Country: USA
In the years since its
release, the hysterically titled I Drink
Your Blood (a bit of a misnomer as not a single drop is imbibed) has built
a steady and resolute cult following. This is largely due to the fact that the
film was the first to receive an X certificate from the MPAA for violence
alone, and also due to the legendary double bill that paired it with Del
Tenney’s largely forgettable zombie dross I
Eat Your Skin (1964). This inspired double feature was the brainwave of
exploitation producer/distributor Jerry Gross. A semi-legendary figure whose
skill at creating alluring film titles (it should be noted that David E.
Durston the director of I Drink Your
Blood wanted the film to be called Phobia),
eye catching posters, and outrageous promotional campaigns resulted in numerous
commercial successes in the Grindhouses and drive ins. By and large the films
Gross produced and distributed are exploitation trash, but the man deserves a
place of importance in film history for producing one of the most significant
films of the 1970’s – Sweet Sweetback’s
Baadasssss Song (1971). Another reason for I Drink Your Blood’s cult success is the resulting effect of the X
certificate. In a desperate move to reap some kind of financial reward from the
film, Gross gave permission for exhibitors to cut the film to their own liking.
The resulting multitude of cuts meant that for decades what constituted the
complete or director’s cut of the film was a matter for debate and conjecture
rather than fact.
