Blood Thirst (1971)

Blood Thirst (1971) * 1/2 (out of 4) Women are being found outside a nightclub with their blood drained. The police captain (Vic Diaz) has no clues and no idea of what the cause could be so he calls his detective friend (Adam Rourke) from New York to help him investigate.BLOOD THIRST has a 1971 date on it but this B&W film was actually shot in 1965 but couldn't find anyone to release. After seeing the film it's easy to see why no one wanted to touch it because there's really not too much here to recommend. If you do happen to see the film then it's best to remember when it was made and not when it was released because the film certainly doesn't have much sexuality or violence.The biggest problem with this film is the fact that they decided to try and milk the "mystery" surrounding the murders. There are countless scenes with the two friends sitting around trying to guess as to what's going on. All of these scenes are deadly boring and they made the 74-minute running time seem at least twice as long. What's worse is that we've got a weird looking creature that is doing the killing yet they keep him off the screen for the majority of the running time.I mean, if you're going to have a great looking monster then why not show him off more? Surely seeing the monster attack more victims is more entertaining than watching a couple guys talk, right?

BLOOD THIRST is an interesting and engaging little horror effort shot in the Philippines by a US crew. It was made in 1965 so it's short and in black and white, although it wasn't given a US release until six years later. I immediately lumped it in with the trashy shockers that Eddie Romero was shooting during the period (like the infamous MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND) but it's a much classier affair. Surprisingly, it has decent production values too, perhaps the best I've seen in a Filipino horror film.The plot is simple enough, yet fun with it. Robert Winston is the imported American, a detective who goes undercover as a writer for reasons that remained obscure to me. He hangs out a lot at a nightclub full of dancing women while at the same time investigating a series of bizarre murders in which lone women are killed on the streets at night, their bodies found strung up and drained of blood. It turns out that a rubber-faced monster with links to the nightclub is responsible. The monster is cheap but cheerful and I personally loved the look of it.BLOOD THIRST is well-shot and quite stylishly directed in places with a good sense of location. It borrows the same style as a Bond movie, with random attacks in hotel rooms, and has a Jess Franco vibe to it to boot. One of the most engaging things about the production is the inimitable Vic Diaz, that stalwart actor of Filipino cinema, getting a chance to play something other than a bad guy for once. Here he's a local cop and he does very well with the role too, bringing plenty of charisma to the part.

