“You’ve Quite a Repertoire of Chilling Tales” - Bloody Moon (1981) - Film #215

While Jess Franco is an acknowledged master of the horror genre, we have not paid much attention to him on Senseless Cinema, outside of our discussion of She Killed in Ecstasy (1971). We will remedy that in part by covering Mr. Franco's stylish blend of slasher and giallo film (slallo? giasher??), 1981's Bloody Moon, also known as Die Sage des Todes or The Saw of Death. Bloody Moon is not based on a Francois Truffaut film like She Killed in Ecstasy, as far as I know, but that should not be held against it.

Some of your universe's critics apparently hold something against the film. For example, reviewer paulgeaf writes, "Not scary or thrilling(apart from the odd breast), just absolutely horrible to watch." (For the record, I must state that none of the breasts appeared odd to me.) Reviewer tomgillespie2002 writes about Franco, "While I have only seen a small handful of his films (all pretty bad), this is undoubtedly the worst I've seen." And reviewer Horst_in_Translation writes, "As a whole, this was a failure with regard to almost everything. I absolutely don't recommend the watch."

Read on for the truth about Jess Franco's Bloody Moon...

“If I Could Teach Him to Place His Tongue in the Right Way...” - Maniac Killer (1987) - Film #214

 

While most movies are dull and lifeless affairs, Maniac Killer (1987) was destined to be a classic from the start. Not only was it directed by the legendary Andrea Bianchi of Burial Ground (1985) fame, it stars a trio of peerless gentlemen: Chuck Connors, Bo Svenson, and Robert Ginty. With such creative forces at the proverbial helm and in the proverbial crew, how could Maniac Killer be anything less than fantastic?

Some reviewers mistakenly believe Maniac Killer is less than fantastic. For example, reviewer Mathis_Vogel sums up the film thusly: "Nothing happens." And stalwart reviewer BA_Harrison (before referring to the film as "bottom-of-the-barrel horror") writes, "It's hard to believe that director Andrea Bianchi and his cast were actually working from a script when making Maniac Killer, such is the general slipshod nature of the movie. It bears all the hallmarks of a film made at speed with very little preparation and on the tightest budget possible."

Read on for the truth about Andrea Bianchi's Maniac Killer...