out his own revenge. Since the hippies have no choice but to call on the town bakery for food, Pete injects their morning meat pies with blood from a rabid dog with rabies that he killed the night before. You could probably guess what happens next as most of the small town's population get infected. If this doesn't sound enticing to you, then your true appreciation of drive-in thrills should be questioned. I DRINK YOUR BLOOD belongs in a class with NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT in terms of notoriety, shock value, and allure that could only be understood if you truly savor these types of films--the bad actors, authentic locations, decent gore effects, energetic music score, fairly original story and solid "let's just make a twisted drive-in film" attitude of director Durston all contribute greatly to this. the disc is loaded with extras, first off is a commentary with Durston and star Bhaskar. Then theres four deleted scenes (these deleted scenes also contain commentary by Durston).

A few minutes of outtakes are included; they are basically just some trims and alternate takes from various parts of the film, but it's always fun to watch stoners operating a clapboard. Better than the usual featurette is something called "The I DRINK YOUR BLOOD Show," which lasts for a full 30 minutes. There is also an excellent still gallery which shows photos from the film, as well as various publicity and personal pics of the film's stars (this still gallery gives you the option to listen to Durston speaking about his relationship with Jerry Gross). You also have the original trailer, a radio spot, and bios and/or filmographies on Durston, Lowry and Bhaskar (all accompanied by appropriate visual extras). There are at least three Easter Eggs, and I'll add right now that the disc has some of the coolest animated menus for a horror film on disc. There are trailers for eight other titles included, Grindhouse obviously did a fantastic job with this obscure film and the extra features were brilliant. I Drink Your Blood isn't a masterpiece, but is lots of fun and never boring. Definitely an exploitation classic.

Creepy and difficult to watch but not the lost classic everyone claims it is. The special effects and gore are SO bad its almost unintentionly funny! which is a shame as the grating soundtrack and claustrophobic atmosphere truly get under your skin. Anyway, a good old video nasty thats worth watching at least once!