| Queen of Blood | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Curtis Harrington |
| Produced by | Roger Corman George Edwards Samuel Z. Arkoff Stephanie Rothman |
| Written by | Curtis Harrington |
| Starring | John Saxon Basil Rathbone Dennis Hopper Judi Meredith |
| Music by | Ronald Stein |
| Cinematography | Vilis Lapenieks |
| Editing by | Leo H. Shreve |
| Distributed by | American International Pictures MGM Home Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | March 1966 |
| Running time | 81 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $50,000 |
Queen of Blood (1966) horror/science fiction film released by American International Pictures. The director, Curtis Harrington, crafted this B-movie with footage from the Russian films Mechte Navstrechu and Nebo Zovyot. It was released as part of a double bill with the AIP movie Blood Bath. The film features John Saxon, Basil Rathbone, and Dennis Hopper.[1]
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After aliens contact Earth via radio to inform humans of an impending visit, their ambassador spaceship crashes on Mars. Astronaut rescuers recover only one green-skinned survivor - a female with insatiably vampire-like appetites.
The film was released in the United States on March 1966.
On December 1, 2003, the film was featured at the Sitges Film Festival, Spain.
Film critic Dennis Schwartz gave the film a mixed review, and wrote, "Since it was a cut-up and cobbled together rush job, it turns out better than expected; even though it drags its feet through most of the voyage, it still manages to deliver some chills come climax time."[2]
Critic Richard Scheib liked the film's atmospherics and wrote, "Curtis Harrington constantly aims for an atmosphere of otherworldly weirdness. He is considerably aided by the spookily unearthly presence of the green-skinned Florence Marly. There is a real jolt to the scene where Marly turns into the camera from drinking from Dennis Hopper with her eyes glowing, and an incredibly eerie scene where she advances on Robert Boon, appearing and suddenly vanishing in a darkened corridor. Vilis Lapenieks’s gaudy Technicolor photography exploits Marly’s green skin makeup job for all it can."[3]
Director Curtis Harrington felt Ridley Scott's original Alien (1979) must have gotten some inspiration from Queen of Blood, saying "Ridley's film is like a greatly enhanced, expensive and elaborate version of Queen of Blood.[4]
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