mraculeated
The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.
Anoushka Slater
While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Ezmae Chang
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
acidburn-10
The plot = Adam Sorg (Gordon Oas Heim) is an eccentric artist whose not quite there yet with his paintings due to lack of good red colouring until one day he discovers that the best shade of red is blood, and after tiring of using his own he starts to kill people and drain they're blood.This movie could have been great, if it had better pacing, more gore and better actors, but sadly it's not. With a title like this you'd think there would be tons of gore, although there are a few bits here and there, but overall it's rather tame, I mean come on this director made "Blood Feast" for god's sake. I was honestly disappointed with this movie, I found myself skipping several parts of this movie, even though this movie isn't very long, not a single character in this movie is interesting or likable. There could have been more murders and more artwork thrown into all that wasted time, and in doing so, would have made this movie so much better than it was.The cast = Gordon Oas Heim (Adam Sorg) okay he wasn't that great but he was the only half way interesting character in this movie, but his weak acting doesn't even make him chewing the scenery any fun. Elyn Warner who plays his wife Gigi was absolutely dire and annoying. Candi Conder (April) the supposed final girl, well I guess she was but all she did was walk around in a bikini that looked like something an old age pensioner would wear and she had terrible hair, she was just way too dull and uninteresting to root for and her boyfriend Rolf was even more boring and should have died, and lasting what the hell was with that couple who dressed alike, I mean what was the point of them, they should have died at least, (If they did I might have given this movie a higher rating).All in all I don't know what the director set out to do when he made this piece of tripe, but if you watch this expecting nothing and then you'll get nothing.
MartinHafer
I am sure that when this movie debuted, people were shocked at its violence and blood, though by today's standards it's awfully tame--especially since the blood is obviously not the correct color (looking more like crimson paint) and the "guts" don't really look like internal organs at all. Frankly, for a "gore picture", this is one you can probably let the kids watch...unless your kid is likely to imitate the actions of Adam Sorg! The film is a super-low budget picture--the sort of trashy film that Hershell Gordon Lewis was known for making. There is no attempt to use competent actors, have good production values or make anything other than 100% schlock. So, considering that he INTENDED on making such a craptacular film, you really can't be too hard on the final product. It's bad--but I don't think the film makers intended anything else. Now Lewis made LOTS of rotten films, but some of them managed to be entertaining despite their many, many shortcomings. This and TWO THOUSAND MANIACS! happen to have enough going for them that they are enjoyable in a kitschy sort of way. Not all Hershell Gordon Lewis films are alike, though, as many are not just bad but pretty much unwatchable, such as his MONSTER A GO-GO and THE Gruesome TWOSOME.The film is basically a rip-off of Roger Corman's BUCKET OF BLOOD (which, despite the title, is a very good film). Unlike BUCKET OF BLOOD, the acting in COLOR ME BLOOD RED is really bad--really, really bad. And, while Corman made a lot of bad films, his style was usually excellent. COLOR ME BLOOD RED is just pure cheese. Like the previous film, this one concerns a crazy artist who manages to impress the critics when he kills people to make his art. In BUCKET OF BLOOD, the crazed artist covers dead people in clay and in COLOR ME BLOOD RED the nut-job is looking for that 'perfect' red for his paintings and happens upon blood!! The film begins with Sorg having his first one-man art show. However, he's infuriated when an art critic savages his use of color. Later, Sorg's lady friend cuts herself and bleeds on a canvas accidentally--at which point he is inspired to use blood! The problem is that he needs a lot, so he takes to killing. Why he didn't just try animal blood or talk to a blood bank or get groups of people to donate blood for his cause, I don't know! I guess this wouldn't have made an interesting film.By the way, it's a tad off topic, but get a load of the first lady Sorg kills. Throughout the movie, this lady ALWAYS runs around in leotards like a dancer. She drives that way, goes to art shows that way and goes to the beach that way. It seems that this was such a low budget film that they couldn't even afford clothes for this lady! Back to Sorg. Now his art is loved by this snobby critic and he is in great demand. However, he suddenly refuses to sell these bloody paintings (I thought a couple of them were pretty cool)! And, because it's like eating potato chips, he can't stop with killing only one person. However, this is no bloodbath film--he only kills three during the course of the film. It all comes to an end when he's about to kill victim #4--when her goofy boyfriend and her even goofier friends come to the rescue.Overall, despite being a terrible film in every way (acting, direction, a stolen plot, dialog, etc.), the pieces all seem to fit together to make a reasonably watchable exploitation film. It's bad, but fun in its quirky way. I'd give it a 1 or 2 for technical merit but a 5 for watchability. Overall, a 3 seems about right.It was interesting to me to note that this film was made in Sarasota, Florida--just a few miles down the road from my house. Sadly, however, I have visited Sarasota's famous Ringling Museum of Art and have never seen any of Adam Sorg's paintings in the gallery!! Nor, for that matter, has the film been shown at the prestigious Sarasota Film Festival. Go figure!
