AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Steineded How sad is this?

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Coventry Sometimes you start watching a movie with low and or absolutely no expectations whatsoever and it turns out to be a very pleasant surprise. Those are the best film-watching experiences you can have. Unfortunately, the opposite scenario exists as well. It's such a tremendous letdown in case a film of which you expected so much turns out to be a big disappointment! I think "The Blood-Spattered Bride" had been standing on my wish list for more than a decade already, and each year that passed my expectations towards it grew larger. I regret to admit now that it's a boring and overlong movie, completely unworthy of the cult status it enjoys. The plot is only mildly interesting, while the lead characters are dull and antipathetic, and the only noteworthy atmospheric and horrific sequences are all – too little too late – saved up for the climax. A newlywed couple (of which the girl looks extremely young) is on its way to the husband's large family estate in the remote countryside. The girl – Susan – is terribly nervous for their first night because she's a virgin, and he doesn't exactly behave comforting or gentle as he rips her wedding dress to pieces. While at the estate, Susan becomes obsessed with the legend of a female ancestor, Mircalla Karnstein, who allegedly killed her husband with a dagger because she grew to hate him. Susan has dreams and hallucinations in which Mircalla shows her where to find the same dagger and she begins to believe that she is also destined to kill her own husband. Later, the man meets a perfect lookalike of Mircalla at the beach (he literally digs her up from the sand in a really bizarre and implausible sequence) and invites her back to the estate. Susan is now convinced that Mircalla has reincarnated (into Carmilla) to guide and assist her on her mission to kill the husband. The middle section of "The Blood-Spattered Bride" is intolerable tedious and absolutely nothing happens, except for the husband trying to have sex with his wife and she inventing various excuses to refuse. Maybe he should just try to be kind and tender instead of pulling her up a rock by her hair or chasing her into a giant bird cage? It's just an idea… The filming locations are stunning, the music is nice and the lead actresses (Maribel Martín and Alexandra Bastedo) are genuine beauties, but that's hardly enough to label this as a euro-exploitation classic. The last 10-15 minutes are downright terrific, with suddenly half a dozen of gruesome massacres and sleazy plot twists, but by this time my feelings of disappointment unfortunately couldn't be reversed anymore.

Mr_Ectoplasma "The Blood Spattered Bride" follows a newlywed bride who moves into her husband's remote ancestral castle; all would be fine if she didn't harbor feelings of resentment and hatred for him. It also turns out that his family lineage has a history of women killing their husbands, and when she finds herself haunted by a mysterious woman named Mircalla (ahem, Carmilla), she finds herself seduced into a world of bloodshed and madness.This dynamic vampire sleeper is inarguably the cream of the crop as far as the European horror of this era goes. Despite the film's oft-label of "Eurotrash", "The Blood Spattered Bride" is anything but—aesthetically, it does retain a grainy grindhouse edge to it, but the film's photography is overall lush and atmospheric, and the production values are high. Apt cinematography and a series of haunting visuals provide additional support to the film's ghoulish tone.As many of have said, it's a film whose horror relies heavily on atmosphere, and it does a remarkable job doing it. The castle and its outlying surroundings are well-realized and legitimately eerie, lending the film a downbeat Gothic tone. A series of noteworthy sequences of bloodshed are present, and while the gore effects are elaborate and impressive, this is by no means an exploitation film. The plot hinges on unusually complex thematics and dances circles around lesbianism and misogyny, shaping itself into a double-edged dagger of early '70s feminist commentary. Considerable liberties are taken with the film's source material ("Carmilla" by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu), but it really is a masterful take on the story with appropriate tinges of the period. I went into this film with the gaudy expectations I have of a Jess Franco picture, but was rewarded with something much darker and considerably more serious. "The Blood Spattered Bride" manages to take a hearty stab at classicism while juggling the postmodern social politics of marriage, virginity, and female sexuality. It's a lush and gorgeous film, and also a very dreamlike and complex one. Scraping the layer of social commentary off the top, what we have here beyond that is a surprisingly elegant vampire film that is rich in atmosphere and Gothic goings-on. Subtle but masterful performances bring the characters to life and provide another layer of legitimate interest. This is a wonderful, underrated film, and is a visual and intellectually stimulating piece of '70s Euro-horror. 9/10.

