User Reviews

There's only moderate curiosity in the appearance of the future daytime legend Anthony Geary in this grind house thriller about one of America's lost youth roaming through the Mexican countryside to find himself among a lady of the lake and a coven of cackling witches. It's often odd and creepy, filled with nude women out to protect their queen while searching for victims. Geary seems uninterested in the naked women who try to constantly try to molest him, yet is entranced by the water dwelling blonde who seems to be after Geary's soul. The nonsense attempt at a plot is no Kore an excuse for a lot of t and a, yet the best performances come from those who leave their clothes on, not perform the dance of the evil dead. As for Geary, coming off of the soap "Bright Promise" wasn't the start of a promising career, and the addition of credits like this must have lead him to return to soaps for that steady paycheck. Most of the other performances really aren't worth discussing, because what they are doing isn't what I'd call acting.

This is actually a fascinating relic of a number of influences circa 1972 that just happens to take the form of an "Erotic Witchcraft" thriller, which is a horror subgenre that seems to have thrived between 1969 and 1980 or so before falling out of favor. Tony Geary plays a war scarred Vietnam vet who stumbles upon a coven of witches who have staked a claim on the slopes of a mountain beside a state park reservoir in Southern California. If that sounds like stretching things, their high priestess is Dyanne Thorne [of ILSA infamy and a 48" bustline] who is named "Alotta". Far out. There is also a kindly water nymph inhabiting the lake who has taken the form of a half naked & soaking wet Susan Damante, and you could do worse.

The film purports to be about Thorne's efforts to basically corrupt and ruin the existences of everyone she comes in contact with, and the impromptu romance struck up between the young combat vet and his water nymph just will not do. Child sacrifices, a beheaded Padre and lots of naked witchcraft ceremonies ensue, and the film ends on an oddly nihilistic downbeat as our hero is run down by giggling hippies in their Microbus & gets to live happily ever after in the lake with Susan Damante. And again, you could do worse.

But what this movie is really about, I think, is the Drive-In subculture that it was obviously aimed at. It has a grade Z production budget, a mostly amateur cast, and looks like it was a hell of a lot of fun to make. The plot is also more a series of reference points upon which director Biranne Murphy [sadly passed away in 2003, I note] hangs a series of set pieces that consist of nude women with fantastic bods all swaying and grooving to the movie's dynamite, psychedelic soundtrack by the great Les Baxter, using the name "Bax" to sound like less of a square. The music is actually the film's finest quality and could in itself account for much of BLOOD SABBATH's cult following to this day. It's a fabulous music score that seems to have been composed right on the spot out there in whatever state park they filmed most of it in, complete with an obligatory theme song/ballad that plays as Geary walks across the sunny landscape carrying a folk guitar. And the one film it reminds me of more than any other is Joseph Sarno's 1973 masterpiece VEIL OF BLOOD VAMPIRE ECTSASY], which is basically 90m of nonstop naked lesbian witches dancing to psychedelic bongo drum music.

Perhaps BLOOD SABBATH was an influence.

The entire film plays out like a trip of sorts, and isn't so much "horrifying" as it is a series of moods and color schemes, with the swaying bodies of the film's delightful witches as the focal point.

The rest of it is just there to give those who aren't hip enough something to concentrate on between necking sessions or passing around whatever was on hand to pass around. It doesn't seem like a film that wants to make a huge impression upon it's viewers as much as deliver a series of sights and sounds that would keep it's viewers occupied for 80 odd minutes, and on that level of consideration it's something of a success. Even after two or three viewings I could not remember how the movie ended, which is telling of how challenging the script is.

Yet this is actually kind of a daring production for 1972 in many ways: We not only hear it's male lead talk about being in Vietnam but are actually shown images of him in battle -- To heck with the fact that they look like they were filmed in the underbrush at a rest stop on the highway during their drive back to Los Angeles, name another film other than BILLY JACK perhaps that actually tried to paint a sympathetic image of our soldiers in Vietnam while portraying them in battle. The film also has a decidedly multi-ethnic cast, and while the idea of naked sex witches of color dancing alongside of caucasian witches may not be everyone's ideal of integration, in this case it will have to do.

BLOOD SABBATH is currently Out of Print and unavailable as a new retail release to US & Canadian audiences. There is a British codefree PAL DVD release featuring an 82m version that is available though the quality of the picture is not up to current day standards and was probably made from a VHS or otherwise analogue source. All of the known home video releases are also fullframe presentations, though due to it's low budget and drive in origins it is very likely that it may have been filmed as a 4x3 presentation anyway. The preferred version of BLOOD SABBATH is a 1984 VHS release by JLT Films that came in an over-sized slipcased box and has the film's entire 85m length with a surprisingly good picture quality & great color, though they are incredibly rare and considered a collector's item ... if you can find one.

I give it **1/2 out of **** for being a fascinating reminder of a time when going to the movies was supposed to be fun.

Waylaid by four naked women in the middle of the woods, David (Anthony Geary) opts to get up and run away! Why??!! Only one of the many questions you'll have watching this flick that bypasses soft porn territory and goes straight for the gusto with full frontal nudity in scene after scene, to the point where you almost get tired of it after a while. David's a returned Vietnam vet who's occasional flashback episodes mirror what's happening on screen, but present day reality isn't anywhere near as traumatic. Or maybe it is, having to battle a Witch Queen named Alotta (Dyane Thorne) for the love of a water nymph who he can't be with unless he loses his soul. I will say that Susan Damante as the pond denizen Yyala was the main bright spot in the picture for this viewer, simply gorgeous in her white gown and long blonde hair. Beyond that though, it's an exercise in patience getting to the finale, which leaves a question mark of it's own when David stabs the Witch Queen who leaves no trace of blood. Don't even bother trying to figure it out.

