A Bucket Of Blood

Dick Miller is a face plenty of people will recognize, but he's never been one to star in movies. He's always the side character. A Bucket of Blood is his chance to step into the spotlight for a while. I won't say he does a phenomenal job, but I do find him enjoyable.

He's a waiter at a local dive who wants nothing more than to fit in with the beatnik crowd there. It's not working out so well for him thanks in part to low confidence and a boss that won't allow him any mingle time. When he accidentally kills his landlord's cat he covers up his blunder in a literal sense: he coats the animal in something like plaster to make it into a statue. Everyone is impressed with his life-like work. Finally, recognition! The only way to keep up this ruse, though, is to create more statues which means acquiring more bodies. When he's encouraged to start sculpting humans he only knows one method to use...

It's not an impressive movie, but it is enjoyable. There are some good performances and characters like Dick's boss and the beatnik guru that stand out. The story is darkly amusing though you'll likely find yourself scratching your head over some of the logistics. The act of getting a body encased in a statue is a lot easier than it could possibly be in reality. Granted I haven't had the inclination to test this for accuracy, but if something holding that much blood is dripping all over the place there's going to be a lot more of a mess than Dick deals with.

If you can overlook the plot holes and just accept that what does happen could happen most everything else is good. Well, I mean good in a campy way. There's nothing gripping here: no great drama or life lessons. It's just goofy entertainment of the dark comedy variety for those of us that like odd old horror movies.

MORALITY:

Par for the course for these old black and white horror movies there is little that is questionable outside of its dark ideas. I mean this is all about a guy using real people as statues. There is the suggestion of violence and sensuality, but that's all it is, the suggestion of it.

There's a little mild strong language.

We do get some cat violence, but it's unrealistic.

SPIRITUALITY:

If it teaches a lesson then it's the dangers of letting yourself succumb to evil in order to find acceptance in others. That is an idol that can cause impressionable people to do all kinds of stupid stuff due to peer pressure or a lack of self-worth. Feeling different can be daunting, but feeling inadequate can be crushing. Most of us deal with it sooner or later in some form, but to understand the love of God is to understand you're a beautiful creation regardless of your flaws. When the importance of the approval of men fades it becomes easier to deal with those who look down on you for no good reason.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Like I've said, while not what I would call great, this is entertaining. The bothersome plot holes and poor technical quality incite me to want to drop the rating, but I would watch this one again.

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