Bloodsucking Freaks (1976)

Listen up. If you dig far enough into the 70's trash bin of foul and disgusting movies that are equally forgettable, you're going to find Bloodsucking Freaks, a toast to all who love to see women get tortured and murdered for no apparent reason. Sound like your cup of tea? Maybe you should have your mental health examined, whatever is left. Cult followers of this mound of gorilla dung will dig the senseless humor and offensive view of gores that are delivered, however, the vast majority of the population can safely bypass this one up. 97 percent of the film is torture porn, the other 3 percent is the story line. ( If you think I'm joking, then I suppose it must be seen to be believed, or you can just take my word for it, which I strongly suggest. This is damn near impossible to watch!) I don't like torture movies in general, but I did watch Bloodsucking Freaks years ago...somebody rented it back in the day when we had these little things called video stores ( you know, before the internet came along and screwed that all up!) Bloodsucking Freaks is far from anything intelligent. Just like the title may suggest, it's as dumb it sounds. Women are literally flown in shipment cargo boxes and tortured in front of live audiences just for shoots and giggles. Somebody wouldn't give Sardu a good review, which pisses him off, and in retaliation, he wants to force one of his victims to dance with him...uh, do you think I'm making this up? Even I couldn't make up something as messed up as this! His assistant is Ralphus, who stands about two feet tall...what kind of a threat as he, anyways? Together, they run the Theater Of Macabre. And this actually makes money for some odd reason. An odd investigation follows, which renders totally useless, especially since the investigator is more crooked then a New York politician...probably cranked out from the same assembly line. The violence executed is poor quality, obviously fake as hell, but nevertheless still offensive. So proceed with caution, and hopefully, I have talked you out of watching or renting this abomination of a movie. Thank you, and good night!

Slave trader by day, sadistic theatre impresario by night, Sardu kidnaps a famous ballerina and forces her to dance in his latest production, bringing down the wrath of her superstar footballer boyfriend and a corrupt cop.Yes, it is that bonkers - and enjoyable too.The acting is mostly weak, but the lead performance is suitably camp. And the pace is good. Above all the humour - not a laugh a minute, but there are genuinely funny moments. Plus a rather good scene with a guillotine.I often find this type of film dull, but they got the right balance here. The gore was campy enough not to make me turn away, and while there was plenty of nudity and s&m the film didn't have a mean bone in its body. Apart from all the torture, murder and dismemberment.One oddity: the actor playing Sardu was murdered in the following year, which fits with the sordid atmosphere of New York in the '70s.

"Bloodsucking Freaks", the alternate title for this sick bit of cinematic sleaze, is not that accurate since there's really only one blood sucking freak in this thing. "The Incredible Torture Show", now THAT'S a better summation of what goes on here. Seamus O'Brien plays Master Sardu, a master of the macabre who puts hapless victims through unspeakable acts of brutality, content to have his audience think it's all just special effects and trickery. He's assisted by the demented Ralphus (Luis De Jesus) and assorted other cretins, and abducts ballet dancer Natasha D'Natalie (Viju Krem) so that she can be a part of his theatrical antics; critic Creasy Silo (Alan Dellay) also becomes a part of the act. Meanwhile, Natasha's boyfriend Tom Maverick (Niles McMaster), a football player, tries to track her down with the help of a sleazy detective, John Tucci (Dan Fauci). Even knowing that "The Incredible Torture Show" is clearly made with its tongue in its cheek, it's obviously going to have a somewhat limited audience. Yet these hardcore exploitation devotees are likely to be satisfied with what they see here. There ain't much in the way of story, just a lot of nasty, nasty depravity (and enough female nudity to make some viewers VERY, VERY happy) that ultimately becomes a little numbing. Still, there are some undeniable highlights, as heads, feet & hands get severed, teeth get extracted, a lady is electrocuted, etc. One's gotta love that one "doctor" character (Ernie Pysher) who goes to great pains to torture one victim; this guy is such a nut that even Sardu and Ralphus think, "This guy's too crazy, even for us!" A strong indicator of this movie's tone is when good old Sardu is having a meal that's precariously balanced on the back of a babe who's obliged to play the role of table, yet humour is added when he snarls, "Don't you DARE ruin my dinner!" O'Brien gets into the grim and goofy Grand Guignol spirit of writer / director Joel M. Reed's concoction, hamming it up quite nicely, as does the diminutive De Jesus. Fun gore effects abound, and the cage full of naked wild women is a Hell of a nice touch. In the end, Reeds' sense of bravado has to be admired, as he goes just as far as he can. The result is a truly trashy bit of insanity certain to give its audience some appreciative chuckles. Seven out of 10.

First of all, if you can't see at least a little humor in a dismal B-Horror flick which includes home-style brain surgery, unnecessary amounts of torture, and eyeball soup being prepared by an overly-enthusiastic midget named Ralphus, then now would be the time to stop reading, and to go check out something a little tamer like California Axe Massacre. Anyone who is familiar with the Troma catalog knows that Blood Sucking Freaks is by far, the most vile, most disgusting, most evil, and the most flat-out repulsive thing those guys have to offer. A film that shows us exactly how rotten this world we live in can be. Oh, and did I mention how hilarious this movie is?Of course it was filmed New York City, where else could something this hateful, and mean-spirited possibly take place? Our story is about a New Yorker named Sardu. Sardu is the most sadistic, power-hungry individual you will ever come across. This guy runs his "Theater of the Macabre", where he and his eager assistant, Ralphus torture naked women in front of audiences, except the unsuspecting (and extremely gullible) audience thinks the torture isn't real, and that it's all just a show, and that all these women won't be slaughtered or sold. But the unfortunate truth is, yes, these women will most certainly be slaughtered or sold... but more than likely slaughtered, possibly as an example to those who disobey Sardu, or for Ralphus's amusement. These guys ain't no amateurs, Sardu and Ralphus realize women can be used for more than just torture. There's also tables, dart-boards, toilet's, mindless slaves, well, you get the idea. Clever, eh? No!!? Well, maybe not, but Blood Sucking Freaks is what it is. True Horror for the true Horror fan only. Anyone else just wouldn't understand.Some people seem to think that Blood Sucking Freaks is a bit uncalled for. Something about promoting, and possibly even making light of cruelty towards women. I'd love nothing more than to come up with some ironic argument, disproving this theory, but I strongly suspect there isn't one. Sardu and Ralphus ain't nice to the ladies, and that's just the way it is. In a strange way, Blood Sucking Freaks was ahead of it's time. You just didn't see such harsh Horror mixed with humor. Humor or no humor, this film should make just about anybody feel the need to take a shower, to try in vain to rid yourself of some of that filth and grime. The DVD includes commentary by Eli (Hostel) Roth. I suppose good 'ol Eli considers his work in the same league as this pitch-black nightmare. Well, Mr. Roth...No... just no. That's basically it. As I was listening to Mr. Roth's commentary, I couldn't help notice how deeply this guy was reading into every little thing that occurred. I'm going to just go ahead and assume he was pulling our legs. If not, then this guy knows waaaay too much about Blood Sucking Freaks, which I can understand, I mean, this is a really good movie. For more in insane midgets who fancy torture, or similar tomfoolery, The Sinful Dwarf is a must-see. As for torture, if you seriously want something more extreme than this, then you might be barking up the wrong tree, as snuff films might be what you're looking for, because Blood Sucking Freaks is about as extreme as a B-cinema gets. Total cruelty, pure sadism, 100% Horror, and 0% taste. Yay for Blood Sucking Freaks. 10/10