I gave the above summary because many might just assume that this low budget film stinks because it's included in the "50 Movie Pack--Chilling Classics" DVD set. This set and others by the same company are mostly films that slipped into the public domain because no one wanted them--they were THAT bad!! And, in most cases, the prints are just awful--often being dark, fuzzy or out of alignment. However, in the case of THE BLOODY BROOD, this film isn't bad at all--at least when you consider its rather low pedigree.
This film is a very low budget production that stars a familiar face (Peter Falk) as the bad guy. He's the unofficial leader of a group of beatnicks who generally don't look like beatnicks (especially Falk--though what can you expect from a counter-culture film made in Canada?). Everyone in the group comes to him for inspiration, leadership and it's implied that he's their drug connection (though oddly they NEVER said he was dealing drugs--I guess it could have been uranium or stolen lawn jockeys or whatever other illegal activity he was doing).
One evening, just for kicks, he gets the idea to kill someone for laughs and gets one of his flunkies to help. The unsuspecting victim is a poor delivery boy who is fed a sandwich laced with glass! When the kid dies, his brother vows to continue the investigation that the police don't seem all that interested in pursuing.
Generally, the acting is pretty good compared to other similarly budgeted films and the plot is pretty good as well. It's a nice variation on the famous Leopold and Loeb murder case that was dramatized in COMPULSION. While not as slickly produced and lacking the stars of COMPULSION, in some ways I preferred THE BLOODY BROOD since when the film ends there is an appropriate comeuppance--something that never really happened with Leopold and Loeb.
FYI--For a laugh, watch the scene where they show a close up of the Maynard G. Krebs lookalike as he plays the bongos. If you pay attention, you'll see that his hands and the music aren't even close to being in sync and the tune is significantly faster and different than the hands would indicate--now THAT'S talent!
This film is a very low budget production that stars a familiar face (Peter Falk) as the bad guy. He's the unofficial leader of a group of beatnicks who generally don't look like beatnicks (especially Falk--though what can you expect from a counter-culture film made in Canada?). Everyone in the group comes to him for inspiration, leadership and it's implied that he's their drug connection (though oddly they NEVER said he was dealing drugs--I guess it could have been uranium or stolen lawn jockeys or whatever other illegal activity he was doing).
One evening, just for kicks, he gets the idea to kill someone for laughs and gets one of his flunkies to help. The unsuspecting victim is a poor delivery boy who is fed a sandwich laced with glass! When the kid dies, his brother vows to continue the investigation that the police don't seem all that interested in pursuing.
Generally, the acting is pretty good compared to other similarly budgeted films and the plot is pretty good as well. It's a nice variation on the famous Leopold and Loeb murder case that was dramatized in COMPULSION. While not as slickly produced and lacking the stars of COMPULSION, in some ways I preferred THE BLOODY BROOD since when the film ends there is an appropriate comeuppance--something that never really happened with Leopold and Loeb.
FYI--For a laugh, watch the scene where they show a close up of the Maynard G. Krebs lookalike as he plays the bongos. If you pay attention, you'll see that his hands and the music aren't even close to being in sync and the tune is significantly faster and different than the hands would indicate--now THAT'S talent!