User Reviews

On a popular California beach line, passers-bys and beach-goers are suddenly being sucked into the sand without much of a trace. What is it? Maybe a serial killer or it could be some sort of a monster feeding on unexpected victims. So now everyone is looking at the local police force to figure this one out and find a solution quick to prevent more people disappearing from this beach. But along the way, David and Mariana who have got together to find out what caused the death of David's friend and Mariana's mother help them out.

No matter how bad this film is, I actually found to be a marginally amusing failure. Hmm, but I can say that it doesn't live up to its title though. It must have looked great on paper and the movie poster is quite striking, but this neat idea doesn't translate to the big screen with flying colours. This incredibly, low-budget b-grade schlock goes for that 50s style type of monster feature and don't forget an obvious influence from "Jaws". With those things in mind it's not as fun and charming like it should be, and even the cheese element feels half-baked by being very clammy and blunt in its direction and overall handling. What really pumped up the film's slack energy was a couple of delightful support performances from the always-reliable John Saxon and very cynical Burt Young, who both played officers investigating the case of the ominous beach killer. Even though the script is dreadfully static with a lot of ponderous wallow, but amongst those stretches are sprinkles of poignantly dark, witty humour that's actually quite humorous. But what really hurts the film is that it's quite unspectacular, the main leads; David Huffman and Marianna Hill are truly bland and the pacing limps along with only a few pockets of thrills until it reaches its all-to-easy, anti-climatic showdown.

The creaky plot is pure, junky nonsense by providing the usual run-of-the-mill avenues and with some redundant scenes that just tread water for far too long. The origin of this monster lurking under the sand is never mentioned and the material doesn't blossom by skipping on many plot details. Some sharper editing could have made this a far better effort than it's overall drawn-out feel. Although, I quite liked the concept behind this flick and while it slowly grinds away with many repetitive shots and loose suspense. It didn't bother me too much, but I just couldn't stop thinking - only, what if the director entwines some verve and blood to the attacks. That's right it does skim out on the gore, although there's one attack mid-way through which showed some promise, but other than that - they are quickly done within a matter of seconds with very little in the way of any build up and blood. Most of the deaths are just people getting sucked under the sand. Which, is fine by me because the opening attack sets the mood quite well, but you couldn't help but think there could have been some more creative juices flowing within those moments, as it just falls into the same trap and pattern. As usual tacked onto the film is an open-ended conclusion that's surprisingly effective and maybe who knows, a sequel, which could have brought to the table the things that, this film was lacking. Across the broad is a forceful synthesizer score that just has that moody, but more so mechanical feel about it and the monster effects are immensely tacky when we 'finally' see a glimpse of it in the final 10 minutes. It's something cross between a large plant and clam.. Well, that's what I think. But with the lighting it's quite hard to see clearly in the dark sequences and that's when our monster friend makes it's appearance. The photography is pretty much the norm with the traditional killer's POV shot.

This obscure picture is a pretty limited and rather bungled production and it simply shows in the final product. But if you're in an undemanding frame of mind for some mindless 80s gruel, you might get something out of it to make it worthwhile. I found it to be mildly tolerable for what it was.

Blood Beach is a bad film, in all aspects.

The dialogue's extremely dull, sleep-worthy. You got harbor patrol guy Harry like in "Jaws," he isn't the least bit memorable though. Also, here there are dull romances and friendships as well. You got Burt Young on set, walking around laughing and saying stupid crap. The creature or predator's almost non-existent and then briefly a blob of sorts. Then in the credits after it's been blown apart, the pieces regenerate all over the beach, I think. What was happening in the credits was the most interesting part for me.

Those darn film producers of the 1980's were at it again! They were trying to scare us from going back into the water again! First Steven Spielberg got us with "JAWS" followed by the infamous inferior sequels, then we were treated to a double-dosage of "TENTACLES" paired with "ORCA", then there was the hilarious "PIRANHA" and its sequel that featured mutated Piranhas with wings(!!!) and then there was 1981's "BLOOD BEACH" - Hollywood's answer to all those endless 'monster-in-the-water' movies that were swamping our mega-plexes. Someone must have come up with the bright idea, "Instead of putting our monster in the water... how about we put it in the sand!", hence the catchy tag-line to this cinematic gem, "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water - you can't get to it", which is about the only smart thing connected to this movie.

The premise to "BLOOD BEACH" is typical of the 80's horror-film movement. Unthinkable monster + a cute little dog becoming hapless victim of said monster + helpless girls and women either disappearing or being attacked by said monster + one male to solve the mystery and destroy said monster + questionable ending. The funny thing is, I haven't seen this movie on television for many years and it is pretty much obsolete from most video stores. Whenever I happen to see a copy floating around, I get a nostalgic feeling about the times when it was fun to see movies like this.

"BLOOD BEACH" opens with those 'all-too-familiar-scenes' - a young woman jogs along the beach at that time of early morning when there never seems to be anyone around... the sand begins to suck her in as she screams helplessly (reminiscent to the brilliant artwork featured on the poster of this movie) and while the viewer never actually gets to see the monster at this point, we're left to wonder about what it might actually look like.

