My Favourite Horror Flicks, Alphabetically: Blood & Lace

Blood and Lace
Dir: Philip S. Gilbert. Starring Gloria Grahame, Melody Patterson, Len Leser, Vic Tayback and, in an early and brief appearance, Dennis Christopher. 1971

A nostalgic favourite of mine, not to be confused with Mario Bava's terrific Blood and Black Lace. I saw this on the Late Show when I was approaching double digits and it scared the hell out of me. Ellie’s (Patterson) prostitute mom and a john are bashed by hammer then set on fire in a sequence that is very similar to the opening of John Carpenter’s later Halloween. Ellie is sent to an orphanage where a flame-scarred killer is on the prowl, and the directress (Grahame) is carrying out a sick little scam of her own. Orphan murders, dismemberment, frozen corpses, hammer bashings, a scary-faced killer, and stuff I can’t talk about without giving too much away all add up to create a lurid horror flick that holds a special place in my little black heart.