By Melissa Antoinette Garza
This 45+ year old horror find had been out of circulation for decades until 2015. During the 70s, it was a staple at drive-ins, but had not been released on home media until a Shout! Factory DVD release three years ago. Now, Amazon Primers can watch it for free as it’s currently streaming.
The film opens with prostitute Edna Masters (Louise Sherrill) and her client (Joe Durkin) getting attacked in bed with a claw hammer. The assailant is unseen, but sets fire to the room upon leaving.
Edna’s 20 year old daughter, Ellie Masters (Melody Patterson) is now a ward of the state as they are responsible for her until she is 21. She is brought to the hospital to deal with the trauma of the experience and the nightmares she now endures. She flees, but is caught by Calvin Carruthers (Vic Tayback) a detective investigating the murders. He brings her back to the hospital and questions her on the way there.
She tells him she had been sleeping in her bed, but arose from the noise and saw a man escape from her mother’s bedroom. She saw the guy’s face, but believes he was just an angry former customer. Carruthers puts things in perspective by saying if the killer knew of or saw her that she could be in danger.
Calvin, despite having had sex with Mrs. Masters has a thing for Ellie. That’s gross and it gets grosser. When welfare worker Harold Mullins (Milton Selzer) opts to send her to an orphanage run by the sadistic Mrs. Deere (Gloria Grahame), Calvin objects. Mullins calls him out for his attraction to Ellie and he admits it, but doesn’t let him hold it over his head. Instead, he reminds Mullins that he’s aware of a deal he has for sending new clients to Deere. He storms out but doesn’t change his plans, dropping Ellie off the next day.
Deere and her employee Tom Kredge (Len Lesser) are brutal child killers who when annoyed murders the children. The corpses of their victims are placed in a supposed infirmary so that when Mullins arrives she can make it appear as if they look alive. She also gets $150 a month per teenager. Oddly, Deere talks to the dead as if they’re alive. She believes that by preserving the body that she can bring them back once the technology is available.
Ellie realizes that something isn’t right. She decides to make a run for it and Tom offers to help.Of course, he’s lying and has sinister ulterior motives.
Meanwhile, the person who killed Ellie’s mother is still out there.
In the end, we find out everything and some of it is disturbingly shocking.
This movie is an effective whodunit with the main players being cast very well.
I grew up on reruns of ALICE (1975) and will always associate Vic Tyback with his role as Mel. Still, he does well here.
Melody Patterson is terrific as the lead protagonist. She’s a sympathetic character from moment one due to the trauma, but Patterson keeps that sympathy in the forefront. We want her to survive, get away and be well. Throughout, I just want Ellie to get away from the insanity that she spent her entire life inside of.
Gloria Grahame is magnificent in the role of Mrs. Deere. Deere is horrible, but Grahame portrays her as a grieving, bitter widow who has gone mad. She forces the orphans to thank her for saving them from Tom’s murderous rage. She keeps them chained up in the attic that they call detention. The teens are not only denied food and drink, but are forced to watch as Deere indulges in beverage in front of them. She’s sadistic.
This is certainly a flick worth checking out. The conclusion brings us down a dark and twisted turn that I didn’t see coming and that is effective in disturbing the hell out of any viewer.
BLOOD LACE a very early slasher entry that doesn’t get credit, but definitely deserves some for its quick pace, crazy story and a startling revelation that still surprises now.
Scared Stiff Rating: 6.5/10
