Joel M Reeds Blood Bath [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

A film cast sit down to dinner and exchange occult stories on fate while filming a horror movie. The director of the film is surrounded in rumors that he made a deal with The Devil for his success, and that he sired a son with Satan's daughter. He staunchly denies these claims, admitting to the crew that these are publicity stunts, and remains a complete naysayer to all things supernatural. Note the exceptional Satan bust in the background, as well as the black candles on the table - an overall pleasant environment conducive to entertaining macabre tales.

I. In an effort to sway his absolute denials, the first story deals with an assassin who becomes the victim of his own devices through a series of deadly synchronicities.

II. The second story deals with the power of intention and time travel. When a hen-pecked man goes to a gypsy for help, he is bestowed a magic coin that will make his wish come true. He is fascinated with a romantic notion of Napoleon-era military, and thus, is transported thereunto. However, he did not take into account the brutal conditions, and only part of him makes it back to his bed.

III. The third story is about an overly greedy landlord/loan shark that only cares for money, at the expense of poor residents living in a tenement. Having them evicted, a ghost pays him a visit and he receives an ironic, if not "karmic" retribution. Even though he is not afraid of ghosts, claiming nothing to fear for they cannot hurt you, the specter decides that if he can't scare him, he'll annoy him instead.

IV. Related by one of the lovely ladies at the table, chapter four deals with an unscrupulous martial artist who is charging exorbitant amounts of money to American students for cherished secrets. He strives to achieve the Tenth Level, but at the cost of his life. Limbless but not powerless, he soon learns the painful price of under-estimation.

V. The framing overall plot contains notable scenes including those from the film they are producing featuring a marriage ceremony wherein Peter Brown weds The Devil's daughter, when lifting the veil, it is a very unexpected apparition. followed by a Sorcerer {also Peter Brown} invoking The Devil in a black chamber with a maiden strapped to a coffin {though not strapped to the coffin, the scene resembles The Church of Satan poster; remember, in this case, "Enjoy, don't destroy."}, but when his summoning actually conjures Him, he cowers in His presence, thus, meets with the spoils of pretentious weakness.

"Join Me in Hell, false believer!"

The Devil herein is portrayed as a fearsome goateed bald man with horns in a suit*. Upon inspecting his prize, by a telling kiss on the lips, knowingly exclaims,

"This is not a true maiden!" and dispatches her to Hell as well.

After dinner, it is time to go home for Mr. Brown... and feed "the boy". The first and final sections of the film are bookends to describe a rather ingeniously imaginative introduction and conclusion wherein in a tragic finale, there is actually some truth to the claims of his reputation after all...

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* LaVeyan influence?

I love this film. I remember seeing it several times as a teenager on Saturday afternoons. It's a horror anthology with a handful of stories I won't go into since that info is available on imdb or any number of sites. It doesn't have the highest production values or special effects but the film is a lot of fun. The DVD comes with some nice extras, namely the interesting interviews with Joel Reed, the production crew and actors.
I will say the movie barely earns a PG rating, which I think is a good selling point considering Joel Reed's other cult horror film.