Blood Freak (1972)

"Gosh Herschel, you sure are ugly." - Ann

A man's experience with drugs and turkeys completely blows my mind.
Starring: Steve Hawkes, Dana Cullivan, Heather Hughes, Randy Grinter

Link to IMDB

Herschel

The movie begins with a man (hereafter know as Mr. Narrator) incoherently describing how destiny works, and that unknown influences can change our path in life. It's delivered like advice from a drunk uncle, setting a peculiar mood already.
We are introduced to a guy named Herschel, as he zooms his motorcycle down the Florida highway. He meets two sisters, Angel and Ann, and is invited to their house. Angel is a religious nut, while Ann is a party animal always hanging with her weirdo drug friends. Both of the girls are eager to push their ideals on Herschel, but he seems content just to relax and talk to people, not being interested in drugs or religion since he returned from Vietnam.
Mr. Narrator returns to give his thoughts on Herschel's plight as a man in the middle of moral dilemmas, and foreshadows that some terrible fate is racing towards these characters. Well, that's nice to know because it promises that some plot might actually occur!


Herschel gets a job as a handyman at the local poultry farm, and spends his spare time hanging-out at the girl's house. Pressured by Ann, Herschel eventually decides a little bit of dope won't harm him, but it's not long before he becomes a crazed dope fiend.
At the poultry farm, Herschel is offered to test some turkey meat that has experimental hormones in it, but ingesting the meat causes him to have seizures and pass out. When he awakens in the forest, he's transformed into a turkey monster with a deadly appetite for human blood!! What!?
Will Angel and Ann be able to save their friend, or will destiny have other plans for them?

Mr. Narrator

Between two sisters

To say this movie is twisted is an understatement, and yet it's all played completely serious. The first half is like a pro-Christian, anti-drug propaganda project, and then it flies off the rails into a bizarre and bloody slasher flick. The violence is cheap but a bit disturbing, as Turkey-Herschel eagerly devours the blood spraying from the slit throats of his victims.

"Be careful what you pray for." - Mr. Narrator

There are more intermissions from Mr. Narrator, of course. He's always pontificating about paths intertwining and how God is there to guide us through times of turmoil. I guess there's an anti-drug message here, but it's so sloppy that very little makes any sense. The movie is usually pretty engaging, though, because this is a sensational disaster of cult cinema that rewards you with some far out images if you stick through the slow beginning.

Be sure not to miss:
- For a fun and possibly dangerous drinking game, take a drink every time Mr. Narrator looks down to read from the script.
- The editing is so bad that it transcends space and time. Some scenes are chaotically repeated in fragments, and it doesn't seem to be intentional.
- Mr. Narrator coughing at the end. Was that an accident, or was the movie making a meta statement on how even he must face the fate of his cigarette smoking like a mere animal caught in the headlights of fate?

Internet review:
"Blood Freak is something that must be seen, mere words can’t do it justice." - SantosJR.

Should I watch it?
Yes. It's too weird to miss, despite some slow parts.

Where can I find it?
Here on YouTube. (To skip the introduction, go to the 4 minute mark.)

Blood Freak gets...