For the second film in his infamous 'Blood' trilogy, 'Godfather of Gore' Herschell Gordon Lewis gleefully rips off Roger Corman's beatnik horror A Bucket of Blood, but fails to deliver in almost every department: the direction is dull; the dialogue is awful ('Holy Bananas, it's a girl's leg!' exclaims one character upon finding a dead body); the acting is atrocious; the music is bland, generic jazz; and the one factor that audiences have come to expect from Lewis—outrageous 'grand guignol' style splatter—is notable by its absence (only one scene, in which the protagonist squeezes blood from one of his victim's intestines, comes close to providing gore-hounds with the goods).
Gordon Oas-Heim is reasonably convincing as obnoxious artist Adam Sorg, who discovers that he produces his best work when painting in blood, but almost everyone else puts in absolutely dreadful performances, with special mention going to Pat Lee as wig-wearing teen Sydney: her incessant use of hip 60s slang ('where's the snacks, Jack?', 'on the patio, Daddio', 'dig that crazy driftwood') might be amusing at first, but is guaranteed to eventually grate on the nerves.
Fans of Lewis will no doubt wish to see this film so that they can complete the trilogy, and those with a thing for curvaceous cuties in big bikinis might get the occasional thrill, but it's hard to imagine anyone else finding Color Me Blood Red to be anything other than a bore.
3.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 4 for IMDb.
Gordon Oas-Heim is reasonably convincing as obnoxious artist Adam Sorg, who discovers that he produces his best work when painting in blood, but almost everyone else puts in absolutely dreadful performances, with special mention going to Pat Lee as wig-wearing teen Sydney: her incessant use of hip 60s slang ('where's the snacks, Jack?', 'on the patio, Daddio', 'dig that crazy driftwood') might be amusing at first, but is guaranteed to eventually grate on the nerves.
Fans of Lewis will no doubt wish to see this film so that they can complete the trilogy, and those with a thing for curvaceous cuties in big bikinis might get the occasional thrill, but it's hard to imagine anyone else finding Color Me Blood Red to be anything other than a bore.
3.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 4 for IMDb.