1963's Blood Feast is not particularly well known to most people that are not hardcore horror fans, but it's actually quite a remarkable film; and one of the first to use extreme gore, which makes it rather influential also. On paper, it's not all that surprising that such as a remarkable film got a sequel - even if it is almost forty years on from its release - the surprising thing about this film is the fact that it wasn't just made by someone who wanted to imitate Blood Feast's creator, it's actually The Godfather of Gore himself, Herschell Gordon Lewis, sitting in the director's chair! And despite the fact that it's thirty years on from his previous director's credit, he has lost none of his thirst for blood and guts! Essentially, the film is just a remake of the original and features an almost identical plot. We focus on Fuad Ramses III; a chef who just happens to be the grandson of the killer in the first film, and he also just happens to worship the same Egyptian God - so naturally it's not long before girls start being butchered...
Aside from a bucket of gore, Herschell has also kept the other things that made his older films such a blast in place - and that includes awful acting, poorly written characters and a very simple plot. He does appear to have moved with the times slightly as the effects are a bit better, plus the film features modern fashions...but other than that, the film could have been made in The Godfather of Gore's heyday. Lewis has lost none of his sense of humour either, with hilarious dialogues, ridiculous situations and even amusing character names (Bambi Deere, Laci Hundees) features. The plot basically just skips from gore scene to gore scene, but there's some interesting stuff in-between the gore; including a police investigation that even the most dim-witted of officers would have solved in about five minutes. Lead actor J.P. Delahoussaye unsurprisingly doesn't have many other film credits to his name; but he really is a blast in this one and gives a lead performance very much in Herschell's trademark style. Of course, it's the gore that is the real star and the film really does feature plenty, so HG fans rejoice! It all boils down to a typically ridiculous ending, but who cares? Blood Feast 2 is an absolutely great gore flick and while it's certainly a lot more redundant than the original - in its own right I wouldn't hesitate to call it one of Herschell's best and any fan of the director will surely want to track this down!
