A BUCKET OF BLOOD (1959) - ♦♦♦♦♦

Directed by - Roger Corman

Written by - Charles B. Griffith

Starring - Dick Miller, Barboura Morris, Antony Carbone

"ROGER CORMAN's legacy speaks for itself. But his name is more often than not either directly tied to the legacy of other filmmakers and cinematic exponents who made a name for themselves or for exploiting cinematic trends to a stretch that made them seem enjoyable in their own way and right. These accolades do not qualify when it comes to one of his masterpieces, perhaps even the greatest title in his prolific career, A BUCKET OF BLOOD. 

This is a film about a simple minded busboy man who, wanting to get in with the artsy crowd, finds his artistic voice in covering corpses of living things in clay, beginning with a cat and escalating with a human. This unusual of practice of his wins him the respect of the people he so desperately wanted. 

BUCKET OF BLOOD is absoltely ingenuious. Not only is it one of the best examples of comedy at its darkest, openly flirting with pshychological and physical elements of thriller. But it is also fulfilled by its examination of the pretentious beatnik culture of its time, as well as subtly that universal theme of acceptance and dying, or literally "killing", to belong. 

It is equally as entertaining as it is disturbing, and despite starring a cast of widely unknown, even the acting contributes to its quality, with DICK MILLER in the leading role as the dangerously naive DICK MILLER simply remarkable. Furthermore, the character he plays doesn't necessarily qualify in the clothes of the average villain, which makes the engaging experience all the more fascinatingly bizarre. 

CORMAN made this film for round 50,000 dollars, a fact that in itself is nothing short of inspiring, and not only is it among his greatest achievements as a filmmaker but also shows no signs of ageing, as it is easily relatable to today as much as it was relevant to the trends of the times in which it was released."

Comedy, USA