I first heard about H.G. Lewis when I was a teenager reading every old issue of Fangoria magazine I could get my hands on. I vividly remember a photo spread that showed some of the bloodiest moments of Blood Feast in full color, but sadly, my local video store didn't have any of his movies on the shelf, so it took years before I finally got to see some of these gory classics. Fast forward to 2002. As a Media Studies major in grad school, I pitched the concept for a documentary series that would explore cult movies of the 60s, 70s and 80s. As part of my pre-production class I had to create a list of preliminary interviews for the project, so I checked out what celebrities were slated to visit the upcoming Chiller Theater convention. To my shock and excitement H.G. Lewis replied to my email and we set up a taping at his hotel room. As my first interview. Mr. Lewis was a true gentleman that generously gave me an hour of his time. He gleefully told me tales of making some of the first gore movies in history. That interview was an immense help for me because other celebrities wanted to be involved once they heard H.G. Lewis was on board!
What was great about movies like Blood Feast and Two Thousand Maniacs was that they were fun, gory romps that brought movies kicking and screaming into the world of the Grand Guignol Theater (those plays from turn of the century France that shocked audiences by showing over the top bloody acts). Lewis's movies weren't the most sophisticated or well produced movies of the time (quite the opposite usually) but they were the first to show horror in such gross out proportions. Think of him as a 60s Ed Wood that just wanted to make movies, but didn't worry about things like great acting or believable plots. There was more Roger Coreman to Herschell Gordon's work though. Films were pumped out quickly and cheaply to rush them out to the local movie houses and drive-ins. What H.G. Lewis really excelled at was marketing (as his later career in direct marketing proves). There was a lot of P.T. Barnum in the way Lewis would advertise his pictures. He would warn the audiences that they would be traumatized and horrified but it worked. He was all about getting butts in seats.
So we decided to honor H.G. Lewis's memory last night by settling onto the couch with some adult beverages and our new copy of Color Me Blood Red (a fitting film for the home of an artist and a filmmaker). This is one of those movies I had read about, but never actually got to see. As the artist in the film finds his bloody solution to the problem with his otherwise drab paintings, we see the gallery owner and critic gush and lavish him with praise. The artist may have already been a little crazy, but now he has a body count for his work. As we watch we can't help remembering that while H.G. Lewis definitely blew away the world of horror fans, you can't say any of his films are masterpieces. There is bad audio, way too long shots, bad acting and out of focus scenes. But there is a certain charm to films like Color Me Blood Red. Once you realize that this is not meant to be taken seriously, just a blood-soaked laugh, than everything fits in place and it is easier to understand the appeal. You, the audience, are in on the sick joke and are just waiting for the gory pay-off.
A fun stab, pun intended, at the art world, Color Me Blood Red is a dark comedy that aims to take the piss out of the tropes of the art world: the temperamental artist, the money grubbing gallery owner, the eccentric critic and the uneducated buyer. I recommend this movie to anyone up for a silly, bloody time especially fans of filmmakers like Ed Wood, William Castle and John Waters.
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