lastliberal
This film was released in the UK under the name Blood Rites. It was banned outright and never submitted again for release.As The Ghastly Ones, it was supposedly a hit with the horror hungry denizens of New York City's famed 42nd Street Grindhouse circuit. If you are looking for some bloody horror, then you will find it in this film.Unfortunately to see the developmentally disabled Colin (Hal Borske) chomp down on a live rabbit, you have to put up with shaky 16mm camera work that makes Ed Wood look positively marvelous.Three sisters are to spend three days in the family homestead with their husbands before the old man's money is disbursed. Naturally, in such a situation, people start dropping dead. Family secrets are exposed and lots of blood is spilled, especially during a gruesome dismemberment.Maybe it was the bunny bit that the Brits objected to, I know I did.
Michael_Elliott
Ghastly Ones, The (1968) 1/2 (out of 4) Three couples spend the night in an old dark house so that they can collect an inheritance but a killer is running loose. This is my first Andy Milligan film and it's really no worse than countless other exploitation films that were out at the time. Everything about the film is bad, especially the sex scenes, which are probably the worst I've ever seen in a movie. The director does try to build suspense but this here comes off rather laughable but then again, everything here comes close to laughable.
The_Void
I saw this film purely based on the fact that it was on the DPP Video Nasty list, and while I'm glad I saw it because it's now 'another Video Nasty down' - on its own merits, Andy Milligan's film really isn't worth bothering with. There are, of course, far worse films on the infamous list; but that doesn't make the pain of viewing this one any easier. The film was obviously shot on an extremely low budget, and that has translated into the script; as Blood Rites works on an idea often seen in horror cinema, and doesn't do anything new with it. Basically, the plot centres on three couples who find themselves at a house awaiting the results of a will. It's not long before they start getting picked off...blah blah blah. For most of the film, nothing happens; and then when we finally get down to the scenes that justify the movie being banned, they're so amateurish and silly that they're impossible to take seriously on any level. It's a very good thing that this movie doesn't have a very long running time as otherwise it could have been used as a particularly nasty method of torture. It all boils down to a fittingly tedious ending, which also succeeds in being a non-event of epic proportions. Apparently, this movie is still banned here in the UK; but somehow I doubt it's because of its shock value. Basically, Blood Rites isn't worth seeing and I personally can see no reason to recommend it. Unless, of course, you've made it your business to see everything on the Video Nasty list...
HumanoidOfFlesh
I remember reading Stephen King's book "Danse Macabre" about horror movies and this famous writer totally trashed this film.He called it "the work of morons with cameras" or something like that.I wouldn't go so far to call "The Ghastly Ones" a masterpiece,but I found it immensely enjoyable.Of course the acting is rather bad and the budget is extremely low,but the gore scenes are amazing.I loved especially the scene when one guy is butchered in the cellar and the amateurish gore frenzy during the climax.Though the production is rough from beginning to end you can sense a psychosis of sorts in the scenes of bloodletting.The hooded killer really rips into his victims after he's trapped them.The hunchback is an extremely funny and grotesque character.I laughed my ass off when he killed a rabbit.Check out this cheap and gory horror,if you like low-budget grindhouse fare.
AD
