By Geno McGahee
I love overdramatic horror movies and I have found no other film nearly as overdramatic as this 1970’s gem, Legacy of Blood. Written and directed by Carl Monson, we see four relatives moving into a mansion in hopes to inherit the wealth of their deceased father. Every one of the characters in this film has some sort of flaw and harbors a secret that hangs over the family like a dark cloud. It all surrounds the evil that was dear old dad was and the torment that he put his family through. Even though he is dead, his terror lives on and a serial killer now hunts down the family in this great whodunit.
The will that father Dean left would leave the money to his heirs but if they were all deceased, the money would go to Igor (Buck Kartalian) and Elga (Ivy Bethune), his employees that maintained the house and did what he asked, even if it meant acting like a monkey and getting whipped like poor Igor did, although he gives the impression that he really likes it. Not only is the family dysfunctional, but so too is the help, and they need to be. In a whodunit, you need suspects and when people aren’t right, they are automatically suspects. Igor, laughing maniacally, whipping the floor is certainly a guy that could be wielding an axe and killing people at the gathering, but he may be too obvious.
The best character of the entire film and one of the best characters in the history of film is Johnny Dean (Richard Davalos). I guess that laughing maniacally is contagious because Johnny does his fair share, and he is the most disturbed out of the bunch, stemming mostly from his traumatic past with dear old dad, and his incestuous relationship with his sister, Leslie (Brooke Mills). Leslie is quite messed up herself and is basically on bed rest throughout the movie, under the supervision of her hubby, Doctor Carl Isenburg (John Smith). Isenburg knows the past relationship between the brother and sister and tries to squash it and make peace with Johnny, but he will have none of it, yelling “I had her first!”
Johnny continues with his overdramatic ways, asking why the house is so full of hate and going through flashback over and over again, really telling the tale with his facial expressions. One of his best moments is when he runs into Leslie’s room and asks her to run away with him, “away from the hate! Away from the Pain!” When they begin to rekindle their affection, Johnny makes a run for it, sprinting down flights of stairs like a maniac. It was hilarious.
This film is definitely inspired by Ten Little Indians and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. The apparent motive of this film was to amuse the audience with the over the top acting and ridiculous antics of Johnny Dean. The death of the Sheriff was worth noting as well. They use this freeze frame editing and constant scream, which is so bad that it’s good. You don’t see that in film anymore. I love when they freeze the video and loop the audio scream like they did in the movie “Pieces.” They have some of that here and I tip my hat to them.
I noticed that this movie has gotten many negative reviews and I don’t know what they were watching. This is a very good movie that I really enjoyed. I ended up rewinding several parts because they were so amusing, and it still provides us with a great mystery and a notable whodunit for the horror fans that love those sorts of films. I think that everyone that loves horror will find something that they really like about this film. It’s a winner.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7.5/10. Amusing Whodunit.
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