Nobody in the film-making industry ever got more out of less than the legendary Roger Corman, and "A Bucket of Blood" is a prime example of his work. Granted, the movie was made in five days on a budget of $50,000. Yes, there are no big-name stars in the cast. Nevertheless, I have seen many, many movies produced on enormous budgets, and with "A- List" casts, that are far less entertaining than A.B.O.B.
"A Bucket of Blood" was also unquestionably Dick Miller's finest hour. Miller plays Walter Paisley, a nebbish of a busboy working in a hip coffee shop frequented by the sort of arty "Beatnik" types well-known in the 1950s. Walter desperately wants to belong to the arty beat crowd, but he lacks both the intellect and the talent. Nevertheless, he manages to stumble upon a means of artistic expression that gains him acceptance, at lest for a while. Only the jaded café owner suspects what Walter has really been up to, but he is unwilling to let on because of the high prices he is getting for selling Walter's "art".
This film works because everybody in it seemed to have been having as much fun making it as the viewer has seeing it. the movie also works because it is something most horror movies nowadays are not, it is clever and well-written. In fact, apart from anything else, A.B.O.B. is worth seeing for its' juicy satire of the 1950s "Beat" culture alone, something that was very current at the time the movie was made, but which has long disappeared today.
"A Bucket of Blood" was made during the same period, and featured many of the same cast members, as Roger Corman's more-famous movie, "The Little Shop of Horrors". Both include the same mix of horror and humor, and there is no doubt that fans of T.L.S.O.H. would enjoy A.B.O.B. equally much. The two would make a great double-feature, or a great double-release on DVD.
"A Bucket of Blood" was also unquestionably Dick Miller's finest hour. Miller plays Walter Paisley, a nebbish of a busboy working in a hip coffee shop frequented by the sort of arty "Beatnik" types well-known in the 1950s. Walter desperately wants to belong to the arty beat crowd, but he lacks both the intellect and the talent. Nevertheless, he manages to stumble upon a means of artistic expression that gains him acceptance, at lest for a while. Only the jaded café owner suspects what Walter has really been up to, but he is unwilling to let on because of the high prices he is getting for selling Walter's "art".
This film works because everybody in it seemed to have been having as much fun making it as the viewer has seeing it. the movie also works because it is something most horror movies nowadays are not, it is clever and well-written. In fact, apart from anything else, A.B.O.B. is worth seeing for its' juicy satire of the 1950s "Beat" culture alone, something that was very current at the time the movie was made, but which has long disappeared today.
"A Bucket of Blood" was made during the same period, and featured many of the same cast members, as Roger Corman's more-famous movie, "The Little Shop of Horrors". Both include the same mix of horror and humor, and there is no doubt that fans of T.L.S.O.H. would enjoy A.B.O.B. equally much. The two would make a great double-feature, or a great double-release on DVD.