I gave Lucio Fulci the hallowed God of Horror treatment and now it is time to give Herschell Gordon Lewis the Titan of Trash treatment. Herschell Gordon Lewis is a name that will conjure up many a smile on the face of trash fans. I first came across his films back in the 1980s when I was a child and I stayed up late. On Channel Four there was a show called The Incredibly Strange Film Show with Jonathan Ross interviewing Lewis about his work. They showed footage of The Wizard of Gore and I nearly crapped my pants (I was about 8/9 years old).
Over the years I found out more about The Godfather of Gore and his works and I fell in love with them – their shoddy direction, whacked out scores, 5th rate acting, outrageous gore and lunatic humour produce a heady brew which is infectious for lovers of cinematic garbage
Intellectuals get thee gone and cheese mongers take my hand, as we walk down the path of 7 H G Lewis films…
7. Colour Me Blood Red (1965)
Another Lewis gore fest and again more nonsense a go go. This time featuring a crazed artist who cannot find the proper shade of red he needs to paint with. Cue much throwing about of half finished pieces of work until he accidentally finds out that human blood is the perfect shade of red!
Of course, this brings in ample opportunity for murder and gore as the artist kills people to finish his paintings using their blood. Eventually though some clever people cotton on to his capers and his lunacy is stopped by a shotgun blast in the face.
If you are a hardcore horror film, forget about Colour Me Blood Red. It will not satisfy you. Go and watch Martyrs or Antichrist. Colour Me Blood Red is for those of us who love cheesiness in our direction and acting, diabolical dialogue, third rate gore – all of the elements that make classic Grindhouse Z grade movies.
Much laughter ahoy for H G Lewis enthusiasts!
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2 Comments
I had the pleasure/privilege to meet Mr. Lewis at the Oct 2010 Cinema Wasteland convention, in Strongsville (suburb of Cleveland), Ohio, USA. (The convention is dedicated to the B-movie/Drive-In/Grindhouse era of movies from the late 50s to the late 80′s, and is quite a lot of cheesy fun.) He loves talking about the making of those movies, and about getting into the movie business in general. At age 83, he’s still sharp as a tack. He’s also GREAT with the fans. It was like visiting a favorite uncle. A WONDERFUL opportunity.
Yeah I can well believe it JWS. He comes across as so avuncular in his interviews. So erudite and articulate. Unfortunately I cant see him making his way to Northern Ireland any time soon. You are soooo lucky to have met him. Long may he reign!