Scarecrow-88
Macabre black comedy from schlock gore director Herschell Gordon Lewis has a very disturbed painter killing innocent people for their blood supply which lends to creative masterworks on canvas. He sets his eyes on a cute blond teenage girl as his next victim with complicated results.As you'd expect from an HGL picture, there's rather painful(..but often hilarious) dialogue, tedious filler(..featuring a goofy teenage foursome playing in the water near a beach), embarrassing performances, ugly photography(..there are these awkward camera shots which linger endlessly away from a particular scene slowly but surely moving to the actions in progress), and blunt, rather oddly orchestrated gore.The boy-girl couple with beatnik dialogue and "hip" behavior produce plenty of cringe-worthy chuckles and contribute some memorable zingers. The violence exhibited thanks to the deranged attacks by Adam Sorg(Gordon Oas-Heim)is what remains the vital ingredient that will appeal to HGL's cult audience. There's a scalpel stabbed into Sorg's demanding fiancé's throat, a couple are attacked while driving their bicycle water boats(..a water exercise vehicle used throughout)with the man getting speared and his girl's intestine squeezed of blood into a bowl! Candi Conder is April Carter, Sorg's chosen victim for his supposed supreme masterpiece, with Jerome Eden as Rolf her beau, matinée idol handsome, eventually coming to her rescue when he finds her tied up, the maniac holding an ax in one hand, a bloody bowl in the other. The discovery of the buried dead body is priceless(..the ridiculously corny dialogue which accompanies it cinches the scene as forever memorable within the HGL canon). Elyn Warner is Gigi, Sorg's always-complaining, very opinionated girlfriend. The color red is vibrantly used with lots of fake blood contributing to the plot(..what little there is). Oas-Heim as the lunatic painter doesn't hold back, letting it all hang out..quite a face which successfully conveys just how nuts the character of Sorg really is. The paintings are impressively grotesque. Again, this is not a work of art, and director Lewis understood this, so COLOR ME BLOOD RED might entertain less discriminating viewers who are accustomed to how his movies are made. I personally never expected anything other than a wacky graphic violent affair with bizarre flourishes and a sick premise, and COLOR ME BLOOD RED didn't disappoint in that regard..not exactly a ringing endorsement for the film, but I think some will find it amusing.Then again, HGL has become a guilty pleasure director of mine, so perhaps I find value in his movies many others with better sound minds do not.
Tromafreak
And the Bronze medal goes to... Color Me Blood Red, the third goriest, third most entertaining, and, the third installment of the legendary, Blood Trilogy. Sure, it wasn't as groundbreaking or gory as Blood Feast, or as flat-out entertaining as Two Thousand Maniacs, plus, the presence of a Thomas Wood and/or a Connie Mason might have helped a little, but I still consider the unwanted step-sibling of the Blood Trilogy to be a bit underrated. Color Me Blood Red has pleasant Sarasota beach locations, and not to mention, Adam Sorg is a lot more convincing as a killer than Fuad Ramses, or any single one of the 2000 Maniacs. just A hell of an actor, although, that's not what we're after. Color Me Blood Red also stars several attractive women, some of which not nearly as young as the roles suggests, this film just didn't seem to try all that hard to entertain us, not quite as ambitious as the first two. The so-called humor would seemingly fit more in something from a decade earlier, if ever. F stands for Farnsworth wasn't any funnier the second time Sorg said it, and Holy Banana's just doesn't express the horror and confusion one would feel after finding a girls leg. I suspect this movie inspired the Florida Bore of Scream Baby Scream, that sure doesn't make me feel any better about it. All sarcasm aside, Color me Blood Red is the final entry in , the legendary Herschell Gordon Lewis's Blood Trilogy, so, naturally, it's worth a look, and I'll probably give it a higher score than it deserves. As good as Color Me Blood Red could have been, it does fall short in certain areas as there are absolutely no likable characters, unlike in 2000 Maniacs, where everyone was likable. Also, as half-assed as everything is, you'd think they' would have doubled up on the gore so at least it could be known as the goriest one of them all, they just didn't seem to put their hearts into this one. Color Me Blood Red is not the best Florida Gore has to offer, but certainly not the worst, although, I can't really think of one Florida Gore Film from the 60's that was worse. Hopefully, this one will never be known as "the original" Color Me Blood Red, but we all know it's inevitable. On one last positive note, Color Me Blood Red has tolerable acting (like it matters), as well as a decent, little score, as well as, a modest amount of gore, but mostly, innocent, teenage hi jinx, or at least something similar. Not terrible, but not too terribly interesting. Recommended to anyone who digs Lewis, but something like Moonshine Mountain, or The Wizard Of Gore would be recommended a whole lot more. 5/10