For those connoisseurs of foreign horror films who are desirous of seeing the 1965 Filipino obscurity entitled "Blood Thirst," their only recourse, it would seem, is the DVD currently available from those maniacs at Something Weird. The picture in question shares the disc with another relatively unknown film, the similarly titled "Bloodsuckers," and it was to see this British product of 1970 that I initially rented out this DVD. But "Bloodsuckers" turns out to be a terrible mess of a film, despite the participation of Peter Cushing and Patrick Macnee; an ineptly put-together head scratcher that suffers even more in comparison to "Blood Thirst," a surprisingly good, well-made little chiller that manages to satisfy on all levels. Released in America six years after its Filipino debut, the film features gorgeous B&W cinematography by DOP Hermo Santos and comes off like a film noir crossed with a cheesy horror flick...and with winning results!In the picture, we learn that a serial killer has been slaying young girls on the streets of Manila. Their bodies are always found hung upside down and completely drained of blood, their forearms slit exactly the same length every time. At a loss as to how to proceed, police inspector Miguel Ramos (played by the great Filipino mainstay Vic Diaz, who seems to pop up in just about every Filipino movie that I watch) calls in his American friend Adam Rourke (Robert Winston), a homicide lieutenant who is an expert in sex crimes. Hunky dude Rourke centers his investigations on the Barrio Club, an upscale nightspot where several of the murdered girls had worked. He thus encounters the club's suave owner, Calderon (Vic Silayan, who comes off like a Filipino Cesar Romero), as well as its featured exotic dancer, the blonde hottie Serena (Yvonne Nielson), while being aided by Ramos' sister, the emotionally conflicted Sylvia (Katherine Henryk). As the film proceeds, the viewer learns that the killer is quite a sight indeed; a lumbering mess of a man (?) with a face composed of innumerable lumps and hideous nodules. And as Rourke evades numerous attempts on his life while getting closer to Sylvia, he learns that the solution to this murder mystery might be even stranger than he had guessed....Tightly directed by Newt Arnold, "Blood Thirst" was filmed at the height of the secret-agent craze, the same year that the 007 vehicle "Thunderball" broke box-office records, and its debt to this international spy mania is very pronounced. Winston seems to be channeling Sean Connery in his performance here, and Rourke's similarities with James Bond are many. They are both handsome men with hairy chests; both are chain-smokers, crack shots, quick with a humorous quip and smooth with the ladies. In addition, both go undercover to achieve their objectives in exotic locales, and both are good at karate and brawling...and at taking a punishing beating, as well. Rourke, of course, must contend with a much lesser degree of criminality than superagent 007, and he evinces more of the characteristics of the everyday dude, such as talking to himself and slapping himself on the head when he makes a mistake. Winston gives a highly likable performance here, as does his partner Diaz, a pudgy presence with an angelic smile that can appear as either sweet or diabolic, as the case may be. (For example, the last time I encountered Diaz, it was in the 1971 Eddie Romero film "Beast of the Yellow Night," in which Vic plays the Devil himself!) Rourke's love interest in the film, Sylvia, has been cast most unusually, as Henryk is not pretty in the conventional sense, and yet, because of her appealing nature and spunky disposition, she is a woman who grows more and more attractive as the picture proceeds. I was also happy to spot Bruno Punzalan in this film, here playing the thuggish bartender at the Barrio Club; Punzalan, like Diaz, also seems to pop up regularly in these Filipino outings of the period, and he has a doozy of a dustup with Rourke about halfway through this picture. "Blood Thirst" is well acted by every one of its players and is overall a surprisingly intelligent affair; a film whose noirish elements gradually blend into pure horror by its exciting conclusion, in which blood, "solar electrical energy," and the powder of roots of trees hundreds of years old are all combined in one mind-boggling melange. The film tends to drag a bit in its central 1/3, but it never grows dull, and the stunning-looking B&W photography, artfully employing light and shadow, is always a feast for the eyes. Simply put, the film looks great, and is nicely captured here on this Something Weird DVD. For this viewer, the film comes as something like serendipity; an unexpected treat that I had previously never heard of before. To my great surprise, I must warn viewers AWAY from "Bloodsuckers" and urge them to see "Blood Thirst" instead, a film that is truly ripe for rediscovery....

This is a real textbook case of how to fail to make a chandleresque film in spite of every effort. Use the dialog that is rich with ominous one-liners and full of household clichés and heavily sexual innuendos that are from the bottom of the lowest barrel; be sure the action is full of tough and cool wannabes slapping each other in uncontrollable sexual frenzy; add the soundtrack that suffocates the viewer with loads of sexually sizzling cool jazz and exotic (equally sexually loaded) Latino mambo music. Make sure the lightning is never above dim and shadows are lurking everywhere in this moist, hot jungle of sexual predators. A few exotic dances by a blond sex goddess wouldn't harm, even when the lady is only capable of waving her arms a little - as long as she is oozing sexual promiscuity. Note the frequent use of the word "sexual"? Add some more sexuality, and voilà! there's your rip-off of The Big Sleep multiplied by Double Indemnity. Or, that's what you might think. In gruesome reality, you get Blood Thirst, a ridiculous B programmer that is a parody of itself. For film noir lovers this film is a must - you get the techniques of the genre laid bare before you. Great for studying what film noir is all about - there's much to learn about why the ingredients don't always sum up to what one might expect.

Giving this film a 6 out of 10 warrants some explanation, my vote reflects my taste for this genre of film-making; low-budget, disposable, 1960's drive-in films. That said, this particular example is quite distinctive and well worth a look. Made in the Philippines (around '62 or '63, I would guess, despite its official release date of 1971) on an obviously limited budget, the picture is wonderfully well photographed in black and white with some moody, noir touches. The lead, Robert Winston, is quite good-looking, albeit modestly talented. There are a surprising number (for this period) of beefcake shots. I'm assuming that someone recognized that his gifts were not in the acting department. The usual, grinding expository dialogue is graced with some humor, I LIKE the monster, the scenery is interesting and, on the whole, it moves along quite nicely. Shlock filmmakers of the present day (and they are legion) could learn a bit from the the achievements of these frugal talents.

I picked this up in a $1 store on a DVD with another film. I really wanted to see the other film ('Castle of Blood' -USA title) on the DVD and only watched 'Blood Thirst' out of curiosity and because my wife said, "lets give it a chance". We figured how can you go wrong buying two films on a DVD for one dollar especially when one of the films('Castle of Blood') is rated highly. The earlier comments here lead me to believe 'Blood Thirst' was going to be a bomb. Instead my wife and I both found it enjoyable maybe even more so than the higher rated film. More than once we were laughing out loud...and the good part is those scenes were supposed TO BE funny. As opposed to scenes that are unintentionally funny in some truly bad films. Also, I thought the dubbing to English was well done as was the transfer to a nice clear DVD image. The film had a great early 60s feel to it and the B/W only made it better. There were some wonderfully off-beat characters and scenes. I also found it hard to believe this was released in 1971 because of the early 60s look and feel.Anyway, I wouldn't let the other comments here keep you from seeing this, it's an enjoyable/offbeat little film with some good acting in it and surprisingly funny scenes. It's worth your time for a fun detective /horror film with a few chills and romance thrown in for good measure. And don't forget to check your local discount stores for it. I'm glad to have it in my DVD collection what a bargain!