Blood Cult (1985) (V)

User Rating:

2.8/10   

Director:

Christopher Lewis

Writers:

Stuart Rosenthal (writer)
James Vance (additional dialogue)

Release Date:

May 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

The first movie made for the home video market. Might just scare you to DEATH!

Plot:

Female students on a college campus are being killed and their body parts used for blood sacrifices. |

Plot Keywords:

College | Campus | College Campus | Blood | School

Cast

Juli Andelman	...	Tina
Charles Ellis	...	Ron
James Vance	...	Joel
Bennie Lee McGowan	...	Mrs. Moore
Peter Hart	...	Doc White (as Josef Hardt)
David Stice	...	Deputy (as David Bret Stice)
Fred Graves	...	Dean
Bob Duffield	...	Mr. Moore
Allison O'Meilia	...	Girl in Shower
Christi Beavers	...	Jill
Bryan Gilbreath	...	Boy at Party
Robbie Cobb	...	Sara
Joy Jordan	...	Girl in Cafeteria
Mary Dickens	...	Server
Carolyn Wallace	...	Cashier

Also Known As:

Slasher (USA)
The Sorority House Murders (USA) (original script title)

Runtime:

USA:89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | Germany:(Banned) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

Trivia:

This film had an original budget of 25 thousand dollars, which was then raised to 27 thousand. The marketing campaign cost an additional 100 thousand nearly four times that of the films budget.

Movie Connections:

References Blood Feast (1963)

I enjoyed it somewhat.

The scenario here is very familiar to any horror fan. Brutal murders plague a college campus, and the aged local sheriff is under pressure to find the perpetrator since election time is coming up. The killer always removes different body parts (shades of "Blood Feast") and leaves a little talisman behind that does provide the sheriff with some sort of clue.

"Blood Cult" is noteworthy for being one of the earliest films to be shot on tape, and made specifically for the home video market. The idea was that the film-makers would use the technology of TV productions and try to make their product look like an actual film.

Now, while it may give off an obvious feeling of amateurism and a very low budget, I didn't find it all that terrible. The acting isn't as atrocious as I would have expected; at least Charles Ellis as perplexed and harried sheriff Ron and Juli Andelman as his daughter Tina come off as fairly likable. It does manage to create some reasonably creepy scenes. (I'm referring to the actual blood cult scenes in the woods; these come off pretty well.) It certainly does wear influences such as "Halloween" (naturally) right on its sleeve. And, fortunately, it does go for a camp quality at times that helps and shows the film-makers aren't taking themselves too seriously. The Midwest location (this was shot in Tulsa, Oklahoma) gives it some sense of local flavor. And the gore is better than could be expected for such a cheaply made item. The "big" final plot twist advertised on the back on the DVD was no great surprise, however.

Director Christopher Lewis (the son of actress Loretta Young) would make a follow-up titled "Revenge" the following year, featuring no-one less than John Carradine in one of the leads.

As far as very inexpensive, regional genre film-making goes, I thought it was reasonably entertaining. It's not really anything special, but undemanding die-hard fans of horror might find it amusing to some degree.

6/10