The Brides Wore Blood (1972)

Proving  why the phrase “regional Florida production” is not generally associated with top-shelf ’70s horror, The Brides Wore Blood is an inept endeavor that should have been at least adequate, given that director Bob Favorite and his team assembled the requisite building blocks. The story, though borderline incoherent, overflows with human sacrifices, mediums, vampires, women enlisted to carry unholy babies, and so on. Ladies hired to appear onscreen are reasonably photogenic and uninhibited. (Nobody in the movie can act, but that’s hardly a surprise.) A large mansion gives something akin to the effect of a castle during exterior shots. Some ornate gore effects are attempted—badly, but it’s thought that counts. And though the score sounds as if it was cobbled together from library tracks, the steady flow of noodling organ figures and sustained strings delivers an eerie sonic vibe. In other words, if you’re either a shock-cinema completist or an undiscriminating horror hound, The Brides Wore Blood may provide you with eighty-ish minutes of mindless distraction. Anyone else is warned to steer clear because this is as dull as it is stupid. The gist is that a family bears a curse wherein men are born vampires, so a medium suggests a confusing scheme through which four women are kidnapped, some to be sacrificed, one to bear a child that could break the curse . . . blah, blah, blah. The high point may be when the patriarch of the cursed clan says the following with roughly the energy of a mechanic advising a client that a spark plug should be replaced: “I’m about to perform a conjuration that will allow Juan to conceive a child—unfortunately, you are needed as an altar.” One gets the impression that Favorite grabbed unrehearsed first takes of everything, then moved on without coaxing his performers to actually perform. Even the wannabe gotcha ending isn’t enough to infuse The Brides Wore Blood with vigor.

The Brides Wore Blood: LAME

New Nonfiction Available Now

          I'm proud to announce that my new(ish) book publishes today! Whereas the first edition of Dalton Trumbo, Hollywood Rebel was primarily a subjective overview of Trumbo's screenwriting career (Roman Holiday, Spartacus, etc.), this time around I've integrated a deeper examination of the man's life as well as holistic context exploring how Hollywood screenwriting evolved across the twentieth century. For this second edition, I devoted a year to intensive archival research, and, with immense gratitude, I'll let others describe the results of this effort:

          “Peter Hanson’s beautifully researched and written book gives you a wide-ranging view of Trumbo’s screenwriting. This is a major contribution to the historiography of screenwriting.”—Tom Stempel, author of Framework: A History of Screenwriting in the American Film

          “Peter Hanson has reworked his commentary on Trumbo’s films into a fully textured tapestry woven of all of Trumbo’s writings, his politics, and his life. Hanson’s meticulous analysis of the movies made from Trumbo’s scripts confirms Trumbo’s status as one of the best screenwriters of his era.”—Larry Ceplair, Trumbo biographer and coauthor of The Inquisition in Hollywood

          “Dalton Trumbo's screen credits get their due in this exhaustively researched, expertly examined backstory of a great career.”—Patrick McGilligan, editor of the Backstory series of interviews with screenwriters and coauthor of Tender Comrades: A Backstory of the Hollywood Blacklist

          “Peter Hanson’s study of Trumbo’s screenplays is an exemplary scholarly work, thoroughly researched and compellingly written. It is more than the story of one man; it is an examination of a system of creation.”—Howard Suber, blacklist scholar, creator/host of The Power of Film, and UCLA professor emeritus

          If you're interested in Hollywood history, the methodology of screenwriting, the scourge of the midcentury anticommunist witch hunt, or the power that a forceful writer can wield in the battle against fascism, please take a moment to learn more about the book and consider spreading the word. It's available at major online booksellers, and here's the Amazon link...  "Dalton Trumbo, Hollywood Rebel" Second Edition

Until next time, keep on keepin’ on!