KnotStronger
This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
IncaWelCar
In truth, any opportunity to see the film on the big screen is welcome.
Murphy Howard
I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
Scott LeBrun
Horror genre icon John Stanley of 'Creature Features' fame does a nice job with this very knowing, fairly tongue in cheek homage to the genre. Its central conceit is a solid one, and prefigures "Shadow of the Vampire" by 23 years. It also proved to be very prophetic in its portrayal of a horror convention, long before these things would be very big business worldwide. The people behind this convention, including Professor Seabrook (Dan Caldwell), Cindy (Barrie Youngfellow), Scotty (John Cochran), and comic book expert Gary form a team as they slowly come to the realization that their star attraction, veteran horror film actor Malakai (Jerry Walter), is not just a pretend vampire but the real deal. Moreover, he utilizes the services of B.B. (Ray K. Goman) and Harris (Hy Pyke), who are in reality the legendary graverobbers Burke and Hare whom Malakai has kept alive for centuries using alchemy. Our intrepid team unites behind Nazi hunter turned vampire hunter The Avenger (Mark Anger), who's vowed to destroy this evil. Now, "Nightmare in Blood" is not for all genre fans, as it's low budget enough that it's often more talk than action. Some people may grow impatient with its deliberate pace and its minimal amount of gore. Still, it's impossible to dislike this film. It's ingratiating and irresistible, and it's always nice to see a film meant for genre fans made BY a genre fan. The dialogue is often very amusing, and often quite self-referential, with names such as Lee, Price, Atwill, Lugosi, and Karloff dropped. There is brief footage of a film within the film, as fantasy film star Kerwin Mathews appears alongside Walter. His appearance is fleeting enough that his admirers will likely be sorely disappointed. Still, Stanley does give this little film some atmosphere and gets a delightfully theatrical performance out of Walter, who looks like he's having a hell of a time. Most of the acting is very much of the amateur variety, but the performers are quite engaging nonetheless; the man playing Gary in particular is a hoot what with his deadpan delivery. And Justin Bishop is a riot as anti-horror crusader Dr. Unworth; his acting is atrocious but his facial expressions just priceless. The scenes with Seabrook, Unworth, and Malakai on the TV horror show have to rank as the best in the film. It's likewise great to see our heroes think on their feet when faced with the prospect of killing foes that are seemingly immortal. While admittedly "Nightmare in Blood" is going to strike some people as being merely dull, others will surely find it fascinating, even if one couldn't consider it a "good" film. It's still an entertaining one, though. Seven out of 10.
Scarecrow-88
There's nothing cooler to a horror buff like me than to, on opening day of Rocktober (this year, 2011), discover, upon my very first viewing for Halloween month, a nice surprise certain to become a favorite I will watch every year. What's neat about this film is that it predates the horror conventions that now pop up all over the world, not just in America—they are now all the rage. In San Francisco, a horror novelist, Professor Seabrook (Dan Caldwell) is able to bring to life the very first Horror Con, with an established horror icon as the featured guest, Malaki (Jerry Walters who is a blast), known for his many vampire films. Malaki takes his status in the genre (and, refreshingly, the genre itself) very seriously, and when horror show hosts, like George Wilson (Morgan Upton), poke gleeful fun at schlock or other horror films featured prominently on his line-ups, his ire is inflamed. What Seabrook and his friends behind the invention of the San Francisco Horror Con couldn't possibly expect is that their star is an actual centuries-old vampire! Yeah, imagine if a horror con presented a star attraction who was actually the very monster he supposedly portrayed fictitiously! Oh, it doesn't end there, this movie even throws in Burke and Hare (!), still alive and kicking thanks to Malaki, hunting his prey so that they can keep their master happy.I really miss the way films could shoot on authentic city streets, using actors who look like the kind of folks who would populate San Francisco. There's this one fellow who runs a comic store and bases his whole life's philosophy around the art and stories of the books that line the shelves. He's very soft-spoken, stolid, and serious, much like Malaki is about his beloved horror genre. The script is chock full of loving nods to, and acknowledgment of, the horror genre and the many stars and movies that we fans know and love. Being that the film is set in contemporary San Francisco in 1978, the likes of Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, and Lon Chaney come up in conversations often, which brought a smile to my face time and again. For those who love their gore, "Nightmare in Blood" has lots of blood-letting (that thick bright red Herschel Gordon Lewis film blood I adore) as Burke and Hare hunt down characters associated with the Horror Con. The Van Helsing of this film is a Jew Nazi Hunter (!) who thought Malaki was a member of Hitler's Reich, only to discover that his quarry was a vampire instead! This guy goes by the name "Avenger" (or that is what Malaki refers to him as) and is a nuisance, an absolute thorn in the side, to Malaki. As long as Avenger lives, Malaki knows his existence is threatened. When a colleague of Seabrook's, Scotty (John Cochran) loses a girlfriend to the dastardly trio, hears a conversation between Burke and Hare that's more than a bit suspicious, and starts putting two-and-two together, the Avenger (Mark Anger) may finally have a legitimate ally in his fight to stop Malaki. The Mina of this film is Barrie Youngfellow, as Seabrook's girlfriend, Cindy. You just know her life will be in jeopardy before the film is through. I definitely believe horror fans and devotees to our genre owe it to themselves to check out "Nightmare in Blood", it is, in my mind, the very definition of a sleeper. Walters really "sinks his teeth" into the role, with the posture and thick accent mimicking Lugosi effortlessly—I considered him a pleasure to watch in the role of a bloodsucker easily offended by those who slander his movies and the genre, his reactions of repulsion towards Wilson especially funny.
jgall36
If you're a Kerwin Mathews fan and want to see this movie to see him, DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME....as I DID! Mathews appears only in the opening segment (a movie within the movie) for less than 3 minutes - and has NO speaking lines! And the remaining 87 minutes of the film are incredibly dull and sluggish. (I watched until the end, hoping that Mathews would reappear...and TALK - while constantly checking my watch to see how much time was left in the film.) Avoid this film, unless you're an obsessive-compulsive Kerwin Mathews or horror film completest. (And this can barely be called a Kerwin Mathews OR a horror film.) I guess the producers needed a "name" for the credits - and Kerwin needed to pay the rent.
tpw1705
This film has a little of everything for fans of horror films, comics, horror conventions,and the like. It has that 70's feel to it and a lot of fun to watch. If your a fan of low budget shockers, it's right up your alley. Just set back on a stormy Saturday night and get ready for a Creature Feature.
