Blood Sucking Freaks – Vinegar Syndrome (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1976
Director: Joel M. Reed
Writer: Joel M. Reed
Cast: Seamus O'Brien, Viju Krem, Niles McMaster, Dan Fauci, Alan Dellay, Ernie Pysher, Luis De Jesus, Helen Thompson, Ellen Faison

Release Date: October 31st, 2023
Approximate Running Time: 89 Minutes 23 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $44.98

"Sardu, with the help of his dwarf servant Ralphus, operates New York’s most controversial theatre, Sardu's Theatre of the Macabre, where each performance is an expertly staged display of gruesome acts of torture. Divisive as his take on “entertainment” might be, arrogant theatre critic, Creasy Silo, is having none of it and makes it his mission to put an end to Sardu’s grisly “dramas.” However, what audiences and critics alike do not realize is that each of these shocking shows is completely real; with innocent nude women being maimed and murdered live on stage! When Sardu sets his eyes on beautiful ballerina Natasha, he’s immediately smitten and determines that she must “star” in his next production, whether she wants to or not, and that her stage partner will be none other than Creasy Silo…" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5 (4K UHD), 4/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Newly scanned and restored in 4K from its 35mm internegative."

Blood Sucking Freaks comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 60.3 GB

Feature: 60.1 GB

The source used for this new transfer is in great shape; it is easily the best Blood Sucking Freaks has ever looked. Flesh tones and colors look correct, contrast and black levels are strong, image clarity and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Blood Sucking Freaks comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45 GB

Feature: 24.6 GB

The Blu-ray uses the same source as the 4K UHD does for its transfer.

Audio: 4.25/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH. The audio has been cleaned up; it is in great shape. That said, there are limitations due to this film’s low budget. Fortunately, dialog always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise, things sound very good.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an archival commentary with Eli Rot, Blood Sucking Freaks fan and filmmaker, and an audio commentary with John Szpunar, author of Blood Sucking Freak: The Life and Films of the Incredible Joel M. Reed.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include an alternate title sequence (1 minute 2 seconds, Dolby Digital mono), an archival interview with Chris Jericho, Blood Sucking Freaks fan and professional wrestler (14 minutes 36 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with Eli Roth (20 minutes 11 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles), archival cast and crew interviews (3 minutes 52 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles), an archival introduction by Lloyd Kaufman (2 minutes 36 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH), Cinema Wasteland hotel room archival interview with director Joel M. Reed (24 minutes 39 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival Q&A with Joel M. Reed (55 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival live commentary from a 2009 screening with Joel M. Reed, Art Ettinger and Ken Kish (93 minutes 37 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a featurette titled Freaks Come Out at the Drive-In about the TROMA-THON 2023 screening of BLOOD SUCKING FREAKS at the Mahoning Drive-In Theater in Lehighton, PA - including an interview with Troma president Lloyd Kaufman (14 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH).

Other extras include reversible cover art and a double-sided magnetically reversible embossed slipcover limited to 7,000 units.

Summary:

Directed by Joel M. Reed, who only directed six films. Notable films he directed are Blood Bath and Blood Sucking Freaks.

The narrative revolves around Sardu, a sadistic showman who, with the help of his pint-sized assistant Ralphus, performs actual live acts of torture under the guise that what they are doing is simply magic.

From the moment that Sardu arrives on the screen, it is obvious that he is an unscrupulous man who thrives on others pain and suffering. In this opening moment, he performs for an unruly crowd that is not impressed with what he is showing them. Wanting to get them on his side, he continues to up the ante in his blood and guts magic show. When his first victim dies and the crowd still believes that everything is just a show, he then proceeds to saw off another woman’s hand. And this is just the beginning of how far he and his minions are willing to go to satisfy their bloodlust.

The bulk of the narrative centers around Sardu’s kidnapping of a famous ballerina that he wants to star in his next production. Unfortunately for him, her football star boyfriend enlists the help of the police, who are hell bent on uncovering the secrets that hide within Sardu’s dungeon of terror.

Of course, like any investigation, this is slow-moving, and along the way, a few more women are dismembered. And each in their own unique way, there is a pair of women, Sardu and Ralphus, who cut body parts whenever one of them loses to the other in a game of chess. And another moment of gruesome brutality includes a scene where a woman bound to a chair has all of her teeth removed and her head shaved before receiving electroshock therapy. Also, let’s not forget that cannibal women are locked in cages.

As you can clearly see, there is never a shortage of something eye-opening occurring onscreen as things move along briskly from one moment of bloodletting to the next. All of the moments of dismemberment are very effective and most definitely not for the faint of heart.

From a performance standpoint, Blood Sucking Freaks is clearly carried by Seamus O’Brien in the role of Sardu and Luis De Jesus in the role of Ralphus. They have a tremendous amount of chemistry and enthusiasm for what they are doing. And though not as enigmatic as the two aforementioned performances, the rest of the cast far exceeds the limitations of their respective roles.

Reportedly, Blood Sucking Freaks was originally intended to be viewed as a black comedy. And though the gruesome moments of sadism are the ones that most viewers seem to latch onto, the humor is still there, waiting to be discovered if one goes into this film with the right mindset. Ultimately, what Blood Sucking Freaks lacks in plot more than makes up for with its shocking imagery and subversive humor.

Blood Sucking Freaks gets a definitive release from Vinegar Syndrome, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer