Blood Feast (1963)

Director:

Herschell Gordon Lewis

Writer:

Allison Louise Downe (screenplay)
(more)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Adult Horror!

Plot:

An Egyptian caterer kills various women in suburban Miami to use their body parts to bring to life a dormant Egyptian goddess, while an inept police detective try to track him down.

Plot Keywords:

Goddess | Caterer | Police | Kill | Evil

Cast

William Kerwin	...	Det. Pete Thornton (as Thomas Wood)
Mal Arnold	...	Fuad Ramses
Connie Mason	...	Suzette Fremont
Lyn Bolton	...	Mrs. Dorothy Fremont
Scott H. Hall	...	Frank, police captain
Christy Foushee	...	Trudy Sanders (as Toni Calvert)
Ashlyn Martin	...	Marcy, girl on beach
Astrid Olson	...	Motel Victim
Sandra Sinclair	...	Pat Tracey
Gene Courtier	...	Tony, boy on beach
Louise Kamp	...	Janet Blake / Sacrificial Victim
Hal Rich	...	Hospital Doctor
Al Golden	...	Dr. Flanders
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jerome Eden	...	High Priest (uncredited)
David F. Friedman	...	Drunken Husband (uncredited)
Herschell Gordon Lewis	...	Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
Craig Maudslay Jr.	...	Garbage Truck Driver (uncredited)

Directed by
Herschell Gordon Lewis

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Allison Louise Downe		screenplay (as A. Louise Downe)
David F. Friedman		story (uncredited)
Herschell Gordon Lewis		story (uncredited)

Produced by
David F. Friedman	....	producer
Stanford S. Kohlberg	....	producer (uncredited)
Herschell Gordon Lewis	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Herschell Gordon Lewis

Cinematography by
Herschell Gordon Lewis

Film Editing by
Frank Romolo
Robert L. Sinise		(as Robert Sinise)

Makeup Department
Allison Louise Downe	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
David F. Friedman	....	sound recordist
Henry Lieberg	....	post-production sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Herschell Gordon Lewis	....	special effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Lorin D. Hall	....	chief electrician (as Lorin D. Hall Jr.)
Andy Romanoff	....	assistant camera

Other crew
Harry Kerby	....	crew chief

Production Companies

• Friedman-Lewis Productions

Distributors

• Box Office Spectaculars (1963) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cult Video (1982) (USA) (VHS)
• Astra Video (1982) (UK) (VHS)
• Astra Video (1982) (UK) (video) (Betamax)
• Astra Video (1982) (UK) (video) (video 2000)
• Comet Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• CMV Laservision (2002) (Germany) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (2000) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)

Other Companies

• Box Office Spectaculars  presents

Also Known As:

Egyptian Blood Feast (USA) (reissue title)
Feast of Flesh (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

67 min | USA:58 min (edited version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (2001) | Germany:(Banned) (re-rating) (2004) | New Zealand:R16 | Singapore:PG (heavily cut) | Netherlands:16 (2006) (DVD) | Australia:R | UK:18 | USA:Unrated | UK:(Banned) (1984-2001)

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Company:

Friedman-Lewis Productions

Trivia:

This was the oldest film on the UK DPP 74 list of official video nasties.

Quotes:

Mrs. Dorothy Fremont: Good day, are you Mr. Ramses? I'm Dorothy Fremont. Well, I heard about you from a friend of mine, Annette Dupree. I'm giving a dinner party in two weeks for my daughter, and Mrs. Dupree says that you cater to just about the type of thing I'm looking for. I want something ususal, something totally different.
Fuad Ramses: Yes, Mrs. Fremont. I do cater to unusual affairs. What do you consider to be unusual?
Mrs. Dorothy Fremont: Oh, I don't know. What do you recommend?
Fuad Ramses: Have you ever had... an Egyptian Feast?
[musical fanfare]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Black Dahlia (2006) (V)

A Veritable Feast For the Eyes....of sorts

Blood Feast by H. G. Lewis was the first splatter film ever made, and it changed the path of the horror film forever. Its importance, whether good or bad, is undeniable. The film is in many ways the very essence of amateurishness. I do not believe I have ever seen a film where no one...and I mean no one...had ANY acting ability. For me, the only one that comes closest is Mal Arnold as the Egyptian caterer Fuad Ramses. These people cannot laugh, cry, scream, or even speak with any degree of credibility at all. I mean you would have to train people to get results like this if you had wanted them to be like this in the first place. I can only think that maybe with the leads being so poor...the other actors had no inspiration. The direction is not a great deal better...but then the film was made in 9 days. The script is silly and filled with lamentable dialogue where every facet of the plot must be explained and re-explained. What then does this "classic" have going for it? Well, it is fun to watch. It will make you laugh at its unreal gore and its poor acting and direction. The gore is a given and it is abundant....bright red dapples and drapes the bodices of many victimized girls...all of which I might point out are very easy on the eyes...another plus for male viewers. The music, created by Lewis, is surprisingly very good and stylish, helping create the mood and pacing of the film. All in all, I recommend seeing Blood Feast for its ineptitude and the laughs it will derive. If you are a fan of horror, it is a must see to satisfy your curiosity of what caused the change from good horror stories to graphic horror films. The answer lies with Blood Feast.