Leofwine_draca A gory Italian horror made on a shoestring budget at the fag-end of the genre's popularity, BLOOD DELIRIUM is an often disturbing look at psychological terror and madness that recalls Joe D'Amato's BLUE HOLOCAUST amongst other films. Although much of the graphic violence is implied rather than explicitly shown, this is still an exceptionally sleazy film that mixes in themes of dementia, sexual perversion, necrophilia and sadism into one unwholesome brew. Drawing on the acting talents of two acting stalwarts better known for their contributions to the Euro-action genre, director Sergio Bergonzelli rises above his material by creating a complex and intelligent story only occasionally let down by unwanted cheesy supernatural effects which dispel the realism that the film strives to create elsewhere. The version of this film I watched was a poor dupe of the Greek original and somehow the bad quality of the film added to the effect, giving it a dirty feel all round.The best thing about this film is the sleazy atmosphere of perversion and death which favourably recalls such Gothic classics from the golden age of Italian horror as Freda's THE TERRIBLE DR. HICHCOCK. Bergonzelli does well with his story, keeping it afresh with a steady pace (despite not much in the way of action happening) and inventive camera-work. The film mixes together such diverse elements as doppelgangers, ghosts, and supernatural intervention; physical horror, with maggoty skulls and bodies being hacked up and disposed of in an acid bath; mock heroics toward the end of the production, and a sub-plot involving the use of blood as paint which seems to recall 1965's COLOR ME BLOOD RED. The ending is way over the top and comes straight out of left field, but is oddly appropriate for such a weird, disjointed production.John Phillip Law (NO TIME TO DIE) takes the lead as the troubled artist with a Van Gogh obsession who finds his imagination sorely diminished after the death of his wife, and must contend with madness and psychopathy from both outside and in. However, he is upstaged here by the great Gordon Mitchell (THE GIANT OF METROPOLIS) in his last major film appearance as the sleazy and sexually perverted butler, Herman. Mitchell gives it his all as the insane but faithful butler without going over the top, giving a scarily convincing portrayal of an unhinged mind and stealing his scenes every time - a really good performance and, I'm inclined to say, one of his best ever. Along with the sleazy gore scenes, the film packed in tons of female nudity (the opening sequence has a woman wandering around topless for about fifteen minutes) to "up" the exploitation content and the end result is an unfairly neglected slice of Italian madness that ranks up there with some of the best of the country's horror output - a puzzle then, as to why this has been forgotten when much trashier fare is still lauded to this day.

The_Void Blood Delirium is an almost completely unknown Italian horror film and, apparently, is partially lost as certain scenes from the 'uncut' version of the movie have never been seen as the uncut version remains unreleased anywhere in the world. The film is directed by Sergio Bergonzelli; the oddball director best known for his bizarre and often-disliked Giallo 'In the Folds of Flesh', and anyone who saw that film is likely to have an idea of what to expect as this director apparently doesn't do ordinary! The storyline is something of a crossover between the Giallo and horror genres and focuses on a painter. Charles Saint Simone has lived with his butler in his castle ever since the death of his wife. He's lost all inspiration for his painting; but that changes suddenly one day when he meets a young woman who is the spitting image of his deceased lover. His inspiration returns...but it isn't until he discovers the colour of blood that his love for painting goes into overdrive.The film stars John Philip Law; the star better known for his leading role in Mario Bava's Danger: Diabolik. He puts in a solid performance in the lead role, although he is eclipsed somewhat by Gordon Mitchell who co-stars as the butler. The two have a good chemistry together and their perverse characters work well. The 'clever' part of the film comes from the fact that the story is intertwined with Vincent Van Gogh's life. While this is a good and interesting little horror film; I do have to admit that I am just a little bit bemused by the overall positive reaction it gets from the people that have seen it. It's clear that Bergonzelli did not have the biggest budget to work with, but the film is not as great as it could have been given the ideas and the storyline. There are a few memorably shocking scenes; although I do wonder just what was cut out. Overall, I am glad I saw this film and it is well worth tracking down if you can find a copy; but I'm not as wild about it as the others that have seen it.

HumanoidOfFlesh I can't believe that Sergio Bergonzelli's "Blood Delirium" has such low rating.I guess that some people can't even recognize a good movie."Blood Delirium"/"Delirio di Sangue" deals with dark love and obsession.It's creepy,sleazy and gruesome-it has scenes of necrophilia,dismemberment and several rather repulsive images.The film is well-acted and stylish.In the broad form "Blood Delirium" is another Italian shocker that sometimes seems to aspire to be a drama-what sets it apart is the overbearing perversion.The film is extremely hard to find,so if you get the chance grab the copy and treasure it.8 out of 10!

rundbauchdodo This extremely rare Italian film (the only ever video release I know is the Greek one - it probably was never released even in its country of origin) is a thoroughly interesting movie, even though the production values are very low and it is, without a doubt, an oddball of a movie.John Phillip Law is a troubled painter on the edge of madness; his slightly psychotic state of mind becomes worse as his wife, who always gave him inspiration and faith, dies. Soon after her death he discovers his butler (played nicely sickening by Gordon Mitchell) trying to rape her corpse, which fills him with fury, but he needs the butler as an assistant because he would be helpless without him. After his wife is buried, the painter doesn't feel any inspiration anymore and is unable to get a painting done. So he decides to get his wife back and steals her corpse from the cemetery (with a help of the butler, of course). At the opening of his latest exhibition, he meets Sybille, a woman that resembles his wife almost like a twin sister. He invites her to his lonely castle, and at first, she likes it there. But the painter's state of mind gets worse, even though she gives him new confidence. Problem is that his inspiration stays missing, until his butler kills a girl and he realizes how beautiful blood is. He starts to use blood as "the color of life", while the butler has to dispose from the bodies. When the woman discovers this, she has to be kept hostage in the lonely castle...The story sounds a little bit like a retelling of Herschell Gordon Lewis's "Color Me Blood Red" from 1965, but this isn't the case. This one is rather a horror drama that somehow falls between the two genres: For a drama, it is too much exploitation, and for a horror film, it is too dramatic and not exploitation enough for not to write not gory enough.Law and Mitchell are strikingly convincing in their roles of rather perverse characters, and the sound track adds to the atmosphere, although it doesn't seem to be always appropriate to the melancholy mood of the picture. The film also contains supernatural elements that are hardly convincing but somehow still fit into this weird work.Director Bergonzelli is probably best known for his psychedelic giallo "Nelle Pieghe Della Carne" (aka In the Folds of the Flesh) from 1970. in one scene, he even repeats an element of his earlier film: The butler disposes of the bodies by putting them into sulfuric acid - the same way the protagonists do it in "Nelle Pieghe". And the atmosphere in "Delirio di Sangue" contains also some rather psychedelic attitudes, if not that obvious.It seems clear that Bergonzelli, who also wrote the screenplay, was inspired by the life and madness of Vincent van Gogh, a portrait of whom hangs on the wall of the painter's working room. Needless to say that the notion of van Gogh makes a scene with an ear that gets cut off necessary - and the viewer won't get disappointed.All in all, "Delirio di Sangue" is a wonderfully strange piece of celluloid. I assume that most viewers would consider it as a piece of crap, because it's made on a very low budget, neither delivers any action packed moments nor even scenes of excessive gore or sympathetic dramatic protagonists you could identify with. It's a quite nihilistic film, with an oddly repulsive plot, which makes it unique in a certain way.A very interesting film that is far too little known, but which won't be appreciated by a broad audience, I guess. My rating: 7 out of 10.