Blood Freak
Encyclopedia
Blood Freak is a 1972 American horror film
, directed by Brad F. Grinter
and starring Steve Hawkes.
Herschell gets a job at a local turkey farm, where he meets two scientists who are experimenting by testing certain chemicals on turkey meat. Herschell agrees to participate in a test by eating some of the turkey meat; to convince him to agree, the scientists bribe him with more marijuana. After eating the whole turkey, he passes out on the farm. He suffers a seizure and the two scientists later find him, and worried about being investigated about the possible death of Herschell, they dump his body in the woodlands. But Herschell is not dead—he wakes up to find he has a giant turkey's head in place of his own head. He is also still addicted to drugs, but instead of smoking marijuana, he now craves the blood of other addicts.
He comes to Anne for help, and at first she agrees. However, after Herschell kills three people to appease his habit, Anne finally appeals to two friends to stop Herschell by beheading him with a machete. Just as the turkey-headed Herschell is killed, the action jumps back to Herschell again waking up in the woods—the entire sequence in which Herschell has a turkey head was only a hallucination. He is discovered by the owner of the turkey farm, who contacts Angel at the rehab center where she volunteers. Angel comes to collect Herschell and, after urging him to pray to God for assistance, takes him to the center to recover from his addiction. At the film's end, Herschell is reunited with a joyous Anne.
Throughout the film, director Brad Grinter periodically appears to offer his commentary on the action.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, directed by Brad F. Grinter
Brad F. Grinter
Brad F. Grinter was an American film director, actor, producer, and screenwriter who is best known for the 1972 cult horror film, Blood Freak. He also directed the 1970 film, Flesh Feast, which stars Veronica Lake in one of her last film appearances...
and starring Steve Hawkes.
Plot
The film follows Vietnam veteran Herschell (Steve Hawkes) who, whilst riding down the highway on his motorbike, helps a young religious girl called Angel (Heather Hughes), whose car has broken down. She takes Herschell back to her home, where her sister, Anne (Dana Cullivan) and many local friends of hers are smoking pot. Herschell refuses to smoke any, as Angel had warned him about them, however, Anne continues attempting to seduce him. Angel decides that Herschell should stay with them until he gets back on his feet in life. Whilst cleaning the girls' pool, Anne encourages Herschell to smoke a joint; he does, and finds himself addicted.Herschell gets a job at a local turkey farm, where he meets two scientists who are experimenting by testing certain chemicals on turkey meat. Herschell agrees to participate in a test by eating some of the turkey meat; to convince him to agree, the scientists bribe him with more marijuana. After eating the whole turkey, he passes out on the farm. He suffers a seizure and the two scientists later find him, and worried about being investigated about the possible death of Herschell, they dump his body in the woodlands. But Herschell is not dead—he wakes up to find he has a giant turkey's head in place of his own head. He is also still addicted to drugs, but instead of smoking marijuana, he now craves the blood of other addicts.
He comes to Anne for help, and at first she agrees. However, after Herschell kills three people to appease his habit, Anne finally appeals to two friends to stop Herschell by beheading him with a machete. Just as the turkey-headed Herschell is killed, the action jumps back to Herschell again waking up in the woods—the entire sequence in which Herschell has a turkey head was only a hallucination. He is discovered by the owner of the turkey farm, who contacts Angel at the rehab center where she volunteers. Angel comes to collect Herschell and, after urging him to pray to God for assistance, takes him to the center to recover from his addiction. At the film's end, Herschell is reunited with a joyous Anne.
Throughout the film, director Brad Grinter periodically appears to offer his commentary on the action.
Cast
- Steve Hawkes as Herschell
- Dana Cullivan as Ann
- Heather Hughes as Angel
- Bob Currier
- Anne Shearin
- Linda Past
- Debbie Smith
- Sandy Kneelen
- Domink Grutta
- Randy Grinter
- Larry Wright