“Oh yeah, it scared the piss outta the old lady…”
Here’s one of the all time greatest classic exploitation trailers for a 70s Double Bill of Horror films The Blood Spattered Bride and I Dismember Mama. It’s another gem I first saw on the 42nd Street Forever previews series. What makes it stand apart from other trailers is the fact its not the standard edited footage with voiceover, its more of a comedy short. The setup is perfect with the kooky reporter Howard Scott from a local TV station at the theater interviewing audience members/witnesses after a crazed nutcase is arrested for going berzerk because of the highly disturbing movies. Only as we see, they might’ve got the wrong guy! The giggling weirdo just makes it even better with his deranged reaction to Scott’s questions. The other folks in this are hilarious too, especially the blue collar wiseguy Harry and his old lady who are interviewed about what happened while offering their deep thoughts on the movies. There is also a classic moment featuring the “Up Chuck Cup” a promotional gimmick given out in case people get nauseous while watching these overly gory horror flicks.
Some brief info on the movies:
The Blood Spattered Bride was a 1972 Spanish horror film directed by Vincente Aranda. Based on a vampire story “Camilla”, it stars Simon Andreau as “The Husband” and Maribel Martin as his wife Susan. They are newlyweds who are staying at a family owned estate where Susan discovers paintings of her Husband’s ancestors. One of the paintings is a portrait of Mircalla Karstein (the face missing) who, as the story goes, killed her husband on their honeymoon. When Susan’s Husband begins to show a sexually perverted side, Susan becomes angry and disinterested in him. One day at the nearby beach, her husband finds a woman buried in the sand and saves her. She introduces herself as Carmilla and is brought back to their home to recuperate. During her stay she begins to seduce Susan and the Husband becomes fearful for his life as something’s clearly not right with their new guest. They later find out that Carmilla isn’t what she appears to be. This is an atmospheric gothic chiller that, while a very low budget production is extremely suspenseful and well made.
The second feature I Dismember Mama (aka Poor Albert and Little Annie) is a bizarre little psycho-thriller from 1972 about Albert (Zooey Hall) a dangerous sex criminal with a disturbing mother fixation and hate for women. His first attempt at killing his mother got him locked up in a mental hospital. After being released he kills several more victims, one of whom has a young daughter named Annie (Geri Reischl) who he spares. Since Annie is innocent and non-sexual, Albert begins to bond with her and the two become close friends. Albert even reverts to a childlike mental state whenever he’s with Annie and is at peace. The relationship takes a turn for the worse when Albert finds himself becoming physically attracted to Annie and his violent urges return, leading to a shocking finale. When you watch the film you’ll notice Zooey Hall is genuinely creepy as the psychologically deranged Albert and has a certain look that makes him stand out.
