Blood Thirst 4286103 219831680 2008-06-17T01:51:13Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other {{Infobox Film | name = Blood Thirst | image = | image_size = | caption = | director = [[Newt Arnold]] | producer = Newt Arnold | writer = N.I.P. Dennis | narrator = | starring = Yvonne Nielson<br />Robert Winston<br />Judy Dennis | music = | cinematography = | editing = | distributor = | released = [[1971 in film|1971]] | runtime = | country = [[U.S.A.]] / [[Philippines]] | language = [[English language|English]] | budget = | preceded_by = | followed_by = | website = | amg_id = | imdb_id = 0066847 }} '''''Blood Thirst''''', also known as ''Blood Seekers'' and ''The Horror from Beyond'', is a 1971 [[Horror film]] directed by Newt Arnold and shot in the [[Philippines]]. It tells of an American [[detective]] investigating a series of [[vampire|vampiric]] murders linked to a [[Manila]] [[nightclub]]. The film starred Robert Winston as detective Adam Rourke. Winston bore a strong resemblance to actor [[Anthony Perkins]], and he brought a jokey, swaggering presence to the film. He spends much of his screen time swilling [[cocktail]]s, shooting shadowy [[villain]]s, and seducing his female lead, actress Judy Dennis, a haggard [[Audrey Hepburn]] [[doppelgänger]] who never appeared in another film. Winston's tough-guy character is somewhat sabotaged by a pronounced [[lisp]], and his character's habit of engaging himself in extended quizzical [[monologue]]s, which Winston does with a lopsided half-smile, makes his limning of Rourke decidedly [[Eccentricity (behavior)|eccentric]]. The film's plot, scripted by N.I.P. Dennis in his only listed film credit, is frequently nonsensical, involving a [[South America]]n [[belly dance]]r, played by Yvonne Nielson, who has uncovered an ancient [[Aztec]] secret for eternal life, involving regular [[blood transfusion]]s. To this end, she has enlisted the aid of a Filipino club owner whose visage turns monsterous when he is stalking his prey; his character makeup here bears an uncanny resemblance to the makeup for [[Troma]]'s [[Toxic Avenger]]. The film features lush black and white photography in the tradition of American [[Film noir|noir]], including a near [[chiaroscuro]] obsession with light and shadow that is unexpectedly effective. ''Blood Thirst'' also relies on a canned [[jazz]] score that too-often sounds like [[burlesque]] compositions. A scene in which Judy Dennis creeps through an underground [[dungeon]] is undermined by a [[Little Egypt (dancer)|Little Egypt]]-style bump and grind number. ''Blood Thirst'' was reportedly filmed in the 1960s but not released until the early 70s, where it mostly played the American [[grindhouse]] circuit, where it must have looked terribly dated alongside such lurid [[Exploitation film|exploitation]] [[auteur]]s as [[Herschell Gordon Lewis]]. ==External links== * {{imdb title|id=0066847|title=Blood Thirst}} [[Category:1971 films]] [[Category:American films]] [[Category:English-language films]] {{1970s-horror-film-stub}}