THE
BRIDES WORE BLOOD (1972)Director: Bob Favorite
Retromedia Entertainment
THE
BRIDES WORE BLOOD (1972)Shot in 16mm in Jacksonville, Florida, late director Bob Favorite proves that he can make a vampire film that stinks worse than Staten Island -- ahhhh, I mean stinks worse than Andy Milligan's vampire films, not the actual Staten Island (although...).
This rarely-seen effort tells
the story of a pretty young blond who moves to Florida after a psychic tells
her to go ther
e
to start a new life (I only wish it was that easy, I'd be on a plane tomorrow).
She runs into an old man who invites her and three other young girls on a free
tour of his ancestral mansion. The next day, the girls are invited to come back
and meet his unattached son, whom he wants to marry off.
Turns
out that the son is a vampire, and the screen's dullest one at that (picture
Don "American Pie" McLean wearing a cape in 1972). One girl is turned
into a vampire with exaggerated dime store fangs, and she must of learned how
to act like one by watching "The Groovy Ghoulies" Saturday morning
cartoon show. Another girl (a stuck-up photographer) is drained of blood in
a gratuitous "needle" scene, and after her useless boyfriend tries
to save her, they're both killed by a hideous guy that looks like half of the
two-headed monster in THE MAGIC SWORD.
The blond girl is chosen as the
bride and to continue the family bloodline, and she is kept prisoner by an idiot
(hunchback?) with a mid-60s "British 
Invasion"
hairdo. The vampire is killed by sunlight in a lame attempt to recreate Hammer's
remarkable Dracula climaxes. Actually, the vampire's death scene resembles a
ten-year-old's Super 8 remake of the end of HORROR OF DRACULA. Amateurish in
every way, THE BRIDES WORE BLOOD is badly shot and terribly acted, and the Florida
background feels totally inappropriate here.
Retromedia has rescued this baby from almost total obscurity (unless you count the out-of-print Regal tape). Considering that this was shot in 16mm, the film source is remarkably well preserved, making for a pleasing DVD transfer. Colors sometimes look muted, and there is a fair share of grain evident, but this is due to the film's low-rent production values. The mono sound is perfectly acceptable.
No trailer for the film is included
(I doubt one exists), but it's introduced by Ohio TV horror host Son of Ghoul.
See the Ghoul teach his dwarf friend about hygiene by shoving red toothpaste
and green mouthwash down his throat! (George
R. Reis)