Color Me Blood Red is the third in Uncle Herschell's 'Blood Trilogy' of gore movies from the '60s. If you, like me, have seen any of Herschell Gordon Lewis' interviews, then you'll know that he's pretty much like your uncle. Where was I?

So Color Me Blood Red is basically Lewis's riff on Corman's A Bucket of Blood, and, God should strike me dead for saying this about Uncle Hersh, but he's gone, R.I.P., so I feel I can say that it ain't that good, not that any H.G. Lewis movie could be termed 'good', but this one mashes the humor, horror, and footage-wasting tendencies of Lewis in all the wrong ways.

We're treated to the story of misunderstood Artist Adam Sorg, (Gordon Oas-Heim, credited as Don Joseph) a dude who's successful and sells well, but wants something more. The critics say he's a hack, and Sorg agrees, finding that selling well doesn't satisfy his need for respect. Luckily, he stumbles upon the fact that using actual blood in his paintings makes his work feel legitimate. Ironically, it also makes it that much more commercially viable. (Let me tell you, all artists should have such a problem.)

At this point, expectations lean towards Sorg repeatedly killing and fondling guts, but Lewis digs into comedy as much as horror, with a group of well-to-do teen partiers becoming the focus. In keeping with Lewis' style, pacing still lumbers, but when a hip chick yelps "Holy bananas, It's a girl's leg!" you know for certain you're supposed to laugh. Unfortunately, Lewis tends to stretch 45-minutes worth of goods into feature length, so both the laughs and the gore are few and far between, while scenes of people walking slowly take up the slack.

Color Me Blood Red features a Larry Hagman (I Dream of Jeanie) styled performance from lead Oas-Heim, and oddly believable and naturalistic turns from the group of teens, something surely never-before (nor after) seen in an H.G. Lewis movie. Sadly, the rest is pretty much par for H.G. Lewis' course, leaden pacing, unimaginative camerawork, and, unusually, not a ton of gore, which has been supplanted by hit-or-miss humor. Despite the usual bang-up job from Arrow Video, this release is for hardcore fans only. Recommended.

The DVD

Video:
Color Me Blood Red squirts out of the paint tube, and onto this Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1, scanned in 2k and sourced from the best print materials available. That said, it looks like an H.G. Lewis film, with some out-of focus shots, sometimes slightly faded colors, and bits and bobs of damage here and there. The intent with the mastering job, per notes at the beginning of the movie, indicate a desire to create a transfer that honors the film-look of the movie, rather than a digitally scrubbed version. To that end, film-grain is evident and plentiful, but overall the movie looks good for its age.

Sound:
Color Me Blood Red is presented in an LPCM mono track with relatively good elements providing a true-to-life H.G. Lewis experience. The score sounds fairly robust and clean, and when it really gets swinging, unlike the often lugubrious cues Lewis favors, it sounds great. At any rate, audio complaints should be considered down to the original recording processes, leading to occasional echoey 'room sound' for dialog, and some hiss. Generally, dialog is clear and easy to discern, and is mixed appropriately throughout.

Extras:
Arrow Video shines once more in terms of extras, the choicest of which is the inclusion of the legendary movie Something Weird, which provided both the distinctive music and naming of your favorite Video Company, Something Weird Video. Both the feature and Something Weird come with Commentary Tracks from Lewis and collaborator David Friedman, and both also come with Introductions from Lewis.

Reversible Cover Art, English SDH subtitles, and a Promo Gallery of trailers are available, as well as a bevvy of other tidbits. A 5-minute visual essay called The Art of Madness explores the theme of the 'mad artist' in movies, while Weirdsville gives Jeffrey Sconce 10 minutes to discuss Something Weird. Outtakes from Color Me Blood Red scroll by for another 10 minutes, while another short subject, A Hot Night at the Go Go Lounge! is included, believed to be directed by Lewis. Lastly, you get Lewis talking about his 1966 Children's Musical for a couple of minutes. Good stuff for the Lewis fan.

Final Thoughts:
Color Me Blood Red features a Larry Hagman (I Dream of Jeanie) styled performance from lead Oas-Heim, and oddly believable and naturalistic turns from the group of teens, something surely never-before (nor after) seen in an H.G. Lewis movie. Sadly, the rest is pretty much par for H.G. Lewis' course, leaden pacing, unimaginative camerawork, and, unusually, not a ton of gore, which has been supplanted by hit-or-miss humor. Despite the usual bang-up job from Arrow Video, this release is for hardcore fans only. Recommended.

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