Queen Of Blood- Trailer.
While there are several grade-b horror films of the period that manage to be quite eerie and dreamlike ("Carnival of Souls" being the most prominent example), the low budget sci-fi films of the period often didn't manage this. "Queen of Blood" is an exception. For its admitted shoddiness, "Queen of Blood" manages to be quite unnerving at moments and the resolution is downright bizarre. If a film is to be judged solely on its original intentions, that "Queen of Blood" is some kind of success.
The direction by Curtis Harrington may be the reason for the quality. He knows how to conjure an atmosphere. The film at times reminds me of Mario Bava's "Planet of the Vampires", but I actually enjoy "Queen of Blood" more. This is because in addition to being eerie, its a terrifically entertaining drive-in movie. The cast seems like a psychotronic dream (John Saxon, Basil Rathbone, and Dennis Hopper, quite restrained at this period in his career). The film has some campy moments, but they're quite enjoyable in their own right. This is a definite improvement over AIP's previous pastiche of a Russian sci-fi film, "Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet". Drive-in fans are suggested to track this rare gem down.
