The Blood Spattered Bride (1972)

An Exercise In Nonsense

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Just one of many adaptations of J. Sheridan Le Fanu over the decades, "The Blood Spattered Bride" adheres to many of the traditions of Eurotrash horror: blood (and lots of it), sex appeal, atmosphere, and artiness, with some provocative themes underlying the plot. It's not for all horror fans; indeed, it's rather light on conventional "horror" for much of the running time. Instead, we get an interesting psychological approach to such subjects as virginity and marriage. The pace is unhurried, so people with shorter attention spans may start to fidget around a little.The sultry Maribel Martin stars as Susan, a virginal newlywed rather uncomfortable about her new married life. The hunky Simon Andreu plays her unnamed husband, who becomes worried when he thinks that Susan is imagining the presence of a mystery woman (the intoxicatingly sexy Alexandra Bastedo). Well, "Carmila" (Bastedo) does exist, and with a subtle intensity, she worms her way into Susans' life and encourages her to think beyond being "trapped" by this male presence.In general, the performances are decent, with Martin making for a reasonably sympathetic figure. Andreu offers a stolid screen presence, never changing his facial expression very much. Dean Selmier is superb as a well-meaning doctor who naturally does not put much stock in superstition. Bastedo is very easy to watch, and Rosa M. Rodriguez does a respectable job as a precocious youngster.There's a mild dose of delectable female nudity, as a viewer would come to expect from the genre, and the violence is extremely effective whenever it takes place. (The film is not wall-to-wall gore, but still manages to live up to its title.) And the music score composed by Antonio Perez Olea is appropriately haunting. Director / writer Vicente Aranda also adds an appreciable amount of surrealism when Carmila is discovered under the sand at a beach - this is quite a memorable scene.Recommended for lovers of the genre, who should also enjoy similar entries such as "Vampyres" and "Daughters of Darkness".Seven out of 10.

In the form of a story about a newly wed woman who we witness losing her virginity the exploitation-y titled 'The Blood Spattered Bride' thematically covers a lot of the same and similar grounds to 'Valerie and Her Week of Wonders' albeit very much focusing on all the psychosexual aspects. Where "Valerie", summed up, is a film about a girl's sexual awakening after her menarche (=first menstrual bleeding) and all the other realizations that can result from that awakening, for example about religion and the government, "Bride" is about a young woman's sexual awakening (her age is never specified, the actress was about 18 years old at that point) which makes the woman fall into a psychotic state that makes her feel fear and disgust of men so this character's psychology isn't dissimilar to Catherine Deneuve's in 'Repulsion', it also roughly covers the events of one week although just like in "Valerie" it seems like development in a compressed form, showing a psychological evolution that usually would have to take considerably longer.Despite the supernatural elements in the story other than in "Valerie" one is prone to take the ongoings in the film literally because of its mundane visual style and the relatively coherent plot that wouldn't obviously suggest a symbolic reading although if one takes things on face value here it would be a rather ridiculous and unintelligently written film, but if taken metaphorically, always with the theme in mind, it's just the opposite. There certainly are quite a few surreal touches, though, both movies also include a good share of vampirism as well as lesbianism although neither of them really is a vampire, a horror nor an erotic movie, at least they aren't predominantly any one of those things.Another prevalent theme (especially as "Bride" reaches its conclusion) is that of the inspirational power of history as well as having a certain responsibility to act upon sacrifices other people made in the past, in this specific case especially in regards to feminism. Carmilla, the vampire with lesbian tendencies who becomes increasingly more real, is like a figure conjured up by the bride's fears and desires and that figure is a resurrection of a person that really existed within the fiction of the film, most likely materialized in idealized form to fit the bride's purposes.Although I think the film is feminist in its intent it interestingly has no qualms to come off as misogynist at times (especially in the first half) when showing the often violent male oppression and sexual dominance since, unlike "Valerie" or 'Repulsion', it doesn't choose a point of view, it's (almost) as much the husband's film as it is hers. I think the sympathies are clearly with the bride (which makes the ending all the more refreshing) but thematically the husband's male psychology is almost as fleshed out as hers and his psychological torture can at times also be felt.While I obviously think that thematically it's a great and intelligent movie it's certainly a minus that if taken literally the movie doesn't hold up well. Visually it's largely unremarkable although it does have its moment, especially one gory fantasy sequence in the middle section and the much talked about surreal beach sequence offer some notable visuals. The characterizations are coherent and believable but I wouldn't go as far as to call any of them well-developed. In one scene the movie's themes are actually blatantly spelled out with the characters reading out of psychology books that quote Plato and Jung. This being my first contact with Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla novel possibly helped my appreciation of the film, had I read the book or seen other films that were based on it things might look differently, but I haven't.

It's also a great exploitation film. Pop culture battle of the sexes in which age old vampires use modern wedge between husband and wife to work its way between them. There is one really silly scene on the beach which stands out in this otherwise smart and lurid, justified luridness, but lurid in a good way story and film. At times you side with the wife at times with the husband. It is really one of the last "modern" vampire films to really fit much social reality into the vampire framework of seduction and betrayal. And talk about a tough film, this takes no prisoners, be they animal or child if it gets in the way of the male hero look out. Good production values on all levels, perhaps the score could have been better but that's looking for problems where not many exist. Still shocking violence, sex, and style does mesh the source material with a very European man threatened by modern woman story. A number of memorable scenes, one of the better versions of Carmilla. A must see. The dubbing into English is a bit better than usual for the time which helps too.

Susan (Maribel Marten) is a hallucinating nut-job who goes with her newlywed hubby to a castle. Once there she freaks out and becomes a man-hating lesbian vampire or some such nonsense in yet another film that basis itself (extremely loosely) on the novel "Carmila". A good deal of this is boring, and what isn't boring (Ie. a naked women wearing a snorkel buried in the sand) doesn't make a lick of sense. The feminutzis DO get what's coming to them so it's not totally without merit, but I wouldn't watch it again anytime soon.My Grade: C-DVD Extras: Uncut version; a combo trailer for this and "I Dismember Mama"Eye Candy: Maribel Martin gets fully naked; Alexandra Bastedo shows breasts