Directed by Gerardo de Leon
Starring: Eddie Garcia, Amalia Fuentes, Mary Walter, Romeo Vasquez
Cinematic Titanic is: Joel Hodgson, Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, J. Elvis Weinstein, Mary Jo Pehl
Anyone who knows me knows how I loved Mystery Science Theater 3000. The gang is back now as Cinematic Titanic and just as funny as ever. The most recent release Blood of the Vampire was recently released on DVD.
The Movie
The story behind this 1966 film just can’t be believed: a bare bones film made in the Philippines but set in 19th century Mexico and dubbed into English about vampires. Got that?
The Escadero family is a strange one. Upon the illness of their father, siblings Eduardo and Leonore receive instruction to “burn the family castle to the ground” upon their father’s impending death. Little do they know that their mother, whom they thought was dead, is chained nightly in the basement to keep her from drinking blood. Yep, Mom is a vampire and Dad’s has been keeping a dark little about the family for quite awhile.
Once Eduardo and Leonore enter the scene, things quickly spiral out of control. Everyone is getting turned into bloodsuckers: husbands, wives, lovers, housekeepers, no one is safe. There is enough ham fisted family drama and bloodless horror to make this film truly terrible.
The crew at Cinematic Titanic makes a fine feast of this cinematic nugget. You can tell that it wasn’t hard to come up with some hysterical one-liners and jokes for this film because they come machine gun fast and furious and deliver every time.
The references are everything from Twitter, to women’s rights and a lot more. The use of “blackface” on the actors portraying servants gets the Cinematic Titanic “treatment” and the gang takes what is offensive and finds the sharpest and edgiest jokes in this film’s obvious shortcomings and critically poor production decisions.
Anyone who was a fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and other Cinematic Titanic’s other offerings is going to love this release.
More information about Cinematic Titanic, this DVD release and other releases can be found at www.cinematictitanic.com.
So, adding this DVD to your ever growing collection is a no-brainer. Get rid of that copy of Twister or Independence Day that you aren’t going to watch again and put this slice of pseudo Mexican/ filmmaking on your shelf.
8/10
The Video
The film is presented in full frame. The film itself has not been well preserved, but this is a decent transfer and perfectly suitable for the Cinematic Titanic presentation.
5/10
The Audio
Presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, this is not the most dynamic presentation of a film ever put on DVD, but it is fine for this release. It was low budget so adjust your expectations accordingly.
5/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features
The film is presented in a standard amaray case.
The only bonus features offered are trailers for other Cinematic Titanic releases.
2/10
Overall ( Not an Average) 7.5/10
The Review
The Movie 8/10
The Video 5/10
The Audio 5/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features 2/10
Overall ( Not an Average) 7.5/10