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27 out of 29 people found the following comment useful :- Highly original, expertly-made 1971 horror classic. But be warned . . ., 7 August 2003 Author: sdiner82 (sdiner82@aol.com) from New York City, USA
I caught "I Drink Your Blood" at a Times Square theater in New York in 1971. I was writing for a long-defunct but excellent film magazine called Filmfacts, where we covered every film given a theatrical release in the U.S.--running the gamut from the boxoffice blockbusters to the schlockiest of drive-in quickies. Filmfacts was a scholarly publication--most of our subscribers were libraries. For each film, we provided a complete list of cast & credits, a summary of critics' reviews, one-to-four stills (if available), and a thorough plot synopsis. Which is why I saw "I Drink Your Blood," expecting another piece of low-budget garbage, and instead being treated to one of the most truly horrific (and little-known) thrillers ever produced. Even though the obviously heavily-edited R-rated version was pretty strong stuff, it still put me through the wringer and I recommended it to the other members of the magazine's staff, who all loved it. The plot has been sufficiently detailed by other reviewers on this invaluable database, but, aside from urging anyone with a cast-iron stomach to sample this unique, feverish, gorgeously photographed nightmare of a movie ("Night of the Living Dead" please step aside), I'd like to clarify the conflicting accounts of the prints of the movie. The one I saw at the theater was rated R by the MPAA. A few months later, I happened to meet a lovely actress named Iris Brooks, who had given a first-rate performance in the film. We became friends and, on the anniversary of the film's completion, Iris invited me and some friends to attend a cast & crew party held at a Times Square theater around midnight (after the theater was cleared out) and the projectionist could show "I Drink Your Blood," followed by a catered but unpretentious party in the downstairs lounge (apparently, everyone involved with making the movie, its grisly subject matter notwithstanding, had a great time and had formed many friendships during the film). However, the print that was screened was not the butchered 'R'-rated version I'd originally seen but the director David Durston's (a sweet, supremely intelligent, friendly man, and a first-rate filmmaker as far as I'm concerned) unedited cut. It was perhaps 8 minutes longer than the censored version shown at theaters. The violent scenes were considerably more graphic and gory, and there were also some innocuous nude scenes that apparently gave Jack Valenti cardiac arrest, hence the butchered version that the distributor was forced to release. I've read that the original, uncut version has finally been unearthed and will be released on DVD. I heartily recommend that any serious movie buff should buy this film (in whatever version, it doesn't really matter) as soon as it hits the video stores. It's a true 'sleeper' that deserves to be re-discovered and appreciated even 30 years after its initial, shoddily-handled brief release. "I Drink Your Blood" is some kind of deranged masterpiece but, despite its controversial elements (even today, it's pretty far out there), it's never offensive and the people who made it are one of the nicest and most talented group of individuals it's ever been my pleasure to meet!
9 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :- One of the most spectacularly rancid exploitation films ever made, 15 January 2007 Author: TimothyFarrell from Worcester, MA
"I Drink Your Blood" is one of the most spectacularly rancid exploitation films ever made! It was produced so the filmmakers could pair it up with the unreleased "I Eat Your Skin" (maybe they should have added "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" and made it a triple bill) for drive-ins across America. For a film made on the fly, this is actually pretty decent. Sure the acting is horrible and the screenplay is ridiculous, but its never boring and it certainly delivers on the sleaze and gore merits. There's rabid satanic hippies (whose leaders look uncomfortably like Greg Kinnear and Cleavon Little), a pregnant woman stabbing herself in the stomach, LSD (referred to as "that crazy L stuff), and a hilariously close-minded conservative message. If this doesn't sound enticing, I question your exploitation film appreciation. Surprisingly, the direction is competent for this kind of film, with some cool angels and good pacing.On the negative side, there is some animal cruelty which is unacceptable no matter what. Fortunately, its brief and not nearly as in your face as it is in the Italian cannibal flicks of the lat 70s. The gore effects are nonstop and are likely to elicit laughter from the audience (whats not to love about a rabid hippie running around with an ax?). "I Drink Your Blood" isn't a masterpiece, but is lots of fun and never boring. Definitely an exploitation classic. (7/10)
7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :- Where is Louis Pasteur When You Need Him?, 14 April 2001 Author: BaronBl00d (baronbl00d@aol.com) from NC
A band of devil-worshipping hippies take root in a small town that has been evacuated save a group of construction workers, a baker, and a family led by Grandpa the veterinarian. While holing themselves up in a rat-infested hotel(where the hippies actually play a game of who can kill the most rats for the rat barbecue), they are confronted by an irate Grandpa the vet. They force him to take some lsd and beat him up. Grandpa's grandson gets back by injecting a dozen meat pies with rabies from a dog he shot later that evening. The hippies go mad and all those people they infect do likewise. This film is rather distasteful, yet strangely interesting. It is definitely a low-budget affair as no one in it has a name and the special effects are extremely poor. The film is markedly gruesome as you see a man stabbed repeatedly, a leg, hand, head chopped off, and crazed hippies with bloody hands wielding axes, a sword, even an electric carving knife! The producer's name does his film great honor...his name is Jerry Gross.