A young Tony Geary stars as David, the whiniest, most milquetoast Vietnam vet in Hollywood history. While exploring Mexico, he meets and falls for a water nymph named Yyalah (Susan Damante in a cheesy blonde wig that hangs down to her rump). She loves David too (his vapidity notwithstanding), but there's a problem: a water nymph can never be with anyone who has a soul. So David sets about attempting to lose his. This leads him to Alotta, Queen of Witches (Dyanne Thorne of the notorious "Ilsa" trilogy), who agrees to destroy David's soul. But her being a witch and all, she demands unsavory stuff in return. When Alotta asks if David understands the terms of their pact, he screams, "Yes! Take my soul, damn you!" So she does, in an unintentionally riotous nude scene. Now he and Yyalah can be together, but difficulties arise as they are wont to do in your typical human/water-nymph relationship.

You know what, though? The plot is really beside the point. BLOOD SABBATH was made for one reason: endless shots of beautiful young women cavorting in the nude. That's right, folks. This film delivers a bevy of butt cheeks, boobies and bushes for the grindhouse crowd to ogle! Its other saving grace is Les Baxter's trippy, mind-blowing score; makes me wish there had been a soundtrack album.

As for the acting, it alternates between stilted cue-card reads and pyrotechnic scenery-chewing. The "special" effects include the severed head of a murdered priest, which looks like paper mache with red paint and a bad toupee. David's "Vietnam flashback" scenes appear to have been shot in the underbrush of a freeway rest area. Though the coven lives in Mexico, none of the characters speaks Spanish, or even sports a Mexican accent; the location shooting clearly took place in an American state park. And the less said about the cobweb-laden set piece that passes for the witches' dungeon, the better.

"Blood Sabbath" isn't that great, but there are a few things to it anyway.

**SPOILERS**

Traveling through the countryside, ex-Vietnam soldier David, (Anthony Geary) finds that Yyalah, (Susan Damante-Shaw) is a special kind of water nymph that is unable to have a relationship with anyone else. When they start spending time together anyway, Alotta, (Dyanne Thorne) finds out and forces them to end their romance, which he can't stand and sets out to destroy them by casting a spell on him to join her coven of witches. Mistaking it to allow him to be with her, he agrees and undergoes the ceremony, only to wind up in her control and is forced to do her bidding, nearly crippling their relationship. Finally understanding that he was being controlled all along, she sets out to free him from her grasp using her own magic and enabling them to spend their lives together.

The Good News: There was a couple good things in here. One of the best things is that the film has an abundant amount of nudity. There's so few clothes are worn that nearly three-fourths of the film has someone nude or topless, which is a staggering number that is nicely appreciated and really sells the film. Much of this is due to the film's habit of showcasing the witches completely nude as they prance around doing whatever is willed upon them, and that is a good portion of the film. Even some of the later scenes, where the Queen gets involved in the activities, it gets even better and much more improved. There's also some fun to be had from it's coven activities. The ceremonies that occur throughout, as well as the scenes that feature them cavorting around with others in order to play around with others to get what they want and they're all pretty fun and enjoyable. The later scenes where the spells are put on display, where there's a bunch of really great scenes that make for some really nice moments. The last one is the fact that this one has a rather nice pagan atmosphere that comes along from the interaction within the different forms of spirits with each other, and it feels very dream-like at times. These here are the film's good points.

The Bad News: There wasn't much wrong with it. The thing with this is that the film exists solely for it's nudity, meaning that not a whole lot of anything else happens. This one, for those who haven no need for the nude factor, won't find this one too interesting or exciting, making this one incredibly boring for most of the time. That's not all too good for a film, since the film's pacing is so slow and dream-like that it takes an eternity for something to happen, which isn't helped along by the film's lack of action that, if found in the right mood and conditions, this one can come across as being boring and completely worthless. Those who don't have an appreciation for it's good points will be the ones who come out of this with that mentality, but overall it's the only real thing hurting it.

The Final Verdict: Not really a whole lot of enjoyable elements beyond the nudity, which is the main area of focus for this one. This one will really only mainly appeal for those looking for some cheap exploitative thrills or just in the mood for some harmless nudity, all others though should heed caution.

Rated R: Full Nudity, several sex scenes and Mild Violence

Shell-shocked Vietnam veteran drifter David (a likable performance by Anthony Geary; Luke on "General Hospital"!) wanders into a remote woodland region where he meets and falls in love with beautiful, but unattainable water nymph Yyalah (a charming portrayal by fetching blonde Susan Damante). However, David must give his soul to evil, cunning, and duplicitous witch queen Alotta (a perfectly cast Dyanne Thorne of "Ilsa" infamy) in order to actually be with Yyalah. Director Brianne Murphy, working from an offbeat script by William A. Bairn, concocts a genuinely quirky dark fairytale-type psychedelic atmosphere and nicely explores the theme of romantic obsession. The draggy pace, trippy visuals (Michael Margulies did the pretty cinematography), meandering narrative, the flavorsome south-of-the-border Mexico setting, and especially Les Baxter's divinely groovy prog-rockish score all give this picture a singularly funky'n'heady drugged-out vibe. Moreover, there's oodles of yummy bare distaff skin: The ubiquitous and ever-tantalizing Uschi Digard briefly pops up (and out) as a hippie chick while Alotta's lovely coven members are played by such 70's sexploitation regulars as Kathy Hilton, Lynn Harris, Jane Louise, and Terri Johnson. Sam Gilman contributes a solid turn as friendly old-timer Lonzo. Plus this flick earns extra points for having the guts to kill off the local padre by decapitation. A real loopy hoot.