The Flesh and Blood Show (1972)

 Written by Happywax     June 2011

Rating 6 out of 10

Director - Pete Walker

Cast

Ray Brooks - Mike

Jenny Hanley - Julia Dawson

Luan Peters -Carol Edwards

Robin Askwith - Simon

Candace Glendenning - Sarah

 

Hey all you Horror hounds, Happys in the dungeon with another movie I just cant seem to make my mind up on .In Pete Walker's  The Flesh and Blood Show, a group of young actors, preparing for a show in a ramshackle theatre at the end of a pier, become the target of a maniac with a hatred of decadent thespian types. With little in the way of gore, but loads of nudity by way of recompense, this kitschy take on the old 'Ten Little Indians' story (by Agatha Christie) is great fun for those who love 70s UK horror.

The film opens with budding actresses Carol (busty Luan Peters) and Jane (sexy Judy Matheson) being awakened in the middle of the night by a knocking at their door. With Carol leaping naked from her bed (which she shares with her roomate!) to see who it is, it becomes clear that Walker hasn't completely forgotten his sex/comedy roots—after all, how many girls do you know that would be happy to open their front door in the nude?

Anyway, the caller turns out to be a practical joker named Tony (he staggers through the door pretending that he has been stabbed), with whom Carol has recently worked on a horror film. No acceptable explanation is given for his unusual arrival at the girls' place, but after some brief chit-chat, it transpires that both he and the two women have been given a job in a new show. They are to travel to the seaside town of Eastcliff where they will meet the rest of the cast (which includes 'Confessions' star Robin Askwith, and Jenny Hanley, presenter of kids' TV show Magpie) and the producer, Mike (Ray Brooks), to begin rehearsals.

Of course, it's not long after their arrival at the spooky old theatre that the troupe's number starts to dwindle, as the mysterious killer sets to work.

The Flesh and Blood Show might not be as shocking as some of Walker's later efforts, and is certainly not as gruesome, but with every pretty female in some state of nakedness during the film, a truly hilarious finalé featuring a Shakepeare quoting lunatic, and even a sequence shot in 3D, and the fact that I LOVE BOOBS it's still a film worth seeking out.