Blood Scarab

Frontline Entertainment

R1 DVD

Web: http://www.frontlinefilms.com/

Blood Scarab opens with a nice tongue in cheek horror introduction, we get a quick historical overview of the life of Countess Elizabeth Bathory and then we are told the rest is speculation. This sets the stage for a rip roaring romp through every possible horror motif from Hammer Horror to scenes reminiscent of the Adam’s Family, from “Vampire Lovers” like lesbian scenes to homage’s to classic Hollywood Egypt and Mummy films. It is funny, witty, superbly made and above all, lots of fun.

It seems that the Countess Bathory, one of the great beauties of all times was a also little unhinged. She bathed in the blood of virgins to stay young but was having trouble finding the necessary “stock” to keep her bath filled and hence went on search to discover a more economical way to stay young. She found her answer in an alliance with Count Dracula. Together they now live in a castle in Los Angeles and somehow they have settled into a sort of Adam’s Family/Munsters type lifestyle. However, things are not all that happy, Mrs.Dracula finds herself rather bored and wants to return to the good old days of the Bathories, of which she has lots of fond memories. These memory sequences are especially impressive with lots of sex, blood and eroticism, they are very nicely done as indeed is the cinematography throughout the whole of blood Scarab.

Disaster strikes as Dracula has been a little too pre-occupied with young girl flesh and while watching his next intended victims, Tanya and Mina, he loses track of time (Renfield being too occupied with bug catching), and is destroyed in classic style by the rising sun.

This time Bathory has had enough, he has been killed once too often ! She is now freed from Dracula cramping her style and decides it is time to whoop it up. There are lots of great scenes of lesbian love, blood drinking and more. Indeed it should be said the lesbian love scenes are highly charged, combined with evocative music, great lighting and superior filming. The soundtrack throughout the film is also superb ranging from classic horror soundtracks to Goth rock and pop.

With a lot of partying and feeding to make up for she is rather annoyed at being only able to feed during the night. She also is a bit wary that Renfield will screw up again, this time on her watch, and that she will end up as “sun dust”. So she sets Renfield on the task of discovering the means to achieve immortality during the day. This leads to a great intersection between vampires, mummies and Egyptian occultism. What a combination !!! It seems the 3000 year-old Mummy of Hor-Shep-Sut has walked out of a local museum and is actually the shell of an ancient lesbian sorceress from Egypt.

This leads to a great Egyptian flashback with all the pomp one would expect from an Egyptian Hollywood scene. It ends with a rather nasty embalming for Hor-She-Sut for seducing the Pharoahs daughter. After a rather feisty love scene, she is captured, locked in a funerary mask and her heart pulled out and stuffed in a Canopic Jar, her body is left in an unmarked coffin.

A secret ritual unfolds with Renfield at his doddering best, Hor-She-Sut explains to Bathory how she can become immortal in the sunlight. However, as one might expect, two major Goddesses are going to have some girl problems ! As Bathory becomes a daywalker and Blood Goddess, Hathor steps in for a bitch fight. This is a great scene – vampire versus mummy, Goddess vs undead. The climax is suitably fun as Renfield realizes that since crucifixes don’t work then maybe the sacred Egyptian Scarab will and he despatches his evil mistress back to her grave.

Blood Scarab is cracking entertainment. It combines vampires, lesbians, beauty addicts, mummies and Egyptian Goddesses in a way which is ahomage to the old world of Hammer Horror and classic Hollywood cinema. It includes motifs and images from so many films, all mixed together in a new and vital way to keep you chuckling, amused and entertained for every second of the film.

The cinematography is excellent; the special effects are cheesy but of high quality and the sets are amazing. This may be a moderate budget film but it has been made to look top notch and is a joy to watch. The music, mood and texture of the film is great, the actors are all superb ranging from the cackling Renfield to the various menagerie of barely clothed woman.

This is a film you will enjoy again and again, it has everything you need – sex, gore, lesbian love, vampires, mummies, fantasy, Egyptian Gods and more.

It is also packed with special features including a commentary track with director Donald F. Glut and stars Monique T. Parent, Del Howison and Natasha Diakova. An original trailer, a comprehensive making of documentary, deleted dancing handmaidens scene, a theatrical premiere video, interviews, Graveyard Theatre Stars, the Harvey and Bob Show Review, Countess Dracula and Mummy's Kiss Archives and six still galleries.

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This review will appear in Volume 3 No.2 of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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