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Film: Color Me Blood Red
Year: 1965
Director: Herschell Gordon Lewis
Writer: Herschell Gordon Lewis
Starring: Gordon Oas-Heim, Candi Conder and Elyn Warner
Review:
This was a film that I got turned on to from the Horror Show Guide Encyclopedia that I’m using to expand my knowledge base. This is one that I didn’t know much about ahead of seeing, aside from knowing that I’ve seen other films from writer/director Herschell Gordon Lewis. This did pop up on a podcast I listen to as well who do deep dives so that was interesting to hear ahead of seeing this. I’ve also given this a rewatch for my Voyage through the FiVes.
Synopsis: a crackpot artist kills various people to use their blood as his new crimson red color for his paintings.
We kick this off with a man bringing out a painting, but we aren’t shown the front of it. He puts it on the ground, covers it in gasoline and then sets it on fire. We then shift to an artist as he is struggling. He is Adam Sorg (Gordon Oas-Heim). He lives with his girlfriend, Gigi (Elyn Warner). Adam is supposed to be at a local art gallery as they’re trying to sell his paintings. His art isn’t where he wants it to be, so he is dragging his feet on going.
The gallery is owned by Farnsworth (Scott H. Hall) and he has a critic there, Gregorovich (William Harris). The critic is pretentious, but he is willing to buy what he deems the best of the bunch. His plan is to write that Adam is marketable, but lacking in his use of color. This upsets him and he stores out of the gallery.
Through his time there and at home, we see he’s a jerk. He is out by the water when Gigi tells him that Farnsworth is there. Instead of listening to her, he continues using this odd paddle boat and even knocks Gigi over, causing her to get soaked. Adam then goes in to meet with Farnsworth and breaks the frame of one of his canvases. He leaves it on the ground.
Gigi goes to pick it up, cutting herself. When Adam sees the color, he knows that’s what he’s been missing. He uses her blood until she freaks out and then uses his own. It makes him weak so he has to come up with more drastic measures. But when Gregorovich and Mrs. Carter (Iris Marshall) loves it, he must go even further to show he can keep producing.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. I do have to say that this film has interesting aspects from the Godfather of Gore, writer/director Lewis. It was intriguing that I saw this film was influenced by A Bucket of Blood which was done by Roger Corman. There are similarities with a struggling artist getting the idea of using blood to add pop to their works. There are other similarities that come from musical choices as well.
Now that I’ve set that up, let me start with our lead. Adam is an artist that wants to be recognized for his greatness. That is a lofty concept and arrogant as well. At first though, we see that he can do enough to make a living, but he will be forgotten after he has passed away or stops producing. Not being recognized as a great artist bothers him. That pushes him to the lengths that he does to be better. It is admirable, but what he does is horrible. Oas-Heim is wooden in his performance. He still does well enough at bringing this character to life.
Another angle that I want to look at is with the critic that upsets him, Gregorovich. He is pretentious. I’m not an expert in art, but I did like the ones that Adam does early on. The ‘masterpieces’ are interesting in different ways. I do like this idea that even after making this first painting with blood, Gregorovich questions if he just had one good painting in him. This forces his hand to continue working. Harris works in this limited role as the catalyst to push Adam into madness.
Where I’ll then go would be with the aspect of putting all of your hard work into something and for people to not like it. I have personally written a novel that I self-published and when it was available for purchase, I’ve never felt more self-conscious about things. Doing these reviews isn’t that different either. It has helped me to continue developing as a writer. That’s something I can appreciate. I can also see how Adam could go crazy like he does.
Something I didn’t touch on in the recap is the subplot of Mrs. Carter’s daughter April (Candi Conder), her boyfriend Rolf (Jerome Eden), their friend Sydney (Pat Finn-Lee) and her boyfriend Jack (Jim Jaekel). They are going off to an empty stretch of beach, but the problem is that it’s pretty much Adam’s yard. This felt a bit off and only here to get more characters involved. They are the younger generation in the film and much different from the adults. That adds something but also feels forced to help pad things out as well.
I’ll go ahead and shift gears to discuss the acting performances. In general, it feels amateur. I’ve already said what I needed for Oas-Heim. He does feel one dimensional. I feel bad for him while also thinking he’s a jerk. Conder was fitting for the damsel in distress in the era. She is a bit naïve, which was fine. It builds tension with her going to Adam’s studio. Warner was decent in her role. I do wonder why she stuck around. She adds comedy. Finn-Lee and the rest of the women I’ve talked about are all in bikinis at one point or another, I liked that. The guys were fine for what was needed, but the comedy that was incorporated falls flat. Other than that, I’d say that Hall, Jaekel, Marshall, Harris and Cathy Collins rounded this out for their smaller roles.
All that is left then is filmmaking. I did like the setting of Adam’s studio being this isolated beachfront house. The only issue there is people thinking it's abandoned when it clearly looked lived in to me. Cinematography and framing were fine. It does hide the seams well enough. The blood doesn’t necessarily look real, but there’s still charm there. The effects are limited here. I did like the paintings. Other than that, I don’t love the soundtrack. It is abrasive but that style of jazz fits the people that we’re following. It does seem like a holdover though from A Bucket of Blood to be honest.
In conclusion, this does good things while also falling short in others. I like the idea of an artist who is struggling to find his inspiration doing it in a dark way. I can understand the lengths a person would go for their recognition. The acting is amateur but works for the most part. This is made well enough. The cinematography, framing and effects leading the way with the soundtrack being fine. This does drag though despite its shorter runtime. I do appreciate this more with a second watch. It just isn’t my favorite from Lewis.
My Rating: 6 out of 10