Blood Shack
{{Short description|1971 American horror film}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Blood Shack
| image = File:Blood Shack (1971) VHS cover.jpg
| alt =
| caption = VHS cover
| director = Ray Dennis Steckler
| producer =
| writer = Ray Dennis Steckler
| screenplay =
| story =
| starring = Carolyn Brandt
Ron Haydock
| narrator =
| music =
| cinematography =
| editing =
| studio =
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|1971}}
| runtime = {{Plainlist|
- 70 minutes {{Small|(theatrical)}}
- 55 minutes {{Small|(home video)}}
}}
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Blood Shack (also known as The Chooper and Curse of the Evil Spirit){{cite book|last=Sykes|first=Brad|date=2018|title=Terror in the Desert: Dark Cinema of the American Southwest|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F5hUDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA134|publisher=McFarland & Company|page=126|isbn=978-1476672410}} is a 1971 American horror film written and directed by Ray Dennis Steckler (under the pseudonym Wolfgang Schmidt),{{cite book|last=Lentz III|first=Harris M.|year=1994|title=Science Fiction, Horror & Fantasy Film and Television Credits, Supplement 2: Through 1993|volume=4|publisher=McFarland & Company|page=367|isbn=0-89950-927-4}}{{cite book|last=Quarles|first=Mike|date=2010|title=Down and Dirty: Hollywood's Exploitation Filmmakers and Their Movies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L5iRMlzjbSEC&pg=PA22|publisher=McFarland & Company|page=22|isbn=978-0786411429}} and starring Steckler's then-wife Carolyn Brandt alongside Ron Haydock.
Cast
{{Cast list|
- Carolyn Brandt as Carol
- Ron Haydock as Tim
- Jason Wayne as Daniel
- Laurel Spring as Connie
- John Bates as Charlie
- Steve Edwards as Constable
- Linda Steckler as Margie
- Laura Steckler as Barbra
}}
Production
The film was produced on a budget of "five hundred dollars tops". Filming took place in Pahrump, Nevada, and according to Steckler, the furnishings of the titular shack were property that had been left behind by a previous tenant. The black suit worn by the "Chooper", which was too small for Haydock,{{cite book|editor-last=Rausch|editor-first=Andrew J.|date=2013|title=Gods of Grindhouse: Interviews with Exploitation Filmmakers|publisher=BearManor Media|isbn=978-1593937348}} was recycled from a previous Steckler production, Lemon Grove Kids Meet the Monsters. The killer was called the "Chooper" after the repetitive "choop" sounds made by the suit's wearer during the "Green Grasshopper" segment of The Lemon Grove Kids.
Release
Under the title "The Chooper" The film received a limited theatrical release,{{cite web|url=http://bleedingskull.com/blood-shack-1971/|title=Blood Shack (1971)|last=Ziemba|first=Joseph A.|date=July 26, 2020|website=Bleeding Skull!|access-date=February 16, 2021}} playing in one theater in Denver, Colorado and a VHS release. For home video, the film was cut down from 70 minutes to 55 minutes then re-scored and retitled to "Bloodshack".
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|id=0066846|title=Blood Shack}}
{{Ray Dennis Steckler}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blood Shack}}
Category:1970s exploitation films
Category:American exploitation films