Herschell Gordon Lewis Returns with Anthology BloodMania
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It’s been over 50 years since Herschell Gordon Lewis pioneered the art of the splatter film, and it makes us happy to see he’s still doing his thing all these years later. At the ripe old age of 85, the “Godfather of Gore” is readying principal photography on an anthology called BloodMania.
Read on, splatter fiends!
From the Press Release
BloodMania is a new anthology film with four distinctively different horror tales, each featuring Herschell Gordon Lewis’ brand of splatter. Principal photography begins late July 2014 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Mr. Lewis has written one segment and will direct two of them.
Herschell Gordon Lewis, originator of the “splatter” film genre, both revered and reviled as the “Godfather of Gore,” has expressed strong enthusiasm for BloodMania. “It’s time to get some fresh blood flowing into the happy universe of horror films,” Herschell said. “I’ll be there to be sure it happens, and I can promise that we’ll have enough bloody messes and enough off-the-wall humor to satisfy everyone… even including me.”
Few categories of motion pictures enjoy the perpetual popularity of the genre Herschell Gordon Lewis literally invented half a century ago. The original gore movie, Blood Feast (1963), was as primitive as any movie could be. Yet, it shows in theaters to this day and is a DVD favorite. Herschell’s personal favorite, Two Thousand Maniacs (1964), has a plot line centering on a small U.S. Southern town that “gets even” for that country’s Civil War. Despite what one might or would think is a plot of local interest only, the film has long been an international success, and wherever the director travels – in Canada, the U.S., Europe, or the Far East – he is called on to sing the theme of that movie, which he wrote.
BloodMania, Herschell promises, carries the slasher advantage to a new height. “First of all,” he points out, “we’ve brought young directors into the slasher arena and given them tools and effects that just didn’t exist when we originated the category. BloodMania has four dynamic episodes. I’m directing two of them. The other two are… well, critics will have a difficult time choosing which of those episodes is the most effective because we’re opening wide the gates of effects nobody has seen before.”
James Saito, the Diabolique Films executive of the BloodMania team, who has assumed the challenging job of recruiting major talent, has chosen some well known genre experts for the project. One example is award-winning screenwriter/producer Bob Schultz, whose last two horror films, Mr. Saito points out, have been screened around the world on every continent except Antarctica. Mr. Schultz is writing one of the episodes Mr. Lewis will direct. Each of the other directors will create his or her own episode, and Jim Saito promises a competitive atmosphere that will result in “scenes that blast off the screen.” The promise made by both Herschell Gordon Lewis and James Saito: “BloodMania will set a level of entertainment, shock, and wild humor that will be the benchmark for years to come.”
Jim says, “I saw my first Herschell Gordon Lewis movie at a drive-in theater in 1971. It changed the way I looked at horror cinema and was instrumental in shaping me into the gore-hound that I am today. The fact Mr. Lewis has specifically chosen Diabolique Films as the vehicle for a long-awaited new venture is not only thrilling, but a particular honor. Satisfying his legion of fans and introducing his brand of cinema to a new younger audience is a responsibility that we all take very seriously indeed!”
For more in the meantime, visit the official BloodMania website, “like” BloodMania on Facebook and follow BloodMania on Twitter.
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