They Ain't Mr. Ziffel

 

(IMBD)

INVASION OF THE BLOOD FARMERS-1972-A narrator trying to sound like James Mason tells us about the Sangre Druids who went into hiding and 50 years after the death of Christ disappeared. However they are still around occasionally making blood sacrifices. In some quiet burg in upside New York, an old drunk suffers a bloody death. Two scientists, Dr.Anderson (Norman Kelley), an older guy and his young assistant Don (Bruce Detrick) studying the dead guy's blood, find it seems to be multiplying. In a bar some burnout cleaning up the bloody floor says he saw the"demons from hell". Later a guy in overalls with a limp and a cane spies on the two scientists and beats the family dog to death and drinks its blood. Later he's joined by another Mr. Green Jeans type and they kill a newlywed couple. It seems they are part of a druid blood cult and their prissy leader wants to resurrect their dead queen. When Don finds an ancient key one of the idiots dropped, Anderson calls his friend to see if he can identify it. He's very interested especially since he's part of the cult! Then a hooded figure stabs a guy in the eye with a syringe. After much talking and blood work, the cult kidnaps the old scientist and his daughter Jen (Tanna Hunter; also Don's girlfriend who earlier went to pieces over the dead dog).

The climax features a ritual which revives the cult's queen and when Don jumps in to break it up the whole thing resembles a Monty Python skit. The terrible acting and cliched script plus awful night time scenes shot in broad daylight make me feel this could have been an intentional set up, still done ineptly though. Director Ed Adlum (from Queens, NY) co-wrote the screenplay (with Ed Kelleher) while working for Cashbox magazine. A few years later he wrote the even worse SHRIEK OF THE MUTILATED.

Thanks for reading.