Queen of Blood (1966) - Blu-ray Review

Details: By Loron Hays; 09 December 2017

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The Russians won the space race with the launch of Sputnik-1. They quickly followed their success with a bunch of interesting science fiction flicks that caught the eye and interest of famed producer Roger Corman. Some of these cinematic tales were peace offerings to the good ol’ USA. Most were not. Either way, they obviously didn’t catch on here but, buried deep within these space age tales, were the quiet beginnings of a horror film entitled Queen of Blood.

Because Corman, already known for recycling foreign films, liked what he saw and, with the aid of paintings by John Cline, was already whittling something new from preexisting shapes. All he needed was the right Theremin with which to guide his motion picture by.

Wanting to capitalize on the stunning visual effect achievements of the films Mechte Navstrechu and Nebo Zovyot, Corman purchased their film rights and reused their long shot detailed gems, hired writer and director Curtis Harrington (which he had previously worked with on Night Tide). With an eye toward the space race, the two of them came up with the idea of female vampires in space thanks to our exploring Venus and Mars. And, thus, Queen of Blood, a film long rumored to have inspired Alien, was born.

Starring John Saxon, Basil Rathbone, Dennis Hopper, and Judi Meredith, Queen of Blood is a tale of vampirism that riffs a bit on It! The Terror from Beyond Space and presents audiences with an alien life form (Florence Marly) – albeit a sexy one – that is slowly sucking the life from the crew. It’s Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians in space as one crew finds themselves at odds with a stranger who keeps on plucking them off.

Harrington cranks the sex appeal to 11 in this tale and gives audiences a bloodsucking green-skinned alien who loves the taste of blood the most. She’s always drawing attention to her lips; always craving more and more “alone” time with the crewmembers. And, damn, they can’t help themselves from fawning and falling all over her. She’s that big of an attraction to them. Crash into me indeed.

Matching as closely as they could their designs with the footage mined from the spectacular wide shots in the Russian films, Harrington’s talented crew – which includes future low-budget independent exploitation filmmaker Stephanie Rothman – seamlessly create the effect of a very expensive looking film throughout the entirety of Queen of Blood. It drips with blood and atmosphere and gives viewers a good sense of the mysteries just waiting to be discovered in space.

Truthfully, Corman put up mere lunch money to get this film off the ground. It still soars and, if this heavily saturated 1080p transfer from Kino Lorber is any indication, will continue to be stunning for many more years to come. What Harrington creates, thanks to an eye for crisp detail and a heavy use of shadows to extend sets and dark corners, is a damn epic when compared to others flicks of the era.

From the Black Sea to the city power buildings of Los Angeles, Queen of Blood, after rocketing itself right into a Russian made solar system, finally crash lands onto sparkling blu-ray with this stunning release.

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MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 78 mins
Director: Curtis Harrington
Writer: Curtis Harrington
Cast: John Saxon, Basil Rathbone, Judi Meredith
Genre: Horror
Tagline: A chilling blend of American Graffiti and Psycho.
Memorable Movie Quote: "HIDEOUS BEYOND BELIEF... with an INHUMAN CRAVING"
Theatrical Distributor: American International Pictures
Official Site:
Release Date: March 1966
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: December 1, 2015
Synopsis: A spaceship is sent to Mars after a alien distress signal is picked up. They find one survivor, but when a crew member is found drained of blood it’s evident they have rescued a bloodsucking monster.

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Queen of Blood (1966) - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Kino Lorber
Available on Blu-ray - December 1, 2015
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: None
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Kino Lorber, who continue to subvert the norm with their blu-ray releases, takes MGM’s HD master and presents the film in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The detailed 1080p image is beyond crisp and colorful, suggesting details in never seen before. Black levels run deep and colors, even in the recycled Russian footage, dominate. Film grain is solid, too. No pops, crackles, or hisses. The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track is strong with absolutely no distortion. Simply put, Queen of Blood has never looked or sounded better.

Supplements:

Commentary:

While highly recommended, it is sad that there are no commentaries for the film.

Special Features:

We get two NEW interviews – one with film historian Robert Skotak and one with Corman himself. Both are interesting, with Skotak being more of a history lesson on the film and Corman’s giving us a brief insight into his working wonders.