Bloodlust! (1961)

This film is obviously a take on the story, "The Most Dangerous Game", only it features two couples rather than the one person in the story. I saw this film as an episode of Mystery Science Theater and it does some okay things, but overall, it just comes across as a bit lame and there are more than a couple of plot holes in this one. The film features Robert Reed as one of the four who come to the island because it looks cool and it features a lot of henchmen wearing sailor outfits that look right out of a Popeye cartoon and a man who likes to go out for an evening's diversion. Oh, and it has two drunks in the film too, but one of them is only faking.The story has a group of four young adults on a boat in the middle of nowhere. They have apparently chartered the boat from a man who likes to drink a lot and he soon passes out leaving them stranded in the middle of the ocean. To pass the time while they wait for him to sober up, they take the dingy out to an island in the hopes of doing a little exploring. They hang out at the beach and decide to go into the forest so that they can find some things to have a clam bake on the beach. Unfortunately, Robert Reed's character stumbles into a pit trap and soon they find themselves as guests of the man who owns the island. He seems friendly enough, but while exploring the house they find he has quite a number of deadly secrets, the main one being the fact he likes to hunt people on the island. Soon the two guys in the group are sent into the forest along with the captain of their boat to be hunted by the hunter with his trusty crossbow.This made for a rather good episode of MST3K. The film only had a one hour running time, which means we got a short to go along with it, about two kids spending the summer on the farm, but this short only took up one segment meaning most of the film is intact here. There are many jokes focusing on the Brady Bunch dad and the fact the other guy is a bit dorky. There is also a lot of riffs on the various henchmen as they managed to give them humorous names. They also made fun of the one henchman who was a dead ringer for Mr. Carlin from the Bob Newhart show.The movie was not all bad as it did not drag too much and it certainly does not overstay its welcome. However, there are just too many flaws to consider it a good movie. The main thing I have a problem with is the fact that the hunter in this film owns the island and employs a lot of henchmen. Before this life he was in the army where he developed his blood lust and before that he was a curator at a museum. Neither of these things explains why this guy owns a freaking island and can apparently employ a bunch of guys who are okay with him killing. That is another thing, where did he find these guys? I would think they might be prisoners, but it is mentioned he uses prisoners in his hunts. I just find it a bit too hard to swallow that he was able to employ all these people who are not allowed to leave the island, seems like there is no benefit to them. There are other things that make little sense, but then that is why it was featured on MST3K.

The Plot. A group of teenagers vacationing in the tropics take a boat out to a seemingly deserted island. They soon find, however, that the island is inhabited by a wealthy recluse and his staff. While their host is initially hospitable, he quickly reveals his true purpose: to hunt down and kill each of his visitors, as he has done with everyone unlucky enough to set foot on his island. Rip off of Most Dangerous Game with super low budget and no intelligence. Right at the beginning the kids see the island and say Gee never seen that before. Only The stock footage shows an island the size of Hawaii. How did you miss THAT?

"While vacationing in the tropics, a group of teen-agers set sail to an apparent deserted island. What they discover when they arrive is that the island is owned by Dr. Balleau, an eccentric man with a passion for big-game hunting. After years of importing game onto the island for sport, Dr. Balleau has set his sights on a new quarry, those unfortunate enough to stumble upon his island. Now realizing what they're up against, the teen-agers must elude their host in the hopes of making (it) off the island alive," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.The sleeve's synopsis is inaccurate in describing the group of four as "teen-agers". They are quite clearly "young people" in their 20s; however, the film is funnier if you think of them as teenagers. Leading the group is tall Robert Reed (as Johnny Randall), inappropriately paired with the shorter female, June Kerry (as Betty Scott). Probably, followers of "The Brady Bunch" will enjoy seeing Mr. Reed before he essayed his most famous role. "Bloodlust!" is better than your average "Brady Bunch" episode, but Reed doesn't demonstrate the same ability to make the most of a bad situation. Ralph Brooke's "Most Dangerous Game" hunter Wilton Graff (as Balleau) doesn't help much. Supporting performances vary.** Bloodlust! (1961) Ralph Brooke ~ Robert Reed, Wilton Graff, Walter Brooke

This is a nice and well made B-movie and surprisingly it works quite well. It's not one of those B-movies that are just plain boring. The story, a take on the classic Count Zaroff, is well told- although at times fairly gruesome for the early 60s (though my edition states 59 as year of origin). The acting is surprisingly competent and even the sets are fairly convincing. All in all it may not be a stroke of genius but it's and atmospheric and entertaining film. There are great performances, partivularly the diabolic and theatrical villain but the rest of the cast are really quite good. The interesting thing is that this film is sort of a teenage version of Count Zaroff and therefore actually pre dates the genre of teen horror flics. Absolutely watchable and entertaining.