BLOOD ORGY OF THE SHE-DEVILS
(1972)
Directed by Ted V. Mikels
Image Entertainment DVD
THE FILM
Spiritual lightning has struck again.
Walking home from the train, I was
seized by psychic thunderclaps,
revealing themselves as screeching
female voices. “Find the Dance
Costumes By Eros! Find the Special
Electronic Music By Carl Zittrer!
Find Ted V. Mikels! Find SALVATION!”
Holy shit, I wasn’t ready
for salvation. But I was ready for
something. Cryptic as they were,
I was able to decipher the messages.
I went home. Blood Orgy Of The
She-Devils was waiting. Girls
started to dance. I was right there
with them.
Ted V. Mikels: castle-dweller, polygamist,
and very independent movie
maker. With a personal life every
bit as mysterious as his outrageous
filmography, it’s no wonder
why Ted’s productions often
turn out so fragmentary. As Mr.
Mikels states in Re/Search’s
Incredibly Strange Films,“It
takes your guts and your entrails
and your soul to make a film. You
have to be as obsessed as a religious
fanatic,” it’s no wonder.
Give a consumed eccentric a canvas
and he’ll show you the world.
Take this one, for instance. Following
up 1969’s Astro Zombies
and 1972’s The Corpse
Grinders (what a string!),
Mikels presents 78 minutes of plotless,
PG rated absurdity in Blood
Orgy Of The She-Devils. Before
you go any further, make a note:
this motion picture makes no sense.
None. Now that we’ve shed
the inhibitions, let the chanting
begin.
Mara is the head priestess/Satanic
bounty hunter of a witch cult in
T.V. Mikels’s real life castle.
She sounds like a female Criswell.
Fetching women dance in loin cloths,
sacrifice dudes with spears, and
scream a lot. Ha ha! That’s
it! Sure there’s a “college”
couple partaking in the occasional
seance (I DARE you to get outta
that scene alive). And OK, there’s
also a brief, boffo subplot involving
a sweaty gangster and his goon.
What about the guy who strangles
a girl while cuckoo clocks chirp
in the background? The flashback
witch burnings and dungeon torture?
The sudden appearance of a witchcraft
professor by the poolside? Ladies
and gentlemen, Ted V. delivers!
I dare say?
Like any Mikels experience, you’ll
either be bored out of your gourd
or drunkenly spellbound. Due to
a knack for delivering typical ideas
in unconventional ways, I always
end up falling for his horror films.
The extraneous inserts, the randomly
tripped out visuals, the charming
super-imposed effects...Blood
Orgy features all of these
things, in addition to a neurotic
synth score and living rooms that
barely escaped from Year
Of The Yahoo. It all makes
for a harmless bit of off-center
filmmaking, one that neither arouses
nor offends, but provides a solid
squint into the world of a true
nonconformist. I’ve never
had a problem with that; sometimes,
it’s just what the psychic
voices ordered.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
The full frame print is oozing with
contrast, bright colors, and thick
blacks. The occasional blemish pops
up, as well as some slight fluttering
early on, but other than that, the
70s sheen is like wow. Very satisfying
watch. The mono sound fluctuated
at times, but that was definitely
due to the original room recordings.
EXTRAS
To start off with, there’s
a lively theatrical trailer for
the feature (watch out -- gives
away all the “good”
parts), a Mikels filmography, and
trailers for five additional films
in Ted’s cannon, all of which
are available on DVD from Image.
Faves included The Doll Squad
and the novel-length slimer for
10 Violent Women.
Like the other films in Image’s
T.V. Mikels series, the director
delivers a full length commentary
track. Kind of. Lacking the help
of a moderator, jovial Ted goes
it alone. The results are half and
half; on one hand, he’s full
of interesting tidbits relating
to the film (Two years of witchcraft
research! Shooting on Cecil B. DeMille’s
lawn!), but on the other, those
nuggets are usually revealed after
a few minutes of silence. It’s
a sometimes rewarding track, but
you’ll need to split up your
listens to keep at attention.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It takes a special kind of person
to appreciate the cinema of Ted
V. Mikels. Sometimes, I am that
person. You might be too. If you
like Ted’s other horror romps,
you’ll probably eat Blood
Orgy Of The She-Devils up.
It’s worth the chance.
— Joseph A. Ziemba, 09.30.05 |
Baby's in black
Witch-nic
Stickin' it to 'em
Private eyes
|
