This odd and twisted 70's exploitation gem is incredibly hard to find these days, but definitely worth tracking down in case you're a fan of low-budget horror stuff that pioneered in shocking themes and abrupt plot twists. "Blood and Lace" was extremely ahead of its time back in 1971, with its story lines about child-abuse inside the walls of an orphanage, POV murder-sequences and incestuous relationships. The film is also quite explicit, as it displays - albeit with cheap make-up effects - the brutal murder of a sleeping couple with the sharp end of a hammer! And this right at the beginning of the film, so how's that for an intro? The woman who gets murdered is the prostitute-mother of the young and beautiful Ellie Masters. Since she never knew her real father, Ellie is sent to an orphanage ran by the corrupt Mrs. Deere and her sadistic handyman Tom. They have the nasty habit of torturing disobedient residents and even killing the ones that try to run away before storing their bodies in the basement freezer. If that isn't enough yet, there's a horribly deformed killing lurking around the orphanage with a meat cleaver. A police inspector whose interest in her is more than just professional closely follows Ellie's every move and proposes a strange offer in exchange for her rescue "Blood & Lace" benefices from an incredibly creepy atmosphere and the overall nihilistic tone often makes the film very disturbing. This is a genuine American drive-in exploitation flick, so you can expect the most offensive and politically incorrect situations imaginable! The acting performances also contribute a great deal to the film's power. Particularly Gloria Grahame (as Mrs. Deere) and Len Lesser (Tom) portray nightmarish characters you certainly don't want to interfere with. Naturally, the budget was far too low for one-time director Philip Gilbert to play with imaginative camera angles or visual tricks, but that's okay, since "Blood and Lace" purely relies on shocks and cruelty. You won't believe your eyes and ears on more than just one occasion! Highly recommended super B-trash of the seventies!
Review of Blood and Lace
