MALATESTA'S
CARNIVAL OF BLOOD (1973)Director: Christopher Speeth
Windmill Films
MALATESTA'S
CARNIVAL OF BLOOD (1973)
When I say that MALATESTA'S CARNIVAL OF BLOOD is probably the most obscure horror title reviewed here, I can utter that statement with no exaggeration (how many can admit they saw it, that is until now?). It apparently played a few southern drive-ins when originally released by Windmill Films, but it really gained a minor reputation and a want-list entry for many when someone wrote a glowing (and rather misleading) review in The Monster Times. The writer bragged, "It has more ghouls snacking on more red hot human flesh, more blood dripping from more wounds, more monsters than anything ever made ANYWHERE. Now those sound like pretty big claims and they are. But they are true." With quotes like that, one would expect the second coming of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD or something, but after all the decades in hiding, MALATESTA'S CARNIVAL OF BLOOD turns out to be a minor effort at best, albeit a very weird one.
The
main problem is the loose narrative. Sure, there are surreal sets and images,
eerie dreamlike sequences, and a generous amount of gruesomeness, but it's as
if director Speeth dived in with the intentions of creating an instant cult
hit but came up short. The story has an unfriendly middle-aged couple (Elizabeth
Henn and Paul Hostetler) and their teenage daughter Vena (Janine Carazo) moving
into the grounds of a carnival, as they are apparently new investors. The whole
show is run by the rarely seen but oft-mentioned Malatesta (Daniel Dietrich,
who also had a small role in DAWN OF THE DEAD). Malatesta's main man is the
brilliantly named Mr. Blood (Jerome Dempsey) who deadpans sinister gibberish
as he caters to the normal guests/victims and later sports vampire fangs. Most
of the workers are pail-faced ghouls with a clear taste for human flesh. Young
Vena has it the worst as she enters a bizarre netherworld in which there seems
to be no escape from.
Although the film contains no sex, the bloodshed goes so far as to show the ghouls devouring their human meals, as well as a head being severed during a nightly rollercoaster ride. Other weirdo characters include a transvestite fortune teller (Lenny Baker), a pasty lazy-eyed groundskeeper (William Preston, best known in his later years for comic appearances on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien"), and before his "Fantasy Island" TV fame, Hervé Villechaize (top-billed on the DVD cover as "Hervé de Villechaize") as an annoying dwarf named Bobo who spurts obnoxious French-accented dialog. The eccentric characters watch silent Lon Chaney films and eat flesh in some sort of homage that goes nowhere, and the title character doesn't do much but look sinister in his long hair and black cape. Similarities to films like CARNIVAL OF SOULS and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD are apparent, but it doesn't make the 74-minute MALATESTA'S CARNIVAL OF BLOOD a "lost classic" or even comparable to similar well-meaning 70s era gems like LEMORA or MESSIAH OF EVIL. It's wonderful that this film has finally been unearthed, but its cult status will either rise or remain dormant depending on the tastes of long-curious DVD buyers.
It
seems that only one print of this film was found, and that was used for this
new DVD transfer, conducted at American Zoetrope Studios of all places. Appropriately
letterboxed, but non-anamorphic, the transfer is satisfying, all things taken
into consideration. Emulsion scratches and lines are mostly relegated to the
first few minutes, and print damage is minimal there afterwards. The whole show
has nice picture detail, although color fading manages to rear its ugly head
in many scenes. The mono audio is very clear, with occasional scratchiness in
check.
Extras include a couple of minutes of outtakes that display more graphic gut munching, including the disturbing site of a girl ghoul munching on a man's head (this was stuff that was cut before the film's theatrical release). Also included is a brief black and white still gallery, but even though TV spots exist, none are presented here and there is no trailer either.
I'm certain many of you out there are going to want to check this DVD out, apparently manufactured by the filmmaker himself. If you have trouble finding it, try Amazon.com or the official Malatesta's Carnival of Blood Website. Maybe they'll respond to you, they didn't respond to me. (George R. Reis)