by Frank Calvillo
By now, one would think that virtually every slasher film known to man has seen the light of day in one form or another. However, as the Blu-ray release of Blood and Lace suggests, there’s still another nightmare-inducing maniac in a custom-made mask out to terrorize the young ones into behaving themselves.
In Blood and Lace, 17-year-old Ellie (Melody Patterson) wakes up in a hospital after having survived a brutal attack from a hammer-carrying maniac who murdered her fun-loving mother while in bed with a strange man. With no surviving relatives, Melody is sent to a local orphanage run by Mrs. Deere (Gloria Grahame) to live until she is of age. When she arrives, Ellie discovers that Mrs. Deere runs a sadistic ship with her decidedly cruel hand as the underage residents perform manual labor daily and punishments range from no dinner to being locked away in the attic. Accidental deaths also seem to be commonplace courtesy of Tom (Len Lesser), Mrs. Deere’s trusty handyman. Ellie’s problems inside Mrs. Deere’s orphanage suddenly appear small, however, when the same maniac who killed her mother has returned.
There are two horror movies going on simultaneously throughout Blood and Lace, with both bringing the same amount of goods to the table. One is the tale of a masked killer bent on revenge for God only knows what, while the other is a macabre tale of a greedy woman torturing children. While the logic of the twists is noticeably shaky, the killer’s mask is immensely creepy and the scares and surprises actually pack a punch.
Any movie of this era and genre is bound to have some level of cheese factor to it and Blood and Lace is certainly no exception. This is definitely a B-movie, but one that’s actually makes enough of an effort to end up being a fun genre entry. Still there are parts that are laughingly campy, such as the murder of a runaway orphan and a cat fight between two girls over a perpetually shirtless older boy. Through it all, there’s a definite dark humor and morbidity to all of it that’s hard not to embrace.
For a film no doubt made in about five minutes for around $1.50, Blood and Lace contains some well thought out and fantastically tense camerawork. The killer’s POV method is used to full effect here and the result is some incredibly suspenseful moments that all of a sudden just creep up. The shoestring trappings are more than made up for by a never-ending collection of effective cuts, zooms, and editing, each of which bears fruit.
It should be noted that Blood and Lace does indeed possess a standing as a Grand Dame Guignol entry. The specific sub-genre sees once hyped up, glamorous stars of Hollywood’s golden age taking on leading roles in films of horror and suspense, in an effort to stay relevant to younger audiences. Here, Grahame (who won an Oscar starring opposite Kirk Douglas in The Bad and the Beautiful) takes her place in the genre, inhabiting a character that’s the love child of Hammer and Grimm. Despite the inescapable villainy and campiness of the role, there’s a sadness and slight depth to Grahame’s role, and though it might have been a sad reminder that quality parts were behind her, the actress takes manages to take Mrs. Deere to an unexpected place.
Aside from Grahame, the cast is populated with recognizable character actors doing what they do best and unknowns who were never heard from again, yet hit their appropriate marks. Fans of classic TV will delight in seeing Patterson devotedly playing something other than her F-Troop character. The same goes for Alice‘s Vic Tayback as a police detective with a particular interest in Ellie.
There’s a great deal of adults lusting over underage teens, even by the genre’s standards, and the final scene is flat out appalling. Yet none of that undercuts any of Blood and Lace’s effective horror elements.
The Package
There’s a surprisingly informative and amusing commentary from film historian Richard Harland Smith about the film’s stars (especially leading lady Patterson, whom he had a crush on from her F-Troop days) and the overall production. The release also contains a blink and you’ll miss it alternate opening sequence and trailer.
The Lowdown
Not many will have heard of the little-known this minor ’70s slasher entry. However, they should, as Blood and Lace is an enjoyable enough horror romp that’s equal parts cheese and fright.
