The Incredible Torture Show (1976)

Director:

Joel M. Reed

Writer:

Joel M. Reed (written by)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Join The Fun!... Human Dart Boards... "Home Style Brain Surgery"... Dental Hijinks!

Plot:

Sardu runs the theatre of the macabre. Sardu is into S&M. Sardu likes to kill people in public and make them think it's fake.

Plot Keywords:

Stage | S&M | Sick | Torture | Theater

Cast

Seamus O'Brien	...	Master Sardu
Viju Krem	...	Natasha D'Natalie
Niles McMaster	...	Tom Maverick
Dan Fauci	...	Sergeant John Tucci
Alan Dellay	...	Creasy Silo
Ernie Pysher	...	The Doctor
Luis De Jesus	...	Ralphus
Helen Thompson	...	Master's Assistant
Saiyanidi	...	Master's Assistant
Alphonso DeNoble	...	White Slave Dealer (as Alphonso)
Carol Mara
Linda Small
Illa Howe
Lynette Sheldon
Jenny Baxter		(as Janis Beaver)

Also Known As:

Blood Sucking Freaks (USA) (reissue title)
Bloodsucking Freaks (USA) (promotional title)
Heritage of Caligula
Sardu (USA) (informal alternative title)
Sardu, Master of the Screaming Virgins (USA) (original script title)
The Heritage of Caligula: An Orgy of Sick Minds (USA) (video title)
The House of the Screaming Virgins

Runtime:

91 min | Australia:89 min (uncut version) | France:88 min | USA:88 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:18 | Canada:(Banned) (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Manitoba) (re-rating) | Finland:K-18 | Germany:(Banned) | New Zealand:R18 | USA:Open (rating surrendered) (1984) | USA:R (re-rating) (1981) | USA:X (original rating) | Australia:R

Trivia:

Originally titled "The Incredible Torture Show". Troma re-named it "Blood Sucking Freaks" for its 1980s re-release.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Sardu is done eating off the girls back, the plate of food is still full when he begins smoking. When he knocks the girl there is nothing on the plate.

Quotes:

[While playing a game with Ralphus]
Master Sardu: How often to I have to tell you, I'm brown, your white!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Raising the Stakes (2005)

There's something wrong here, even for an exploitation film

Anyone whose tastes run towards exploitation films kind of knows "the drill," the recurring themes, methodology, and clichés of the genre. We embrace them, and an exploitation film which effectively "plays the game" can get away with a multitude of since which would be unforgivable in mainstream cinema (bad acting, bad writing, bad production values, etc.).

By those standards, "Bloodsucking Freaks" should be hailed as a masterpiece of the genre, and, judging by its enduring cult popularity, it is. Still, there's something about this film which limits the viewer's ability to enjoy it for what it is, and, thus, limits itself. At first, it's hard to put one's finger on exactly what it is, but I think I've finally worked it out. Simply put, filmmaker Joel M. Reed made a film whose spirit is as mean-spirited and diabolical as what we see up on the screen.

"Bloodsucking Freaks," as often as not, plays its numerous horrors for laughs. (Indeed, Sardu and Ralphus occasionally come across as a kind of nightmarish stand-up comedy act.) The trouble is, the intention behind the humor is anything but good-natured. Any viewer with any kind of decency at all can't relate to the motivations behind what they see, and this diminishes the fun of watching this movie to a great degree. For exploitation fans, there is a fine line between brutal and unwatchable, and there are many times during which "Freaks" sinks below that line. And so while this film is an absolute must-see for fans of the genre (although how many such fans have not seen this movie?), it's not going to be one of the films in their collection which can be revisited often.