The Thirsty Dead

 The Thirsty Dead is a 1974 horror/adventure fantasy film, directed by Terry Becker. The stars includes John Considine, Jennifer Billingsley and Tani Guthrie. 

Beautiful young women are kidnapped from the streets of Manila, then escorted to a secret location in the middle of a jungle. There are caves within a mountain that seems like a paradise, until it's learned that the strange rulers there are immortals who need fresh blood from the women. 

This was released on VHS with the title "Blood Hunt" and an alternative scene, which is the escape cut out by 25 seconds. The cult worships a severed head and drinks blood taken from prisoners, who are all women. The director is also this  film's writer. He was involved in directing other projects including MASH and The Brady Bunch. Not really a horror film but certainly fun.

I rate this jungle loon 6/10.

Blood Strawberry   

The Werewolf Reunion

"The Werewolf Reunion" is a British supernatural film made in 1977. It was directed by Simon Langton, with the cast that includes Billie Whitelaw, Ian Hendry and Charles Kay. 

The strange circumstances of a count's death and his widow, countess Ilona, invites a number of selected guests at a dinner. There's rumours of a werewolf and the castle is very isolated, dark and gloomy. The countess picked her former lovers to the meeting, and they all wonder if she was involved in the death of her husband. Meanwhile, a boy upstairs that likes eating candied fruit is watched by his witch nurse and something else is lurking outside. 

The film is also called Countess Ilona, and it's narrated by a mysterious character who you get to discover later on. There are plenty of interesting pieces of info, clues and always a sense of fear. Besides the fact the servants of the castle are loyal to the countess, the four invited guests are not so keen. Some of the dialogue is long winded, although this makes a worthwhile gothic drama. The film has been divided into a series of two episodes. I rate this an overcast 6/10.

Blood Strawberry

Dinosaurus (1960)

This is a fantasy adventure film made in 1960. It was directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. and the acting cast consists of Ward Ramsey, Kristina Hanson and Lukather. 

Two dinosaurs are found in the sea, frozen in time and brought to shore. It's set on a tropical island and the main villain of the story scares an orphan boy away, so that he ends up getting lost in the forest. At night there is a thunderstorm and it wakens the two dinosaurs, and also a caveman who was washed up on the beach. When the dinosaurs begin fighting and causing havoc, there's no way of leaving the island itself because the storm disabled all power including phones. 

There are some funny scenes with the caveman and the T-rex being whacked in the face by an excavator! It's implied that the carnivore T-rex has eaten people by showing blood all over its jaws! The special effects used stop-motion animation, with the same forest and one of the dinosaurs reappearing in another film "The Odyssey of Flight 33." I rate this popcorn dinosaur flick 7/10.

Blood Strawberry 

Grave of the Vampire

Grave of the Vampire is a 1972 horror film directed by John Hayes, and the cast includes William Smith, Michael Pataki and Lyn Peters. A young woman is attacked by a vampire in a graveyard, and her boyfriend is murdered, then she discovers that she's pregnant by the vampire. Her baby son is born with unusual needs for blood instead of milk. Years pass and the vampire child grows up into a man, seeking out his horrific dangerous bloodthirsty vampire father! 

The character of the vampire is named Caleb Croft and is also a vampire character from horror novels by Kim Newman. The first part of the film is set during the 1940's, and the second part with the vampire offspring as an adult is set in the present 1970's. However, the hairstyles from the supposed 40's are a little 70's looking! The character Anne is the blonde damsel in distress, loved by both father and son vampires. Caleb or Charles, the main lead father/vampire rejected the advances of jezebel character Anita. Quite eerie, gory, dark scenes that are  barely visible and some interesting night class. I rate this nice horror a creamy coffee flavoured 6/10. 

Blood Strawberry   

Hannah, Queen of the Vampires

This is a 1973 horror film made by Spanish and Americans. Directed by Julio Salvador and Ray Danton. The stars includes Andrew Prine, Teresa Gimpera and Mark Damon. 

A man arrives to Turkish island in the hope of burying his dead father, who was working there in archaeology. He finds that his father's remains are inside a mysterious crypt with a strange tomb of a scary woman named Hannah, that died centuries before. The lid of the tomb shows a statue of Hannah with a wolf. By disturbing the tomb to get to his father, he wakes up the sleeping vampire queen. 

This is a creepy and interesting story. Hannah is the beautiful vampire who can transform into a wolf. The plant wolfbane is called "dogbane" in this film. This has a beautiful and eerie look, which makes up for the vampire queen not saying anything but screech. Another version of this was made in black and white, but only in colour is the vivid tiara worn by Hannah so mesmerising. This was also called "Young Hannah, Queen of the Vampires," "Crypt of the Living Dead" and "Vampire Woman". I rate this a fangtastic 8/10.

Blood Strawberry