Originally released in February 1971, I DRINK YOUR BLOOD was one of the first motion pictures to be rated X for violence. Aiming to outdo NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, producer Jerry Gross instructed writer/director Durston to discard all of the old monster-mash cliches and shoot straight for the gut with maximum shock value and gore. The result was pure American drive-in genius. Even after 30 years, IDYB still holds up as one of the most entertaining and wildly demented movies of its kind.
Between the bad-taste instincts of exploitation legend Gross (who gave the film its lurid title and distributed it on a double-bill with an cheap black-and-white zombie film he'd rechristened I EAT YOUR SKIN- a.k.a. ZOMBIE, VOODOO BLOODBATH, 1964) and Durston's twisted imagination (rabies, meat pies, LSD, hippie maniacs, construction workers foaming at the mouth--call the Red Cross!), I DRINK YOUR BLOOD plays like a double-barreled shotgun blast, a sugar fix for gore freaks. Just when you think Durston can't push the delirium any further, somebody drags a dead goat across the screen...or an old man in long underwear pukes up his dentures while being strangled...or an electric carving knife strays from a side of ham with disastrous results...or...well, you get the picture.
Unfortunately, the MPAA didn't appreciate the effort. Graphic scenes of bodily dismemberment, multiple stabbings, self-immolation, barbecued rats, gang-bang sex, gut-spilling, decapitation, and the hara-kiri stake impalement of a pregnant woman's stomach all seemed to upset the censors for some strange reason. Ever the exploitationeer, Gross sent the movie out uncut anyway, resulting in pandemonium. With the ratings board cracking down on offenders, Cinemation panicked and prints of the film were hacked to pieces by everyone from projectionists to the local morals squad. The R-rated print seen in most theaters (and on previous, inferior video releases) lacks a crucial plot point and barely makes sense. Despite these trials, I DRINK YOUR BLOOD was a smash success for Gross and even managed to impress a few critics who were unperturbed by the day-glo ad campaign announcing "2 Great Blood-Horrors To Rip Out Your Guts!" The L.A. Times' Kevin Thomas gave I DRINK... a rave, as did then-unknown Joe Dante, who praised it in the pages of FILM BULLETIN. The film even captured a prize at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival in Paris.
Words just can't do this movie justice. Like a sheet of high-grade blotter, this DVD of I DRINK YOUR BLOOD packs enough bizarre entertainment value to last for hours and hours. In closing, we can only repeat the demonic invocation of Horace Bones, who tells his followers in the movie's opening scene: "Satan was an acid-head. Drink from his cup. Pledge yourselves, and together we'll all freak out!"
SPECIAL FEATURES -New digital video and audio restoration of the original uncensored director's cut -4 NEVER BEFORE SEEN deleted scenes including the blood-drenched ending deemed too disturbing for 70's audiences! -Provocative audio commentary by director David Durston and star Bhaskar -Revealing on-camera interviews with stars Lynn Lowry, Tyde Kierney and Jack Damon -The original theatrical trailer and radio spots -Extensive gallery of stills and poster art -Rare and shocking film of Bhaskar performing THE EVIL KING COBRA DANCE -Liner notes by reknowned horror journalist David Szulkin (THE MAKING OF LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT) -Psychedelic day-glo packaging actually glows under a black light! -Spectacular and gory animated menus, comprehensive filmographies and biographies, and other surprises
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