Police detective Harry Caulder, (portrayed by David Huffman) is assigned to investigate this particular case. The only evidence left on the sand is an eyeball, possibly belonging to that of the victim. The next victim happens to be an old lady who ALSO happens to be the mother of his ex-flame, Marianna. Accordingly, the strange happenings and Caulder's investigation will bring these two characters together to try and solve what it is that is munching on these helpless victims and also give them time to rekindle that old flame as they become a modern day 'McMILLAN AND WIFE' detective team. A further 80's cliche' here would be the scene involving a night-time 'beach party', complete with frat boys and slutty girls and the obligatory couple who wander off to 'make out' but instead meet a grisly demise.

It isn't until the last 5 minutes of "BLOOD BEACH" that you actually get to see the monster. It's this huge papier-mache 'sea cucumber'-like creature that lets out a roar similar to that of a tiger and an elephant combined. Where did it come from? We don't know. Why is it there? We don't know. All we do know is that our hero and heroine manage to blow it up and leave the scene thinking that the terror of this creature will reign no more.

Wrong. Enter cliche number 158 when the film draws to a close. The beach that remained deserted due to the frequent 'disappearing acts' is now flooded with tourists and beach-bums. A mother turns her back on her young child who is playing with the sand. The next moment when she turns around to check on him, he is gone. If "BLOOD BEACH" was a box-office smash hit, perhaps they could have green-lighted "BLOOD BEACH: THE OFFSPRING", but alas, it was not a hit and ended up being a guilty pleasure to those us who like to watch bad 80's horror films on video, complete with the grainy imagery and 'worn out' sound-track.

There is something still very appealing about "BLOOD BEACH". Perhaps it is the appearance of Burt Young as a police sergeant (better known as Paulie from the Sylvester Stallone "ROCKY" movies). Or perhaps it is the value of the genre itself. 80's horror movies will always be regarded as cinematic treasure. Good or bad, we needed those movies - and in today's politically correct climate, "BLOOD BEACH" is the perfect anecdote for a Saturday night viewing with all the lights in the house turned off. Just prepare yourself for the unintentional laughter!

My rating - 6 out of 10!

SPOILERS? The above summary is a prophetic quote from one of the movie's characters. There really is no reason to watch this film. As one positive-thinking reviewer below noted, the soundtrack isn't too bad. And even the acting isn't very bad, but it's all so dull.

A monster lurks beneath a Los Angeles beach. Sometimes it sucks people down into the sand, the victims never to be seen again. Burt Young plays a cop from chicago, the whole depth of his character defined by a lame ongoing gag referencing his devotion to his former hometown ("this never woulda happened in chicago").

The woman who played the third housekeeper (Pearl) on Diff'rent Strokes has a cameo.

Nothing much happens in Blood Beach. It really drags. The monster appears at the end for LESS than one minute. That would be ok if BB had been building suspense. But it built nothing. So it's really not ok.

Oddly, about the only scenes I found to be somewhat effective happen during the end credits. The camera lazily pans around the beach. We see children playing, delighted with the funnel (the monster's tell-tale sign) growing in the sand. But by then it is waaay too little too late.

This was quite entertaining for a B-grade film (and I'm aware it has a cult following). It was a little drawn out at times but if you can override that hindsight it's a neat little film. At least the premise was different for a change; - a Californian beach has an uninvited guest that dwells beneath the sand and devours it's victims by sucking them under. With people disappearing one by one, and the body count ever growing - the police are desperate to solve the case. Finally the showdown comes when they locate the creature's lair….which gives rise to a possible sequel (though I don't think they made one). There were a few well known actors in the cast; Marianna Hill and David Huffman have both done a lot of TV work, sadly though Huffman was murdered in 1985, Burt Young (Rocky & sequels) and John Saxon (numerous TV roles and feature films).

How's this for a novel premise: a foul, carnivorous, subterranean monster whose exact origin is never properly disclosed feasts upon sundry teenagers, pretty young honeys, cops, bums and little old ladies who are all unfortunate enough to be treading on the beach when the sucker is on the prowl, thereby puzzling the local clueless and ineffectual authorities and whipping up a heretofore sleepy California coastal community into a frenzied tizzy. Boy, does that ever sound fairly similar to "Jaws," now doesn't it?

