Night of Bloody Horror (1969) is neither very good nor sophisticated, but I’ll be darned if I didn’t like it quite a bit. After the trying experience of watching Bigfoot (1970) for a guest appearance on The Die Cast Movie Podcast, the opening felt familiar in tone and style. However, something grabbed me and I remained interested through the end.
First, if anyone remembers Gerald McRaney from Simon & Simon (1981-89), this was his first acting credit, and he used to be young and thin with a full head of hair… somewhat attractive one might say. And I’d add, unrecognizable. If anything, he sometimes resembled Louis Edmonds, who was none of those things when he played Roger Collins on Dark Shadows.
Then again, the quality of the print on the Shoreline Entertainment/Leomark blu-ray, and I suspect anywhere else, was horrible. Dark and murky, I was unable to identify the details of what was happening at certain points. Luckily, the plot is not that complex. Or is it? That’s what I liked most about it: the plot.
Without giving direct spoilers, those familiar with the psychological horror/thriller subgenres might find the story like a reverse version of the great-grandaddy of them all. In a movie that’s not necessarily subtle, the clues to an alternative solution of a mystery surrounding the identity of a killer may seem barely worth noticing.
There’s a fork in the road where either the screenplay by Joy N. Houck Jr. and Robert A. Weaver is sloppy and logistically impossible, or McRaney’s character, Wesley Stuart, recently released from an asylum after the trauma of accidentally killing his brother 18 years ago, couldn’t be the killer… could he?
The direction by Houck Jr. and cinematography by Weaver features some interesting angles and shots but made me long for a clean print. The judicious use of music also sets it apart from most films of the kind by letting us decide when we’re supposed to be shocked or frightened… and there are moments that would produce such reactions.
The creative duo was also involved in various combinations with producer Albert J. Salzer in bringing us The Night of the Stangler (1972) and Creature from Black Lake (1976), a cult favorite that I rated the same as this. The experience almost makes me want to watch Houck Jr.’s second film, the exploitatively delicious sounding, Women & Bloody Terror (1970.)
Finally, as we’ve discussed before, we might actually be blessed to have the murky print because it masks any special effects imperfections. In his only movie, makeup artist Philip St. Jon (I assume) attempts axes in the chest, severed limbs, and other atrocities with far better results than I’ve seen in movies like Night of Bloody Horror.
You can also watch it on one of these streaming services:
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