For those connoisseurs of foreign horror films who are desirous of seeing the 1965 Filipino obscurity entitled "Blood Thirst," their only recourse, it would seem, is the DVD currently available from those maniacs at Something Weird. The picture in question shares the disc with another relatively unknown film, the similarly titled "Bloodsuckers," and it was to see this British product of 1970 that I initially rented out this DVD. But "Bloodsuckers" turns out to be a terrible mess of a film, despite the participation of Peter Cushing and Patrick Macnee; an ineptly put-together head scratcher that suffers even more in comparison to "Blood Thirst," a surprisingly good, well-made little chiller that manages to satisfy on all levels. Released in America six years after its Filipino debut, the film features gorgeous B&W cinematography by DOP Hermo Santos and comes off like a film noir crossed with a cheesy horror flick...and with winning results!In the picture, we learn that a serial killer has been slaying young girls on the streets of Manila. Their bodies are always found hung upside down and completely drained of blood, their forearms slit exactly the same length every time. At a loss as to how to proceed, police inspector Miguel Ramos (played by the great Filipino mainstay Vic Diaz, who seems to pop up in just about every Filipino movie that I watch) calls in his American friend Adam Rourke (Robert Winston), a homicide lieutenant who is an expert in sex crimes. Hunky dude Rourke centers his investigations on the Barrio Club, an upscale nightspot where several of the murdered girls had worked. He thus encounters the club's suave owner, Calderon (Vic Silayan, who comes off like a Filipino Cesar Romero), as well as its featured exotic dancer, the blonde hottie Serena (Yvonne Nielson), while being aided by Ramos' sister, the emotionally conflicted Sylvia (Katherine Henryk). As the film proceeds, the viewer learns that the killer is quite a sight indeed; a lumbering mess of a man (?) with a face composed of innumerable lumps and hideous nodules. And as Rourke evades numerous attempts on his life while getting closer to Sylvia, he learns that the solution to this murder mystery might be even stranger than he had guessed....Tightly directed by Newt Arnold, "Blood Thirst" was filmed at the height of the secret-agent craze, the same year that the 007 vehicle "Thunderball" broke box-office records, and its debt to this international spy mania is very pronounced. Winston seems to be channeling Sean Connery in his performance here, and Rourke's similarities with James Bond are many. They are both handsome men with hairy chests; both are chain-smokers, crack shots, quick with a humorous quip and smooth with the ladies. In addition, both go undercover to achieve their objectives in exotic locales, and both are good at karate and brawling...and at taking a punishing beating, as well. Rourke, of course, must contend with a much lesser degree of criminality than superagent 007, and he evinces more of the characteristics of the everyday dude, such as talking to himself and slapping himself on the head when he makes a mistake. Winston gives a highly likable performance here, as does his partner Diaz, a pudgy presence with an angelic smile that can appear as either sweet or diabolic, as the case may be. (For example, the last time I encountered Diaz, it was in the 1971 Eddie Romero film "Beast of the Yellow Night," in which Vic plays the Devil himself!) Rourke's love interest in the film, Sylvia, has been cast most unusually, as Henryk is not pretty in the conventional sense, and yet, because of her appealing nature and spunky disposition, she is a woman who grows more and more attractive as the picture proceeds. I was also happy to spot Bruno Punzalan in this film, here playing the thuggish bartender at the Barrio Club; Punzalan, like Diaz, also seems to pop up regularly in these Filipino outings of the period, and he has a doozy of a dustup with Rourke about halfway through this picture. "Blood Thirst" is well acted by every one of its players and is overall a surprisingly intelligent affair; a film whose noirish elements gradually blend into pure horror by its exciting conclusion, in which blood, "solar electrical energy," and the powder of roots of trees hundreds of years old are all combined in one mind-boggling melange. The film tends to drag a bit in its central 1/3, but it never grows dull, and the stunning-looking B&W photography, artfully employing light and shadow, is always a feast for the eyes. Simply put, the film looks great, and is nicely captured here on this Something Weird DVD. For this viewer, the film comes as something like serendipity; an unexpected treat that I had previously never heard of before. To my great surprise, I must warn viewers AWAY from "Bloodsuckers" and urge them to see "Blood Thirst" instead, a film that is truly ripe for rediscovery....

I picked this up in a $1 store on a DVD with another film. I really wanted to see the other film ('Castle of Blood' -USA title) on the DVD and only watched 'Blood Thirst' out of curiosity and because my wife said, "lets give it a chance". We figured how can you go wrong buying two films on a DVD for one dollar especially when one of the films('Castle of Blood') is rated highly. The earlier comments here lead me to believe 'Blood Thirst' was going to be a bomb. Instead my wife and I both found it enjoyable maybe even more so than the higher rated film. More than once we were laughing out loud...and the good part is those scenes were supposed TO BE funny. As opposed to scenes that are unintentionally funny in some truly bad films. Also, I thought the dubbing to English was well done as was the transfer to a nice clear DVD image. The film had a great early 60s feel to it and the B/W only made it better. There were some wonderfully off-beat characters and scenes. I also found it hard to believe this was released in 1971 because of the early 60s look and feel.Anyway, I wouldn't let the other comments here keep you from seeing this, it's an enjoyable/offbeat little film with some good acting in it and surprisingly funny scenes. It's worth your time for a fun detective /horror film with a few chills and romance thrown in for good measure. And don't forget to check your local discount stores for it. I'm glad to have it in my DVD collection what a bargain!