Overview: A Bucket of Blood (1959) with bonus film Dementia 13 (1963) [Special Edition] pairs two influential cult classics from producer Roger Corman in a special edition celebrating the enduring legacy of low-budget American horror.

Together, these two cult favorites offer an outstanding double feature that explores ambition, obsession, greed, madness, and murder from two distinct perspectives.

This special edition is loaded with newly produced supplements including the Ballyhoo Motion Pictures documentary Jack Hill on FilmGroup, a full-length audio commentary for A Bucket of Blood by Tom Weaver, a full-length commentary for Dementia 13 by Heath Holland, presentation of A Bucket of Blood in its original 4:3 aspect ratio, new essays by Tom Weaver covering both films, Trailers from Hell segments for each feature, and newly re-imagined theatrical trailers for both films.

Released by Film Masters, this region-free Blu-ray presents these landmark cult classics in English, creating an essential collector’s edition for fans of Roger Corman, Francis Ford Coppola, and classic American horror cinema.

Blu-ray Verdict: In A Bucket of Blood, meek busboy Walter Paisley unexpectedly becomes the darling of a beatnik art community after a gruesome accident launches his artistic career. As his fame grows, Walter discovers that maintaining his newfound success requires increasingly horrifying acts, transforming this dark satire into one of Roger Corman’s defining horror comedies.

If you have an hour of your life to spare, this is definitely worthy of your time: a classic Corman black comedy! Nerdy beatnik coffeehouse busboy Walter (played by Dick Miller) takes a stab at being an artist, with amazingly good results. Now an overnight sensation in the art world, things get out of hand when he needs to advance his craft with new subjects.

One of the film’s strong points is its hilariously droll skewering of the Folk movement and of the Beat lingo and attitudes which so characterized a certain fringe of society in the late 1950’s. It’s the kind of treatment one would later see in a Christohper Guest mocumentary in the 2000’s.

The film works because everybody in it seemed to have been having as much fun making it as the viewer has seeing it. The movie also works because it is something most horror movies nowadays are not - it is clever and well-written. In fact, apart from anything else, A Bucket of Blood is worth seeing for its juicy satire of the 1950s Beat culture alone; something that was very current at the time the movie was made, but which has long disappeared today.

Oh, and there’s no bucket, very little (if any) blood, but it’s still very much bloody humorous! It was actually made during the same period, and featured many of the same cast members, as Roger Corman’s more-famous movie, The Little Shop of Horrors.

Also included is Dementia 13, the feature directorial debut of Francis Ford Coppola, produced by Roger Corman. Set amid a wealthy family plagued by buried secrets, psychological instability, and brutal axe murders, the gothic thriller showcases the emerging filmmaker’s command of atmosphere while complementing the satirical horror of A Bucket of Blood.

When Alfred Hitchcock’s Marion Crane (of Psycho) stepped into the shower and met her fate, it kicked off a slew of stark, grisly chillers about nutcases, often wielding butcher knives or axes. This entry has the distinction of being one of Coppola’s earliest directorial efforts and it is clearly influenced by Hitchcock, though without his budget or seasoned mastery.

Anders plays a rather nagging wife who is visiting her husband’s ancestral castle with him just in time to celebrate the anniversary of his kid sister’s funeral. He, his two brothers and his mother gather annually to pay tribute to the little girl who was drowned on the premises years before.

One brother (Campbell) is an angry sculptor with an American fiancée (Mitchel.) The other (Patton) is a gentle, sort of shy type. The mother (Dunne) can’t get past the death of her daughter and faints on cue each year at the ceremony. Not long into the film, one death sets off a chain of events that unleashes a couple of other ones to where no one at the castle is safe and the audience is often not certain who the mad killer is (though veteran fans of horror/suspense shouldn’t have that much trouble figuring it out).

The film is far from perfect, but given the unbelievable budgetary and filming restraints, it does manage to conjure up some creeps and story interest. The only part that really drags is the section involving an overly inquisitive doctor (Magee), in my humble opinion.

Otherwise, there is creativity in the filming of the deaths and a nice sense of atmosphere throughout (even if almost none of these Irish characters has anything resembling an accent!) There are slicker fright films out there, but this one wins points for accomplishing pretty much with precious little to work with.

Bonus Features:
New documentary, Jack Hill on FilmGroup by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures
Full length commentary for A Bucket of Blood by Tom Weaver
Full length commentary for Dementia 13 by Heath Holland
A Bucket of Blood 4:3 aspect ratio
New essays by Tom Weaver on both films
Trailers from Hell for A Bucket of Blood
Trailers from Hell for Dementia 13
Re-imagined theatrical trailer for A Bucket of Blood
Re-imagined theatrical trailer for Dementia 13

Official Purchase Link

www.FilmMasters.com