Blue Blood

Blue Blood (also known as BlueBlood) is a 1973 British film directed by Andrew Sinclair. It stars Oliver Reed, Fiona Lewis (Dr. Phibes Rises Again; Bram Stoker’s Dracula; Strange Behavior), Derek Jacobi, Anna Gaël (Dracula and Son) and Meg Wynn Owen.

It was based on the novel The Carry-Cot by Alexander Thynn and shot on location at Longleat House in Wiltshire. In Italy, the film was naughtily promoted as a sequel to The Devils.

Plot teaser:

A debauched young aristocrat (Jacobi) entrusts the running of his country house to Tom, the butler (Reed), on whom he depends absolutely. Before long the servant begins to dominate his master, to the alarm of the newly hired German nanny (Wynn Owen) who senses sinister, demonic intent in Tom’s control of the house…

Reviews:

“This film isn’t for everyone. It’s plays like an episode of masterpiece theater as hosted by the Devil. It really doesn’t contain enough sex, horror or weirdness to be entertaining for the most part but is made satisfying by Oliver Reed, who chews scenery and exudes power in every scene he is in. Fiona Lewis is at her icy best as the often absent lady of the estate who is indifferent towards her husband so long as the riches stay in her name. If you are an Oliver Reed fan it is worth seeing, otherwise, pair it with Black Candles for a Satanic double feature.” Sinful Celluloid

“Pointing back to The Servant and forward to The Grotesque, the film unclothes Fiona Lewis at regular intervals but has nothing to recommend it other than Harry Waxman’s luscious photography of its Longleat House location.” Jonathan Rigby, English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema

“Oliver Reed almost transcends the foolishness and hamminess of the enterprise by playing to the hilt – bull-necked, gimlet-eyed, and moving with a strange reptilian menance – one of the most physically repellant of screen villains.” Richard Combs, BFI Monthly Film Bulletin (January 1975)

“Blue Blood is a curious oddity which, despite a brace of fine performances from its leading players, fails miserably due to tiresome pacing and ineptly handled occult elements ….The horror element is fleeting and not at all well handled, basically consisting of red-hued images of ritual child sacrifice and black masses” Harvey Fenton, Ten Years of Terror (FAB Press)