Recently I had the opportunity to view, in its complete form over 15 years after my initial viewing, BLOOD AND LACE, the penultimate 1970s horror cheapie, and I had to clock in with my observations. My first reaction was how cheap the entire film seemed, even more than I remembered, even more than the usual fare from AIP. Static medium shots, a musical soundtrack that sounds as if it was cribbed from one of Bela Lagosi's poverty row flicks, noticeably uneven dubbing(is that June Foray's voice coming out of Melody Patterson's mouth in that initial hospital scene?). Yes, memories fade and blur with time, including some plot details like the girl in the attic being tied up for running away instead of not folding her napkin at the dinner table(I hope the little girl who saw fit to call me a "dumb***" in her review has a better memory when she's my age). However, the overall sense of over-the-top mean-spiritedness and psychodrama has not diminished--the slapping scene between Ellie and Mrs. Deere in the cottage, the "love scene" between Ellie and Walter that quickly degenerates into soap opera-like histrionics, the catfight between Ellie and Bunch, and on and on. And that sick, sick ending . . . you're left with the feeling that all these characters are sickos, which they are. A movie this disturbed couldn't end any other way.
Review of Blood and Lace
