BLOODY SEA

(c1966), B/W, 86 minutes
Presented by Young America Productions
Produced by K. Gordon Murray
Directed by Stem Segar

THIS IS NOT A HORROR FILM.

That said, BLOODY SEA is a fascinating bit of “modern” Mexican cinema, (i.e., psychological cinema) with a literate, knowing script and a striking, arty, European look. One might even dare to call this film an oblique aesthetic reaction to Antonioni’s L’AVENTURA (1963).

As in a similar Mexican film of the period, CIEN GRITOS DE TERROR (aka 100 CRIES OF TERROR), one gets the feeling that the filmmakers were attempting to gingerly address the current trend in existentialist cinema by artists like Bunuel and Antonioni, without knowing quite how to go about it.

A haunting opening theme by Raul Lavista punctuates Murray’s typical drippy horror credits, inapproapriate but endearing.

Lavista’s score here is great, combining majestic symphonic cues with avant-garde electronic synthesizer music.

The plot itself, while superficially dealing with a pedestrian love triangle and a treasure hunt, does have some nice moments dealing with subjects like alcoholism, sibling devotion and reckless greed.

The film is extremely moody and quite fetching, overall a bit melancholy, surely a showcase for cinematography and screenwriting.

The dubbing in BLOODY SEA is quite subdued, even sounding like it may have involved someone other than the usual voice actors in the Murray horror canon.

To pure horror buffs, there ain’t much to chew on here, but if you like foreign 60’s cinema of a generic variety, this utter obscurity might be your cup of bloody tea.

COMMENTS:
* (effective 05-01-03) After a very brief window of availability, this long-sought K. Gordon Murray title is once again out of print, due to international copyright issues. Used video tapes of this title may be found on online video dealers and auction sites. Stay tuned for further developments!

* According to Mexican film aficionado and Santo Street proprietor Brian Moran, BLOODY SEA was part of Murray’s “World of Terror” TV package by either 1966 or 1967, but was withdrawn and replaced by the ultra-obscure FRANKENSTEIN, THE VAMPIRE AND COMANY by 1968, most likely due to its non-horror subject matter.

* According to Mexican film historian David Wilt, the source production, MAR SANGRIENTO, was an independent film, made by a co-op of actors, technicians and friends, and received very little release in its country of origin.

-Rob Craig, kgordonmurray.com

DVD-R comes packaged as shown in color DVD case, wrapped in plastic!