What do you get when you cross Thanksgiving with a horror movie, an anti-drug morality play with a biker movie, and some hardcore Christian propaganda thrown in for good measure? You get the 1972 exploitation film Blood Freak, heralded on the cover of the Something Weird DVD cover as "The World's Only Turkey-Monster-Anti-Drug-Pro-Jesus-Gore Film!" This film is so bizarre in fact that even the most jaded cult movie lovers find it mesmerizing in its badness. Shot on a literal shoestring budget by a nudist filmmaker and an ex-Tarzan wannabe in Miami, Florida, Blood Freak is the type of movie that needs to be seen to be believed; a cinematic train wreck of bad acting, bad writing, lighting problems, continuity problems, fake blood, looped audio, and a horrifying, gigantic paper mache turkey head.

The story begins as Herschell (named in honor of another Floridian gore filmmaker, Herschell Gordon Lewis, and played by former muscleman Steve Hawkes) is riding down the road on his chopper. He's a hunky beefcake version of Elvis, with bulging muscles and mutton chops, polished off in a pair of tight 1970's slacks. He notices a young girl stranded on the side of the road (Heather Hughes) and decides to stop and help her. The girl's name is Angel and she takes him back to her house where her sister Anne (Dana Cullivan) and her stoner friends are having a drug party in the living room. Angel immediately admonishes their behavior as ungodly, and she quickly makes it clear to Herschell that she only gets high on the Bible. Anne notices the new meat in the room and tries to get Herschell to join the party. He refuses and Anne, angry at the rejection, plots her revenge.

Meanwhile, in between scenes a narrator (played by director Brad Grinter) appears on the screen, much like an even more low-rent version of Criswell from the Ed Wood films. Grinter looks like he's being filmed sitting at a desk in his wood-paneled basement, reading off a piece of paper, and chain smoking. Grinter provides some food for thought as the plot unravels, giving viewers some spiritual insight to the narrative. As he explains how the human body is a temple and warns against the use of drugs and excessive consumption, he practically chokes to death on his own cigarette!

Soon Angel takes Herschell to see her father, who gives him a job on his turkey farm. As Herschell is now working and living at the house, Anne eventually seduces him into smoking pot and having sex with her. Like in many anti-drug films, Herschell goes crazy after this first drug experience and becomes a full blown addict, desperate for more, more, more. Simultaneously, Herschell meets two co-workers on the turkey farm that offer him drugs in exchange for his participation in an experiment they're conducting: they need someone to eat the chemically altered turkey meat they've created. Being that Herschell needs a fix pretty bad, he agrees to do it. After eating huge man-sized portions of the turkey, Herschell immediately starts twitching in a psychotic spasm. He convulses in the back yard and foams at the mouth until he passes out. One of the doctors discovers him, and thinking he's dead, tries to bury his body in the backyard to cover the evidence. As it turns out, Herschell is not dead...in fact, he's come back a psychotic killer, complete with an enormous turkey head and a craving for the human blood of drug addicts! Who will be his next victim? Can Angel save him or does Anne continue to further his addiction? Does he eventually find God...or will he be the next meal on the dinner table?

Blood Freak is truly a film oddity, a movie with so many insane plot twists and production flaws that some film critics can't believe it even existed. Not much information exists about the actual production and the DVD release from Something Weird Video appears to be the only distribution source for this wacko film (it was never released on home video and director Grinter died in 1993). Any fan of Psychotronic Cinema needs to see this film for themselves as they would never believe anyone else's description of it. It's that freaking unbelievable.

Director: Brad F. Grinter, Steve Hawkes
Screenplay: Brad F. Grinter, Steve Hawkes
Music: Gil Ward
Film Editing: Gil Ward
Sound: Randy Grinter
Cast: Steve Hawkes (Herschell), Dana Cullivan (Anne), Heather Hughes (Angel), Bob Currier, Anne Shearin, Linda Past, Sandy Kneelen, Domink Grutta.
C-86m.

by Millie De Chirico