
Happy birthday to one of my cinematic heroes: Herschell Gordon Lewis!
"Herschell Gordon Lewis is the man who put red meat into the American cinematic diet. Ultimately Herschell made Quentin Tarantino possible." - Joe Briggs
From his site:
"The incredibly popular, violent horror films of recent decades, such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday The 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street, owe much of their existence to the undisputed Godfather of Gore - Herschell Gordon Lewis. In 1963 Lewis, with his monumental splatter movie Blood Feast, single-handedly changed the face of horror cinema forever. As well as virtually inventing the gore generation, Lewis also produced a number of "exploitation" movies, as well as sampling the full gamut of exploitation subjects ranging from wife-swapping and ESP to rock 'n' roll and LSD. A Taste of Blood details all these, plus gore classics such as 2,000 Maniacs, The Gore Gore Girls, Color Me Blood Red and Wizard of Gore, placing them in context amid the roots and development of the exploitation film."
Horror movie fans who are not familiar with arguably one of the most influential directors of the genre, check out Blood Feast and 2000 Maniacs. What a treat!