A Bucket of Blood

Part of the special series NACHTBLENDE: TRIBUTE TO THE KING OF CULT // In a triple feature with X: THE MAN WITH THE X-RAY EYES & FRANKENSTEIN UNBOUND

Roger Corman thought he had manifested his style with a trilogy of black comedies shot within two weeks. In addition to THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS with Jack Nicholson and CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA, which was shot in Puerto Rico, A BUCKET OF BLOOD is also one of them, which in a way is a small forerunner of Hitchcock's PSYCHO (which was shown at the Nachtblende in February 2024) and of modern horror films in general.

The naive waiter Walter works in an artsy coffee house, but actually wants to make it big as an artist. It's just a shame that nobody is interested in his sculptures. Until he makes an object out of his landlady's accidentally killed cat and hides it. A masterpiece, according to Carla, whom he covets. And soon the ‘killer sculptor’ is presented with further opportunities for masterpieces...

The story was conceived in one drunken night with regular screenwriter Chuck Griffith and finally shot in just five days. Corman's A BUCKET OF BLOOD is now regarded as one of his most iconic and best films. The mixture of quirky characters, social satire and a twisty horror story with a great ending is still an entertaining pleasure even after more than 60 years.