Blood & Lace is quintessential 1970s with a catalogue score, bad ADR work and so-so performances, though Gloria Grahame is meticulously menacing and Melody Patterson has some charisma in the lead role. The Blu-ray released by Shout Factory offers OK video and audio and while the features are limited, the commentary is well worth listening to.
Blood & Lace
(1971)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Horror
Shout Factory | R – 87 min. – $29.99 | November 24, 2015
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Philip Gilbert Writer(s): Gil Lasky (written by) Cast: Gloria Grahame, Milton Selzer, Len Lesser, Vic Tayback, Melody Patterson DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 1.0) |
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PLOT SYNOPSIS
After her mother’s brutal murder at the hands of a hammer-wielding maniac, teenaged Ellie Masters (MELODY PATTERSON) is suddenly orphaned. She is sent to a home for children run by the enigmatic Mrs. Deere (GLORIA GRAHAME), in spite of the concern that Ellie will be the newest target of her mother’s killer. But as terror strikes again and again, it becomes unclear who might be the bigger threat to Ellie’s life: the mysterious murderer with a hammer… or her sadistic new caretaker.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.0/5
Audio Commentary – Film Historian Richard Harland Smith from TCM breaking down the background on the film beginning with the different titles including The Blood Secret which this print is titled. It’s actually a well done track and fairly entertaining if you enjoy in-depth information.
Alternate Opening Title (0:18; SD) is just a difference in the title from The Blood Secret to Blood & Lace.
Theatrical Trailer (1:52; SD)
This comes with reversible cover with the reverse side revealing the original poster artwork.
VIDEO – 3.5/5
Shout Factory via their Scream Factory line is presented with a 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. The picture quality ranges from pretty good to very so-so especially with many shots with dust marks, some dirt spots and other ailments. It’s at best imperfect but considering what an outlier of a movie it is, and going on nearly 45 years, it’s at least passable.
AUDIO – 3.0/5
The movie was given a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track which outputs some OK sound but you can really hear the low quality sound work. Whenever someone would speak, dialogue would tend to top out (especially with the numerous screams at the end) and you can hear hisses and some white noise. Also notable is the catalogue music and score which provides at least minimal depth.
OVERALL – 2.5/5
Overall, Blood & Lace is quintessential 1970s with a catalogue score, bad ADR work and so-so performances, though Gloria Grahame is meticulously menacing and Melody Patterson has some charisma in the lead role. The Blu-ray released by Shout Factory offers OK video and audio and while the features are limited, the commentary is well worth listening to.
Published: 11/10/2015
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.