8 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :- Hippie Dippy Rabies Man, 1 March 2006 Author: Johann from United States
I saw this film a while ago when I was on a big Z-grade zombie movie kick. I was not disappointed by this little number. Naturally, there were some problems with the film. The biggest one I can think of is the soundtrack. It sounds like some kids decided to have fun with a synthesizer and the film makers wanted to put it in for kicks. The acting wasn't too good either, but it's obviously on a low budget, so I can forgive that.The plot is that a group of Satan worshiping hippies come to a small town to wreak havoc on the local population. The hippie bunch end up molesting a local girl and then shacking up in an abandoned hotel. They run afoul of a local brat after feeding his grandfather acid (oh, it was his sister that they molested earlier by the by). So little lord Fauntleroy decides to get even with that counterculture bunch by feeding them rabies laced meat pies (trust me, I'm not making this up). The traveling satanists become blood thirsty cannibals and terrorize the town.Overall, the film is pretty much a blood and sex packed piece of celluloid, but it's not without its charm. If you're into graphic, low budget violence and shock, this is a film for you. "Citizen Kane" it obviously isn't, but it still manages to retain its overall fun and shock value.Happy viewings B movie fans.
6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :- With pies that are this tasty, there's no need for sauce!, 13 July 2006 Author: lost-in-limbo from the Mad Hatter's tea party.
A group of Satanist hippies roll into a small quiet town and ruffle a few feathers of the locals, since they attacked one of their girls. So the girl's grandfather tries to set things straight with them, but they forcefully make him swallow a LSD cocktail. Wanting revenge for what they had done to his grandfather, a young boy feeds them pies, which have been injected with rabies from a dead dog. Slowly they start to feel the effects and they turn into homicidal maniacs hell-bent on destroying or contaminating anything that crosses their path.Rabies and hippies, who show their faith in the dark lord. What a freak out! Now, there's no doubts this cheesy delight is wild 'n' wacky fun for the undemanding and was one of the first films to be influenced by Romero's "Night of Living Dead". This memorably sleazy and in bad-taste drive-in, exploitation flick scrapes the bottom of the barrel in the budget restraints, but despite that, it's surprisingly competent. It doesn't stop the sheer flow of comic entertainment, and might I add, this foaming madness is damn hilarious. After eating the very yummy looking pies that the smart little fella messed around with, you'll get a kick out of how the eccentric bunch transform into feral beings and basically going spas, leaving some very nasty splatter behind. The scenes involving water being splashed about is incredibly rib tickling. The acting is extremely fruity, but I thought that it was more than acceptable for this sort of film. George Patterson and Bhaskar Roy Chowdhury were a riot as some of the hippies. Also Lynn Lowry appears in the group. Jack Damon and Elizabeth Marner-Brooks play the more steady heads of the town and they're fine in their roles. While, it might be funny, it still does offer up some nail-biting tension, flash pacing and one or two decent surprises amongst this enjoyably (and sometimes quite) original idea. But oh my, wait to you get your head around the spotty experimental score with its array of funky and otherworldly sounds. The story and fluffy script might leave some loose ends left untied, but the score definitely doesn't.Simply put, this hocus-pocus was compellingly dumb and scummy fun that has one real cruel edge to it! Well-deserving of its cult status.
4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :- A laugh a minute!, 11 November 2006 Author: Wayne Malin (wwaayynnee51@hotmail.com) from United States
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
Film starts right off with a nude (male and female) devil worshiping sequence and rapidly gets worse (or better depending on your view). A bunch of devil-worshiping hippies (with a leader named Horace!) come into a small town. They beat up a local girl and her grandfather and give granddad a dose of LSD. Pete decides to avenge his sister and grandfather by infecting rabies into a bunch of meat pies and then giving them to the hippies to eat (!!!!). The hippies do, get rabies and one hippie woman sleeps with a bunch of construction workers and infects THEM! Soon a small bunch of uninfected people are fighting for their lives.Historically this IS an important film--it was the first film to get an X rating for violence alone (there is nudity but it's within an R rating). It was cut to ribbons to get an R. Now we have the uncut version available. At best it's a mixed blessing.For starters the acting is terrible across the board--the hippies especially act like a bunch of retarded school children. And the script has some lines that had me gaping in disbelief. Here are a few examples--After giving her boyfriend a big kiss a woman says, "Roger I'm very upset"; "There's no one in the town because of the damn dam!"; "Rape is a little out of an engineers domain"; a man is shot down and someone says, "I have to call the Red Cross--we're in a state of emergency". Then there's the gore effects which are, to be nice, primitive. There is a LOT of blood and violence here but it's all so obviously fake it's hard to take seriously.Still I was never bored and I was constantly amused by the acting, script and pretty poor production values. Also you do have to give credit to these people--they had no budget and were just out to make a gory horror film. They DID succeed. Also the cast (male and female) are very attractive physically. So--not a forgotten horror classic but I'm glad it's available in it's uncut form. Worth seeing for horror fans.By the way--there's no drinking of blood.