BA_Harrison At the beginning of Vicente Aranda's The Blood Spattered Bride, newlywed virgin Susan (Maribel Martín) imagines herself being raped by a masked man who looks uncannily like her husband (Simón Andreu)—an early indication that this girl is fearful of the opposite sex and therefore not going to make the ideal spouse.When the time comes for her to put out on her wedding night, Susan discovers for real that her hubby lacks the gentle touch when it comes to making whoopee: he likes to be the one in control and, although he doesn't actually force himself upon her, he is more than a little predatory when it comes to sex.Susan finds herself beginning to hate her husband—feelings which are encouraged by a mysterious blonde, Carmilla (Alexandra Bastedo), who is found, by Susan's hubby, naked and buried in sand on the beach. Before you can say 'bean-flicker', Carmilla is sexing it up with Susan, biting her on the neck and fuelling her hatred towards men.Believing that Carmilla is actually his murderous man-hating ancestor Mircalla Karnstein, who has returned as a lesbian vampire, Susan's husband sets out to stop her any way he can.Made in the early 70s, when the battle of the sexes and the feminist movement were in full swing, The Blood Spattered Bride uses sexual domination as its central theme: both the husband and Carmilla seek to control Susan. Carmilla succeeds in turning Susan into a grade-A man-hater (to the point where she is willing to kill) and so the husband, out to prove his superiority, grabs his gun, and pumps his load into both women (oo-err, missus!).Whilst I am sure this intellectual subtext is all very interesting to some, I couldn't care less: I like my Euro-horror trashy and gory and my lesbian vampires to be sleazy, and although The Blood Spattered Bride has the occasional smattering of nudity and some bloodletting, it is way too reserved for my depraved tastes. Bastedo and Martín do get nekkid, but don't get down to any serious kinky stuff together, and the film doesn't go far enough with the gore: a couple of scenes almost make the grade (Susan dreaming that she is stabbing her husband and a gratuitous shogun blast to the crotch) but I was hoping for much more.The film ends very abruptly, just as the husband is about to remove the hearts of the dead women (a scene which is rumoured to have existed, but which has now apparently been lost). And I couldn't help but feel disappointed.

insomniac_rod I watched this on a double feature along with "I Dismember Mama". Okay, "Blood Spattered Bride" is not your typical 70's exploitation flick, but indeed it's something better. This movie has a very interesting plot that starts slow but delivers after half of the movie until the shocking ending. The difference with many flicks of this kind is it's very stylish visuals (direction, settings, cinematography). This is one of the best looking movies of it's kind. Excellent direction by Aranda. The Gothic atmosphere is haunting and serves perfect for the movie's events. Excellent job. The gore here is not that abundant but still delivers expectations. Violence is not in high amounts but it's still good. The acting is above good. The husband, Susan, and "the bride" are characters to remember. The performances are pretty good. I don't know if I should feel guilty but I think that Carol was very, very hot. Her scenes wearing a short skirt were candy for the eye. I wonder if she was really 14.Anyways, this is the kind of the movie that confuses the audience because of it's dream/fantasy sequences but it's almost until the end that you understand everything. I must admit that the first sequence (the one in the hotel) really confused me and I thought that the movie was going downhill. I'm glad I was wrong. The movie starts slow, abuses of dream sequences but pays off with it's visuals, acting, and the typical exploitation death scenes. The ending is good and solves the movie's events really easily. I didn't know that vampires die for good if you cut their hearts. Watch this Spanish exploitation flick but don't expect too much on the entertainment factor. There are minimal shocking situations or gory death scenes but in exchange you get stunning visuals and good acting. The movie tries to be very complex but fails. Overall, this shouldn't be watched as pure entertainment for a Horror fan; you should watch this movie for it's technical values and plot. Don't expect a gore fest or long sex scenes involving vampires.