Night of the Blood Beast/Attack of the Giant Leaches (Blu-Ray)
**The Blu-Ray/DVD from Film Masters of “Night of the Blood Beast” will be available on November 12, 2024. This is a review of not just the feature, but the Blu-Ray edition. The grade for this will be for the main movie itself; the set grades will be featured in the body.
“Night of the Blood Beast” (1958)
One of the unique benefits Film Masters has provided me since this series began was watching films I’d only seen on “Mystery Science Theater 3000” in their original form, and giving me a reason to comment on them. True, I could have found “Night of the Blood Beast” on my own and watched it earlier in life, but this process of discovery allows for it to be placed in a bit more historical context, which is something I’m always curious about.
This 1958 film, written by Gene Corman and Martin Varno and directed by Bernard L. Kowalski, is a barely hour-long sci-fi/horror mashup about the aftermath of an astronaut returning to Earth. He was killed, but he finds himself still surviving, as a deadly alien monster takes control of his body as it acclimates to our planet.
There’s not much to this film at all- it’s essentially like so many other ’50s sci-fi/horror hybrids, albeit while attempting to graft on a bit of “The Day the Earth Stood Still” moralizing- and your mileage will depend on how much you can get into schlock. It’s silly and I enjoyed it for what it was, and appreciated the absurdity of its monster design. Fans of the era, I think, will like it. The hour flies by.
Blu-Ray Presentation
The way that Film Masters cleans these films up is just a delight to see. The restoration of “Night of the Blood Beast” looks like a fresh print, with image and a soundtrack that looks (and sounds) as good as it can. To help frame that for us, we get a side-by-side comparison of what was scanned into the computer, and then the end result, as well as a look at the film’s 8mm presentation. In addition to a commentary by Tom Weaver, alternate viewing options include a TV-framed version of the film (I watched the theatrical framing for this review), as well as the “Mystery Science Theater 3000” episode featuring the film. We also get a restored trailer, archival stills in slideshow form, as well as an essay by Weaver in the set’s color booklet. Another winner of a presentation.
Film Grade: C+
Audio & Video: A
Bonus Features: A
“Attack of the Giant Leaches” (1959)
Movies like “Night of the Blood Beast” and “Attack of the Giant Leeches” are best enjoyed as tolerable silliness. They were made on the cheap as a way of making some coin from the hybrid of sci-fi and horror that was prevalent in the 1950s as the Cold War ramped up, and the potential terrors were being considered by Hollywood. I’m not looking for high art in a movie about giant leeches and rednecks; I’m looking for ridiculous moviemaking, and this delivers.
That we don’t really see the leeches until about halfway through this film’s 62-minute running time feels like a mistake. The first thing we see is a victim whose body looks like it’s been sucked dry of blood, and one of the town’s folk swears a monster is in the swamp. They get laughed off. Then we get to know the toxic marriage of a pretty blonde and an oaf; when the oaf finds her with another man, he chases them into the swamp, but they are carried away by the leeches. Then, a search for bodies commences.
The story of a film like this is only tangentially supposed to make sense; it basically exists to get to the premise, and the monster. One of the things you realize in watching films like this is that it matters that a filmmaker can accomplish a film like this without making it just stupid. Kowalski accomplishes that much, and even if the film is not good in a typical sense of the word, it delivers what we hope it will in the moment. That’s enough.
Blu-Ray Presentation
For “Attack of the Leeches,” Film Masters very much treats it like the B-side of a single- we get some exclusive additions, but it’s still supporting the main event. The film’s HD scan gives it new life without scrubbing it of its low-budget flaws, and it’s a wonder to behold. We also get a commentary track by Tom Weaver here (he also supplies an essay in the booklet), as well as a re-created trailer and still slideshow. In terms of alternate viewing options, we get the “Mystery Science Theater 3000” episode for the film, and the disc concludes with a documentary about Kowalski’s career.
Film Grade: C+
Audio & Video: A-
Bonus Features: A
Roger Corman B-movies are a unique breed, and once again, I’m grateful for Film Masters for giving me a reason to watch so many of them through their sets.
