Chad

WillieMLF

Slowly working my way through this one today. What is Bert Young doing in this movie? Chicago this, Chicago that.... This is probably the first time I could do without more Bert.

Current girlfriend dispatched by monster to make room for past love interest hero has been pining for. CHECK!

Black socked, metal-detector toting beach comber dispatched by beast? CHECK!

Is this Shaw Brothers, or just Run Run Shaw produced?

omike

Biases: I like classic 50's monster movies and I'm a big John Saxon fan. Overall I thought this was pretty good. Jaws influences were obvious from the setting to a reference made by Saxon but this also has the structure of a classic 1950's monster movie with a series of mysterious events gradually leading to the revelation of the monster. Too bad there wasn't much revealed here, just a green claw and arm in one scene and what looked like a plant stalk or killer flower at the end of the movie. Granted it probably would have looked even worse if we had a better view but sometimes even the crappiest monsters can have creative touches to them and I like to see that. The scene where Harry was exploring the burned out basement was suspenseful and the body part dump on the heroine a bit later was surprising and disgusting. I thought the sand effects were well done. Even though John Saxon's roll was a minor one he added some class to the proceedings. On the down side I thought the cop from Chicago, Royko (perhaps a nod to famous newspaper columnist Mike Royko?) was really annoying and I didn't think he added anything and he was the only character I had trouble understanding. Also there were some really awful bits of dialogue and this movie has to have the most boring scientist character of all time. Watching paint dry would be much more exciting than listening to him reveal a major plot point. Characters and plot are standard but that's to be expected. I give Blood Beach a solid 6/10.

I was curious about the Shaw connection as well so I checked out Run Run Shaw's Wikipedia entry. It said that after the Shaw Brothers studio declined in the 1970s Run Run Shaw turned his attention to TV and he "also looked for opportunities in the United States and co-produced a handful of US films, including the 1982 sci-fi classic Blade Runner".

numbercrunch

Blood beach looks like it was shot through an empty coke bottle. It was bleached out, no pun intended.

Undeadcow

Many thanks to Alyxstarr for hosting this, and finding an extended/uncut edition.

The scenario/creation here is just 'wtf' crazy enough here that it carries the film despite itself. The Blood Beach idea is a great one, who hasn't been afraid digging through the sand that there'd be some insect/creature, debris, or other ghastly danger lying beneath the sand? I especially like that they never really explain what is happening, just that there are mysterious attacks on the beach we know are somehow subterreanian and a worm creature plus setup for a sequel(s).

There are sometimes attempts to merge 'police procedural' thriller tropes with other genres, like monster movies, and it rarely seems like they work well.

I think Burt Young and John Saxon were well cast and added a 'flair' to it.

I cannot imagine how different this would be if they made a remake today.

Now I'm worried next time I go to the beach I'll not be able to help but leer at the vulnerable limbs suckers are hanging out over the sand just waiting for Blood Beach's return.

TheBigDave

If anyone's looking for a streaming version, this is available on the Killer Movie Channel on the Roku.

https://channelstore.roku.com/detail...-movie-channel

It's free (with ads). The video is Fullscreen, but it's the Extended/Uncut version.

jholmes

This was a fun watch. I'd rate it a 5/10. I liked the slower build mystery and the concept of the thing under the sand eating people was cool. The ending and "creature" were pretty cheesy.

Jeez, I hated that obnoxious detective character played by Burt Young. I suppose he was supposed to be comic relief, but it fell flat for me.

John Saxon was good, as always.

Gobear

Exactly my thought. There must be a Mill Creek collection with better quality picture and sound quality.

For a much better "creature under the sand" flick, check out which turns up on cable fairly often.

DaveyJoe

Blood Beach: a loved one dies but you get a free dog out of it. Life's not so bad.

The homeless lady's aggressive conspiracy theories is basically me trying to convince my friends that True Detective season two wasn't that bad.

This dude is drying dishes that are clearly dry. I know it was a low budget film but they couldn't dip a plate in water for the shot?

DaveyJoe

So far the blood beach likes people but wouldn't eat the whole dog. Not sure if the blood beach is a picky eater or just forgot to take its tums.

Not sure if John Saxon is describing the murders so far or just critiquing the script while the cameras were rolling. The one thing I'm certain of is that someone from wardrobe glued his hands to his pockets for this scene.

The male lead's short shorts are what initially got this movie an X rating.

DaveyJoe

You can't just use the cat jump scare and immediately cut to a different scene without establishing whether that was her cat or just a random ass stray jumping through the window. I have questions about their pet/owner relationship.

I like this era where jeans were tight and sexy. When I came of age we had JNCOs which were so baggy you couldn't even be sure someone had a butt. Having said that it's weird that so many characters are wearing jeans to the beach.

So the blood beach has been concerned about weight managent as it has gone from eating a person, to a dog's head, to a rapist's tiny member, which is similar to the way I get increasingly small plates at the local buffet as my shame overwhelms me.

DaveyJoe

"Jesus Christ, what did I do to deserve this?" -John Saxon going off script once again while the director says 'No, keep rolling, we can make this fit!'

"A kind of living thing that evolved in a dark place that will one day venture out into the light." I feel personally attacked.

"I'm the one who spilled the drink on your dress..." Afro guy is either padding the film with a new character or fulfilling his sex offender registry requirements in a new neighborhood.

DaveyJoe

I'm no Rachael Ray but this guy is just beating a head of lettuce into sumbmission.

Our love interest wore her finest rodeo clown sweater vest for her first date with the protagonist. (Seriously, go back and check)

Uncle Rico on the metal detector here once he digs up that gold he's gonna throw a football over that mountain.

DaveyJoe

"Doctors think there has been considerable brain damage." After watching Blood Beach.

"I'll tell you what I really wanna do..." John Saxon channeling the Spice Girls in Blood Beach.

I think Blood Beach rented the Taxi Driver score for its final act.

WillieMLF

I caught this last year, not during the challenge. I went into it with zero expectations, and ended up being quite surprised. There's something reassuring watching perfectly sculpted hipsters getting dispatched by a really neat monster.

Trevor

We should start a gofundme to make sure DaveyJoe always has the means to watch the subset films with alcohol.

DaveyJoe

Finally, a crowd-funding venture that promises to deliver.

pagefrance

Two things that make me instantly like this movie: a beach side location and John Saxon. And there was Burt Young as a bonus so it was worth the watch. Despite being from the 80's this had a decidedly 50's feel to it, perhaps it was what the movie was going for intentionally.

L. Ron zyzzle

“We found it! We found it! We found the guy’s weiner!”

Best line ever.

wishbone

Suspenseful beach attack themes never would have happened in Chicago.

Trevor

Wow, it’s like the film of the month or something. It gets a subset day and a separate theme day!

Undeadcow

Jawsploitation and beach based horror are not the same thing... or are they? I blame us for not voting in distinct enough themes, I knew we should have gone with 'torture porn day' instead.

clckworang

I found this to be a bit of a chore to get through. It was one of those films that I can't really say was bad, but it's definitely not good either. I had seen the more recent deadly sand movie, perhaps in a past challenge. I didn't think that one was great either but would recommend it over this one.

That line did get a big laugh out of me. My friend and I were also alternately intrigued and disgusted by the lead actor's body hair.