Jacob's 31 Days of Halloween - Day 9: A Bucket of Blood

Jacob’s 31 Days of Halloween - Day 9: A Bucket of Blood

This is my first Roger Corman directorial experience, and while I was prepared for something strange, I still don’t think I was quite ready for A Bucket of Blood.

The main thing that threw me off is that the movie is essentially just a parody of beatnick culture (a thing that was pretty specifically happening in 1959). It’s about a young busboy who works in a club for beat poets and artists. He’s treated in a somewhat inferior way, until he accidentally (and what a shocking accident it is) makes what he decides is an art piece and finds his way into their inner circle.

I won’t dare spoil what happens in this film because the surprise twists and turns were, for the most part, what kept me engaged in the story. The acting is as over the top as the dialogue (which is very), and the characters aren’t exactly three-dimensional. The cinematography is surprisingly decent though, with some fun visual ways of revealing the more shocking moments and pretty black and white images, despite the relatively low production value.

It’s fun, bizarre, shocking, dark, and only an hour long, so I think it’s definitely worth checking out. 

Light spoiler/trigger warning: 

If you really love cats, one is killed in the first 10 minutes. It’s very clearly fake, but still. It’s the only animal that gets hurt in the film.

Also, what a weird name for a movie that has almost nothing to do with a bucket of blood.