Horror Grab Bag Week: The Thirsty Dead

Welcome back readers to Horror Grab Bag Week.  This time around I thought I would try to give more of a technical aspect to the movie.   Describe the camera pans and zooms and various techniques to such to give you a more of an objective view.  Less mockery and more observation, so feel free to be shocked.  Actor Terry Becker (Compulsion, Perry Mason, The Asphalt Jungle, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Neighborhood Watch) tried his start in both writing and directing in a horror exploitation genre about abducting young women and dragging them off to parts unknown.  Given most of these girls were street urchins; not too many eyebrows were raised so without further adieu I give you The Thirsty Dead a.k.a. The Blood Cult of Shangri-La.

Silly frat boys, that's not how you pick up girls.

You make friends quickly when you are sharing a spoiler!

Our footage starts with shots of the sea showing a few ships during sunrise to sunset.  The significance to that day to night transition is…Yeah haven’t a clue other than it was available and you get to decipher the symbolism.  Also this is dead quiet for 30 seconds and then a title card followed by a bit of reverb in your speakers.  Then it is off to the go-go bar!  Class all the way I say.   You will also find this has been recorded in mono and the print has not be cleaned up from living on VHS for so long so there is some scratches on the film and the occasion audible pop sound.  Four young women are abducted from the streets of Manila Philippines, through miles of sewer to the main rivers and rowed out for a fair distance from civilization.  I am speaking the middle of nowhere and getting away on foot would be damn near impossible.    

Bless me Rocky for I have been a naughty boy.

Our girls discover they have been snatched for the orchestrations of a cult and not some white slavery sex trade.  Their leader Baru (character actor John Considine of Combat!, Gomer Pyle: USMC, The F.B.I., Mannix and Doctor Death: Seeker of Souls) looks like a genetic hybrid of Peter Lorre and Mike Connors but he is in a flamboyant white high collar cloak that Doctor Strange would have turned away.  I thought he was auditioning for Sigfrid and Roy. Baru tells the girls that one with be chosen to appease their god and the others are just for the ceremony…of blood sacrifice.   I should also point out they seem to worship a head in a red glass cube.   Looks like someone lopped off Sidney Poitier’s head and encased it in plexi-glass.  

Ladies and gentleman, ICE CUUUUUUUUBBBBBBEEEE!!!

Now I did recognize two of the ladies in question brought to this cult.  Laura (Jennifer Billingsley of Lady in a Cage, The F.B.I., White Lightning, Police Story and Hollywood Man) and Claire (Judith McConnell of Star Trek T.O.S., The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, The Brotherhood of Satan and How to Seduce a Woman) and to be fair their acting was impressive for this film in spite how goofy the script is.

Yes, this is where I am going to nitpick and point things out.   The cavern location looks like the land of cardboard cutouts and trash bags to conceal the backdrop.  Our cult extras look like they raided the fabric bin of the original Star Trek series.  I swear at least 5 of them look as though they snagged some of the Mirror Mirror costumes or they are wearing these garish robes straight out of The Blind Dead series.  Many canvas died for their wardrobes.

over friendly zoom there camera man.  Sheesh.

Most of the sets are filmed on location and the underground lair is actually a former stronghold on the island so definite props for that.  Dallies of the sewer shots are all hand held and so steady.  I think the main issue I had with this film is it is dialogue driven and sounds as though the girls are formulating plans of escape but there is little to no action in it.   I am afraid it drones on a bit and well all the characters (ladies) are pretty one dimensional so you may detract from them and care not for their path.

Ew, Sweat socks!!!