3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :- Rabid Satanic Hippies - HELL YEAH!!!, 29 August 2006 Author: EVOL666 from St. John's Abortion Clinic
I DRINK YOUR BLOOD is yet another film that I revisited after not having seen it in many years, and let me tell ya friends - this is what classic grindhouse cinema is all about. This is fun, trashy, sleazy, gritty, gory, exploitation goodness - and I love this sort of thing...A group of Satanic hippies invade a small town where they rape a local girl. Her grandfather goes to find the punks to get revenge, but they end up dosing him with LSD instead! To avenge his sister and grandpa, a young boy injects rabies into some meat pies to give to the hippies!! The hippies eat the meat pies and become zombie-like cannibals and begin terrorizing the town!!!Yeah - that's the real story - and it's GREAT. For the 1970 time-stamp, I DRINK YOUR BLOOD was pretty ahead of it's time. The gore, though cheezy, is pretty heavy in this one, the performances are quite decent for this type of film, and the camera-work is solid and effective. Also of note is the very PC and multi-cultural cast as far as the group of hippies is concerned - don't know if this was done purposely for any real reason, or if it just happened that way but I found it interesting. If you dig fun, sleazy exploit films - this one is definitely a safe and entertaining bet...8.5/10
4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :- Satanic hippies with rabies!, 19 September 2003 Author: bukakkefriedchicken from fabulous Las Vega$!
Totally likable outrageousness is a drive-in sleaze favorite...evil devil-worshiping hippies stroll into Anytown, U.S.A. and wreak mayhem. A pudgy little boy serves them up some meat pies injected with the blood of a rabid dog, and soon there's a contagion that consumes the town! Rather 'Night of the Living Dead' inspired at times, it actually has moments of genuine scariness and some pretty potent gore. Recommended- 6.5/10
5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :- Rabies Are Not Healthy For Hippies And Other Living Things, 12 February 2005 Author: TheatreX from Louisville, KY
I just received the DVD of this in the mail yesterday and watched it last night, and I could say this is an absolutely gorgeous remastering/restoration that is super clear & all that typical sort of stuff people rave about with DVD's, but then again, this is "I Drink Your Blood", degenerate drive-in 70's trash, so it hardly seems appropriate. But, since I love degenerate drive-in trash, I loved it and thought that whoever cleaned this up for DVD did an awesome job, my Something Weird Video VHS tape is pretty murky in comparison. Anyway, this is the heart warming story of a band of Satanist hippies, come to a small town in NY, to raise hell and stuff, they do bad things to a local girl and her grandpa comes to set things right and gets a bad trip for his efforts, after which his grandson takes matters into his own hands by taking rabid dog blood and injecting it into meat pies which the hippies later eat, leading to much fun and frolic from there on out. This is nasty, gory, cheesy, sleazy, and not exactly The Feel-Good Movie of the Year, for ANY year, but I think for what it is, it's very well done and is one of my favorite top 10 70's horror flicks. This version is uncut and uncensored, and I'm not sure exactly what all was cut from the OTHER version I saw, but I did see parts I don't remember, and just to see it restored for DVD is worthwhile. This is a horror movie fan's horror movie, and stands out head and shoulders above most of the dreck that's being churned out these days. This isn't particularly for the squeamish but if you love a good cheesy horror flick this may just be for you. 8 out of 10 stars.
2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :- A twisted slasher version of the Manson Family., 29 February 2008 Author: Alex P (miskatonic86) from Baltimore, Maryland
This has got to be one of the cheesiest horror films of the late 60s, early 70s. However I must admit that I do have a lot of fun watching this classic piece of exploitation fare. It is both a shocking horror film, but at the same time, it's camp, mostly due to poor writing, production values, and acting.It takes place in some Mayberry-like town in the middle-of-nowhere America. Pretty much all the residents have left because they're building a "damn dam." All that's left is some old man, his grandson & granddaughter, along with a lady named Mildred who works at a bakery (and business sucks too). On the outskirts of town are a group of LSD-tripping, Satan-worshiping hippies led by Horace Bones. When they move into the town, the young boy poisons some pies with rabid dog blood and serves it to the hippies. And mayhem occurs and they become cannibals.When watching this film, you can tell that the produces based I DRINK YOUR BLOOD on the Manson Family. The plot: an LSD hippie cult led by a fanatic leader killing people. Yep, sounds like Charles Manson and family to me. And some of the gore scenes were obviously influenced by George A. Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.I DRINK YOUR BLOOD doesn't just drink your blood...No, it gulps it down. One of the great early gore films made before my time, it is quite enjoyable. The acting is terrible, but I guess that's what makes it a "masterpiece" among cheesy B-rate horror films. And the score for the film is terrible. It is very early 70s, even some verses sound like the "Batman" theme. For what it's worth, give it a shot.
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