Michael_Elliott Bloodsucking Freaks (1976) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Joel M. Reed's notorious exploitation flick about an off, off Broadway show being hosted by Sardu (Seamus O'Brien), which advertises "torture" but it is in fact real torture. Sardu and his dwarf assistant Ralphus (Luis De Jesus) keeps a group of women chained up with the sole purpose of killing them on stage. Sardu eventually decides to kidnap a ballerina (Natasha Di Natalie) so that he can impress (and kill) a critic who sees him as trash. Soon her football star boyfriend (Niles McMaster) and a crooked detective (Dan Fauci) are trying to find out what's really going on. Also known as THE INCREDIBLE TORTURE SHOW, this film became best known under the BLOODSUCKING FREAKS title and there's no question that it's quite vile, disgusting, sexist, revolting and just about every other negative word you can think of. With that said, there's something so beautifully bizarre and weird with this picture that, if you can stomach it, you can't help but have some dirty fun with it. Yes, technically speaking there's really nothing impressive here and you could bash some of the bad acting and poor effects but why hate? Yes, this is an extremely low-budget movie and we could nitpick it to death but you can't get over the fact that this thing picks up new fans each and every year.I think what makes this film work so well is the simple fact that it's downright bizarre. It almost seems like a group of friends just got together to make a movie and decided to come up with the craziest situations they could think of. There are numerous torture sequences here, which are so over-the-top that you can't help but laugh at them. Unlike many exploitation films, this one here is shockingly not mean- spirited and this here is another reason it works. This actually plays quite well as a black comedy and there's no doubt that you'll be laughing at how silly some of the stuff is. Just take a look at the cannibal women living in the basement. Watch the "doctor" scene and the brain drilling. Just the way this scene plays out is meant to make your stomach sick and you to laugh at how crazy it actually is.The film will always be remembered for how crazy it is and there's no doubt that the violence and gore is so over-the-top that you often can't believe what you're watching. The non-stop nudity is another thing the film is notorious for and when you combine all of this stuff it's easy to see why it earned (and deserved) the X-rating. It should also be noted at how fun the cast is. Seamus O'Brien, who was murdered shortly after the film was released, is simply charming in the lead role and De Jesus is also a blast as the assistant. Fauci is also entertaining in the role of the crooked detective and especially the wonderful way he delivers the lines.BLOODSUCKING FREAKS certainly isn't going to be a movie for everyone. In fact, the overwhelming majority are going to be highly offended and disgusted by it, which is a good thing if you're a fan of exploitation. Any movie that continues to shock nearly forty-years after it was made means that it was done correctly.

oulamies What a freak show. This movie takes you to the weird world of Sardu's Theater of the Macabre, where Sardu and his assistant Ralphus torture and manipulate young women on and off stage.Just the great 70s exploitation atmosphere combined with shameless violence and nudity (nearly every female in this film is naked) makes this film an accidental masterpiece. But in order to find this movie entertaining, you need a really messed up sense of humour. Here's torture, murder, slavery, cannibalism, necrophilia, masochism and other bizarre things. I could list plenty of great scenes and moments from this film, but i don't want to spoil anything if you haven't seen Blood Sucking Freaks yet.This is a must-see for exploitation fans and for those who think that today's cinema is lame and want to see something completely inappropriate. Sardu will show you fantasies far beyond erotica!

fidelio74 'The Incredible Torture Show', retitled 'Bloodsucking Freaks' by Troma for its 1980s re-release, is a difficult film to rate. Technically, it is dreadful; amateurish filmmaking at its worst. It is also incredibly depraved and debases and insults women. But at the same time, there is a vein of black, black humour running through the amoral proceedings which makes the film entertaining in a very perverse sort of way.Master Sardu (Seamus O'Brien) runs a theatre which offers a grand guignol show to the unsuspecting public. What they do not realise is that the murders 'depicted' on stage are actually real. Sardu keeps a group of naked women imprisoned backstage; these female actors are promoted on the film's poster as the 'caged sexoids'. I would love to hear feminist author Camille Paglia's take on this film! Upon the film's theatrical release in 1976, it was picketed by the women's group Women Against Pornography (WAP), who were outraged at the movie's blatant sexism and misuse of females. Along with the humour, there is a very nasty misogynistic streak about this film. A case in point: at one stage Sardu is eating his dinner. Sounds fairly innocent, right? It is, except that his 'table' is the back of a naked woman upon her hands and knees. To add insult to injury, Sardu has a candle burning, and its hot wax is running directly onto the poor woman's bare flesh. Then he slaps her irritably and tells her to keep still! A date movie this most definitely is not.Niles McMaster appears as Tom Maverick, a professional footballer whose partner (Rita Montone), a ballet dancer, has been kidnapped by Sardu and his midget assistant Ralphus (Luis De Jesus, credited as Louie de Jesus). Sardu brainwashes her and forces her to dance in his twisted show. McMaster played Dominick 'Dom' Spages in Alfred Sole's underrated horror film 'Alice, Sweet Alice' AKA 'Communion' AKA 'Holy Terror', and Rita Montone appears as a hooker in the horrific 'Maniac'.Sardu is also involved in white slavery, and at one point transacts business with a white slave dealer played by Alphonso DeNoble (credited simply as Alphonso). Like Niles McMaster, DeNoble was also in 'Alice, Sweet Alice'; he played the sweaty, obese landlord who is graphically stabbed to death.'The Incredible Torture Show' is a notorious film - notorious for its graphic violence and relentless humiliation and torture of women. It deserves every bit of its notoriety. This film will offend and disgust, so proceed at your own risk. In one memorable scene, a disgraced doctor performs a little do-it-yourself brain surgery upon a hapless victim; this is just a taste of what to expect from this movie.Do not worry, though, because the evil Sardu does get his comeuppance in the final reel. Just when you thought the film could not get any worse, we are treated to the coup de grace: a filthy, naked woman biting ravenously into a 'sandwich' whose meat is Sardu's severed penis! Like I said, proceed at your own risk.

toyman1967 I just got done watching this vile, disgusting, utterly repulsive piece of cinema............and I loved it!!!!!! This MUST be the inspiration for Eli Roth's Hostel. There are MANY OMG moments in this "movie" but my favorites were the "doctor" drinking the brains and blood out of a woman's skull with a straw, the midget getting "head" from a decapitated body and the "ass" dartboard. Listen for the sound effects when the midget pulls the darts out. UGH!!!!! The makers of this movie are not what we call normal. They set out to make a nauseating, sick, perverted movie and they succeeded on doing just that. I like my horror movies off-the-wall and that describes this one to a tee. If that is your type of horror film, then this is for you. The Jason, Freddy and Michael Myers type need not apply.