Although the threadbare story ain't much, this surprisingly fun cheapo fright flick somehow manages to be quite entertaining. Veteran B-movie flatfoot John ("Black Christmas," "Welcome to Spring Break") Saxon as the dour, irascible police chief who's disgusted with the whole bloody mess and the ever-coarse Burt Young (Paulie in the "Rocky" films) as the boorish, jocund homicide detective investigating the baffling murders both delightfully grouch it up while longtime favorite unsung character actor Stefan ("Blue Sunshine," "Spellbinder") Gierasch gleefully commits thespic grand larceny as a pompous, pipe-smoking coroner with a ludicrously protracted drawl (Gierasch talks as if he graduated with top honors from the William Shatner Academy of Studiously Affected and Mannered Overdone Hammy Elocution). Despite several glaring flaws -- writer/director Jeffrey Bloom's hopelessly all-thumbs cinematic technique, sometimes excruciatingly sluggish pacing, drab performances by David Huffman and Marianna ("The Baby," "Messiah of Evil") Hill as a pair of middle-aged seaside lovers who make a belated attempt at rekindling their extinguished relationship, Gill ("A Cold Night's Death," "The Ultimate Warrior") Melle's rather inappropriate, but still funky moody jazz score, Steve ("Dead and Buried," "Donnie Darko") Poster's peculiarly fuzzy photography, and the lamest, phoniest, most pitifully unscary beast this side of the killer walking carpet in "The Creeping Terror" -- "Blood Beach" nonetheless still rates as a weirdly winning low-rent creature feature, mainly because a certain sweetly misguided, but very palpable and thus engaging enthusiasm permeates every single fabulously fumbling frame. It's this unusual synthesis of earnestness and ineptitude which ultimately makes this baby so endearing. And any picture which boasts a scene where a nasty would-be rapist gets gruesomely castrated by the rampaging monster will always get my vote.

This movie is a Horror Show. Crap all the way. Crappy story, acting, cinematography, music, etc

Nothing is explained. No idea where this creature came from. The monster finally shows up near the end and it looks like crap. The main male and female characters and actors are a joke. We just basically watch them go on dates. The woman's mother is missing or dead and she just seems all happy/content. The man's neighbor and girlfriend is missing or dead and the same thing. Unreal.

The best part of the movie is when a few people get sucked into the sand. John Saxons character and acting was good. And the Rocky actor was there for comedy, waiting for the next Rocky movie.

The dialogue was the worst. Especially with the main male and female characters.

My rating is a D for effort, or 3 stars. 1 star given for balance. It took me 3 sittings to complete this mess. There was a decent idea, but the Screenplay was poor. They had a budget to do something, and this was the result. Crap.

I can remember as a wee little guy seeing the posters for this at the theater and being completely freaked out and intrigued by it but still being scared pantsless to see it. Flash forward over two decades later and Blood Beach isn't available on DVD and VHS prints are pretty rare themselves. Folks there's a reason for this, anyone authorizing a DVD release of this would be stoned to death and I think a single kind soul bought up the majority of VHS copies and melted them down into guitar picks. Lucky for me my good friend in Texas locates and purchases one of the fossil few of the escaping tapes and we organize a midnite viewing while I'm visiting. Half way through she was asleep, two thirds through and I'm sawing wood myself. What a slow moving bore this movie is. Wooden acting (save for John Saxon), minimal gore, and the worst creature effect perhaps ever are all here. You really find yourself disliking almost everyone in the movie. The Adam Curry 80's VJ looking guy and the annoying hobo lady really knocked the needle off the get-on-your-nerves O'meter. We finished watching this movie only for completest sake the next day. A classic example of things better left a mystery of youth. Blood Beach is really bloodless, a girl gets scraped up legs, a dog is beheaded, and a rapist is umm... de-donged? That's it for the gore but a ocean of blood wouldn't have saved this thing. This movie is slower than molasses flowing up hill in February. I never even cared what was under the sand and when they finally unveiled it soda came out of my nose and I wasn't even drinking any. In the end I was more interested in Burt Youngs Chicago back story and why he would want to blame people being sucked into the sand and eaten on the Nazi party? Hi five* Heather! Burrrr Mowww!

For me, Blood Beach is one of those early 80's horror's that I can watch repeatedly and not get bored and It's one of the rare unintentional horror comedies as this is so poorly filmed and acted with almost no plausible special effects, that the seriousness in which this is shot comes off as hilarious.

Basically someone or something is making beach goers disappear. Initially the police either assume that they've either drowned or are the victims of a serial killer, however when a search of the beach turns up nothing, police are puzzled. More and more people go missing, but the attention of the police is renewed when a young girl is buried in the sand by her friends and is attacked in full view of everyone. She is pulled from the sand with bloodied legs. That coupled with a potential rapist getting castrated right in front of his would-be victim, has police realising that they are after something other than human.

A further search uncovers the beasts lair along with various dead bodies and body parts and they decide to set an explosive trap for it to blow it up. The monster is captured on camera and once it is in the right spot the charges are set off and the beast is killed. However as people start to return to the beach, sinkholes start appearing in different parts of the beach indicating that the beast either spawned or that blowing up a large carnivorous plant is not the best idea, but that's where the movie ends.

As said earlier the movie is very silly but it's a lot of fun. It's supposed to be a serious outing but it's almost as if the film-makers were deliberately poking fun at themselves. The monster itself looks like some kind of rubbery mutated man-eating cactus. The only actors I recognise in this is Burt Young from Rocky and John Saxon who seems to love being overly serious and angry in every B-grade movie there ever was.

Blood Beach is an 80's gem that is actually begging to be re-made by someone who will give it a proper budget and updated special effects as the original film is very grainy, it at least deserves to be touched up and re-released. Not many people know of this movie and those who do don't give it much consideration which is kinda sad as it's a great horror story. If you manage to track down a copy of this then grab hold of it.