Shock-O-Rama serves up a double bill from one of the great directors of low-budget pictures of days gone by. I'm talking about Al Adamson and his 1978 shocker NURSE SHERRI – included in this set – is one of the staples of low-budget horror.
But first we get a rarity of Al's. FIVE BLOODY GRAVES is more the kind of picture that Al liked to make. A western. And since it's from Al Adamson we don't find it strange that the film is narrated by Death himself.
Basically we get a renegade tribe of bloodthirsty Indians on the war path when along comes our hero, Ben Thompson, who has a grudge to settle with Satago, the head of the evil Indians. Seems that Satago murdered Ben's wife on their wedding day and now he seeks vengeance.
A pretty basic western that, while not anything extraordinary, works well within the confines of the genre. You could see the loving detail Al gave to the flick and that he was probably pretty happy making something that wasn't a cheesy horror flick.
And speaking of cheesy horror flicks, that makes for a perfect lead in for the second feature, NURSE SHERRI, or THE POSSESSION OF NURSE SHERRI, if you prefer.
In this one we get a necromancer who is attempting to bring the dead back to life. It starts to work, but then he has a heart attack. His spirit possesses the titular character and sends her on a bloody rampage throughout the hospital and surrounding area to destroy all those who contributed to his death.
This is a classic of the seventies, a true staple of the drive-in circuit in its time. The lead, Jill Jacobson is gorgeous and all the nurses in the picture fill out their uniforms quite nicely.
The DVD package that Shock-O-Rama has put together for these two flicks is nothing short of spectacular. On the first disc we get the two features with the theatrical version of NURSE SHERRI. In addition we get commentary from Sam Sherman and these are nothing less than required listening. Sam remembers more about the film business than anyone out there. It's like getting a film history course with your exploitation flicks.
The second disc gives us the original cut of NURSE SHERRI and it's quite different from the one that we all know so well. There are three scenes missing that were shot after the fact for the actual release of the film. Instead we get a ton of nudity and it's all good.
As for additional extras we get trailers and some old school drive-in intermission filler. And there is an interview with ebony beauty Marilyn Joi who still looks damned good after all these years.
Shock-O-Rama has managed to put together the definitive Al Adamson double bill in this set. A must have for any true fan of low-budget films. – Douglas Waltz
FIVE BLOODY GRAVES/NURSE SHERRI is available from Amazon.
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