A Bucket of Blood is a 1959 Horror Comedy directed by the king of the low budget flick Roger Corman.
The film was produced for $50,000 and shot in five days. It’s a dark satire of bohemian life, set in a coffee shop in which the modern hipster could easily find a home. On one hand, it’s a blistering satire of psuedo-intellectualism; on the other, it’s a testament to Corman’s ability to spin gold out of a minuscule budget and ridiculous shooting schedule. On the zaphod, it isn’t actually much of a horror film. It spends more time railing against the concept of review and critique than it does providing even perfunctory scares.
One particularly telling exchange:
Patron: “I’ll give him $1,500 for this”
Critic: “After you read my review, it’ll probably cost you $5000”
The plot centers on a man who is killing people in order to turn them in to sculptures. He is compelled to continue doing so, so as not to fall out of favor with his new admirers.
Conceptually, it has a lot in common with The Little Shop of Horrors (it also uses the same set, and some of the same cast members). I would argue that it’s funnier, more pointed, and an all together better film than the later, more well known work.
On the whole, it’s exactly what I want out a spoopy B Movie.
Watch the trailer: