The Blood Trilogy

Herschell Gordon Lewis' pioneering "gore" films in deluxe Special Editions. "Blood Feast" (1963, 67 min.) - Mrs. Fremont hires crackpot Egyptian cultist Fuad Ramses to cater a party--and he prepares a Blood Feast made from the grisly body parts of nubile young women. The world's first gore film! "Two Thousand Maniacs" (1964, 87 min.) - The 2000 Maniacs of a small Southern town celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Civil War by forcing a handful of Northerners to serve as "guests" in their macabre, blood-crazed fun and games. "Color Me Blood Red" (1965, 79 min.) - When his girlfriend, Gigi, cuts her finger on a frame, maniacal artist Adam Sorg discovers a new shade of crimson that will make his artwork so special--human blood!

A serial killer is on the loose. Women are being killed and body parts are being stolen. The police are stumped (so to speak). Meanwhile, Egyptmania seems to be gripping this small Florida town. Fuad Ramses's "exotic catering" shop is doing a booming business and his book, Ancient Weird Religious Rituals, is being studied by the local book club. Is there a connection between Ramses and the murders? Of course! In this movie by the wizard of gore, Herschell Gordon Lewis, plot and suspense take a back seat to the gruesome and bloody murder scenes. The acting may not be very good, the script is weak at best, and the effects don't hold up to later standards of Hollywood gore, but there is an infectious enthusiasm that comes through Lewis's desire to shock his audience. The exploitation elements may be dated, but that only makes them all more entertaining. A shocking drive-in sensation when released in 1963, Blood Feast remains a milestone in the exploitation genre, followed (in what would come to be known as Lewis's "blood trilogy") by Two Thousand Maniacs! and Color Me Blood Red. --Andy Spletzer