Up until this review, my exposure to south-of-the-border horror has been minimal at best. However, it's definitely an area of cinema I'm finding more and more fascinating. The blatant misogyny and oddly amusing anti-Christian shenanigans of the Coffin Joe films give me guilty shivers, Santo's ridiculous Mexican wrestler cum monster hunter shtick is a great companion to a night of beer and pizza, and Jorge Olguin's Angel Negro is one of the best new slasher flicks out there.

Never one to be left out in the cold when it comes to bizarre world cinema, Mondo Macabro has given the NTSC market a release of the Argentinean vampire sleaze-fest Blood Of The Virgins. Directed by Emilio Vieyra, who also helmed The Curious Dr. Humpp and The Deadly Organ (which sounds like a porno/snuff film, which isn‘t too far from the truth), Blood Of The Virgins is far from being good cinema, but it ends up being the most entertainingly depraved 77 minutes available.

The threadbare plot is barely even worth mentioning: a gaggle of beatnik/swinger/hippies has their ski vacation cut short by an empty tank of gas. Despite the protests of the chin strapped comic relief (who spends most of the film tripping over his own feet in rather Scooby-Doobian fashion), they seek shelter in a supposedly haunted house. After eating a scrumptious meal (in an abandoned house???), they hit the hay, only to be terrorized by the vampiric Gustavo (he’s got the fruity cape and everything) and his bosomy bloodsucking bride. Well, terrorized on the part of the women of the group. I can’t see one of our male leads’ snogging of the busty blonde as being too horrific. The next morning, the vampiress’ one-night stand finds his clothes and the girls missing (just like my college days!). When they finally turn up, they’ve got weird puncture wounds on their necks, and one of the girls was found in an empty burial plot. Unless you ride the short bus, you can figure out what’s going on from here.

Just as Lawrence said in his review of the PAL release (review here), the entertainment value of Blood Of The Virgins doesn’t come from cohesive storytelling, detailed characterizations, or deep meaning. It’s entertaining because it deftly dances between genuinely creepy gothic horror, exploitative sleaze, and outright silliness. It’s got lots of spraying gore, more skin than any non-porno movie should have (including the notorious topless go-go dancing sequence filmed in BeaverScope), and insidious red vampire seagulls. It’s complete and utter trash, and I loved every damn minute of it!

For those of you with the PAL version, you know what to expect from the NTSC release as far as quality. Colors are bold and bright, blacks are dark (especially important in the deeply shadowed scenes) and print damage is the only troublemaker on the screen. Audio is similarly clear, with minimal hiss and perfect mixing (gotta love that lounge/go-go soundtrack).

However, this new release has some more extras than the PAL edition, and they’re damned impressive. We’re given a beefy Mondo Macabro-produced documentary on Argentinean exploitation (there’s a surprising amount of information in this 20-minute feature), featuring interviews with Emilio Vieyra himself, as well as Argentinean sex-symbol Isabel Sarli (whose vampish grandma look proved to be even creepier than the movie!). There’s also a short essay on the movie by Pete Tombs, which analyzes the film rather effectively. New on the extras list is a very large still gallery of production shots, advertisements, and promos, and a collection of nine, count ‘em, NINE trailers for Blood of the Virgins, The Curious Dr. Humpp, and many other Vieyra films. Top that off with Mondo Macabro’s Aroma Du Troma-esque preview reel (I LOVE THAT SONG!), and you’ve got a decent amount of fun stuff to sift through.

So run down to your local DVD shop (or order it from Mondo Macabro), pick up a copy of Blood of the Virgins, pop open a beer, and enjoy!