The giallo you’ve either seen a loved or have never seen, there is no in-between, there is no disliking this.

When I first watched this it was during a 24hr horror film marathon at a local independent cinema, and I wont lie it was not an ideal experience as the audio was a complete shit show as the language kept jumping from English, Spanish, Italian and German with no subtitles at all. Once it finished I completely wrote it off as a bad giallo just off this experience.

However later that year Arrow had their yearly “Shock-tober” sale and surprise surprise Deep Red was on sale (for around £10 if I remember correctly) so thought id give it one last chance to impress me. Deep Red is now one of my favorite giallo’s and one of my favorite films flat out.

Synopsis:

After a psychic has a vision of an audience member committing a murder, she unwittingly makes herself a target for the deranged killer.

Marcus Daly (David Hemmings) is the sole witness to this killers sadist actions which puts him as top priority for a meeting with the killer’s knife edge.

With every new clue discovered another body is added to the pile in an attempt to keep the crimes of history in the dark bowels of the past. Can Marcus solve this string of brutal murders before he himself is added to the pile?

The Review:

There is not much I can really say about this without spoiling huge twists or plot points, but what I can say is you’ve got to watch this it is the complete package. It has an engaging story, a great goblin score, the cinematography is beautifully shot with the finale being a huge twist.

Marcus is also used to great comic effect to be emasculated at any chance possible by Gianni Brezzi (Daria Nicolodi), with her little Fiat being the comedic highlight.

SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT

The balls on Argento to give away the killer in the first act so obviously but at the same time so subtly that you only really appreciate it on a second watch is why i keep coming back to this, every time I’ve watched this I’ve taken a small piece more from it.

If I was to point at a personal highlight of Deep Red it would definitly be Carlos’ death, both from its tragedy as well as comedy.

Tl;dr

⭐4.5/5

Just watch it.

For a first review I thought I’d choose something a little unique.

Browsing the horror section of the local movie store I found this little gem, I’m one for old horror films no matter how low budget or niche it looks.

First thing that took my eye was the bright yellow case, you couldn’t miss it if you tried, match that with the dripping blood title of “I DRINK YOUR BLOOD” it got my attention straight away so I just had to pull it off the shelf to give it a proper look at. Boy did the box impress me.

RABID, DRUG-INFESTED HIPPIES ON A BLOOD-CRAZED KILLING RAMPAGE

The blurb nor the box art does not give much away in regards to what this film is actually about but the tag line was spot on to persuade me to buy it for myself. Little did I know I was in for a treat.

Synopsis:

A group of hippies find their way into a small town and take up residence in an abandoned house.

These hippies start causing trouble around town and a elderly gentleman tries to move them on by force but this leads to him being attacked by the hippies.

The grandson of the gentleman wants to take revenge on the hippies for what they did. He finds a rabid dog, kills the dog, takes some of its blood, puts it in some pies which he then feeds to the hippies disguised as a good will gesture.

All hell breaks loose after this with rabies spreading throughout the town, creating a horde of frenzied killers.

The Review:

I drink your blood is another early example of the Herschell Gordon Lewis style grindhouse splatter fests, this low budget flick incorporates the slow tension of Romero style zombies and the fast paced action of rage zombies with a lovely patina of grit.

Horror films use the worries of the time to scare its audience, in late 60’s America that took the form of the satanic panic, drugs and hippies, so David Durston took all of those nightmares and created a bloody terrifying film for the time.

This is a nice short 1 hour 28 minutes, perfect for an after work decompression film or for a soft Sunday afternoon where you’re just looking for some campy with a body count. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and tries to have fun with its characters and the special effects.

There is a pseudo double feature to this called I eat your skin which has an interesting synopsis as well but I’ve yet to watch it.

Tl;dr

⭐2.5/5

Campy fun, easy background watch and a moderater recommendation