Bloodtype Online

    When the daughter of a powerful man is horribly disfigured by an overconfident plastic surgeon he becomes the target of a manhunt all across England.  He flees to France with his accomplices, changes his name, and finds refuge in a run down circus.  After repairing the disfigured face of the owners daughter the doctor asks for ownership of the circus as payment.  Over the next ten years the doctor improves and repairs the faces of known criminals and then forces them to become performers at his now successful circus.  Anyone who wants to leave his employ ends up the victim of an accident before they can go.  Now with his circus returning to England and his greatest work about to be unveiled he is ready to show the world what he can do.  Only the police have become suspicious of the accidents and start to make connections between the doctor and his criminal past.   

    I really enjoyed this movie far more than I thought I would.  The Circus has always been creepy to me, so setting the movie in and around the circus really works for me.  Not only that but the story starts off quickly with a few immediate “shocks” and never lets up.  The way that the on screen demises of those who have crossed the doctor are stretched out creates a level of tension that really grabbed me and sucked me into the movie.  I know that I sound like a broken record when I say that they don’t make them like this anymore, but they really don’t.  Today’s filmmakers rely too much on being able to show all sorts of shocking gore and have forgotten how to build tension.  While this is a shockingly brutal movie for the early 60s it still relies on building dread and tension by letting the audience know that something awful is going to happen, but stretches the anticipation by stretching the scenes out.  I should also mention that there isn’t a weak performance in the cast with Anton Differing standing out as the main character Dr. Schuler.  Also Donald Pleasence has a brief, but very memorable part. 

    This movie looks great.  The movie came out in 1960 when color was still a relatively new format.  Mix that with the setting of a circus, which itself is a colorful location, and you have a bright and visually interesting movie.  They also took the time to film on location at an actual circus, which makes the movie all the more authentic looking.   

    This is a great old movie that I recommend everyone check out.  It is available as part of a double disc from Anchor Bay with the inferior Theater of Death.  Still the disc is worth it for this film alone. 

Rating - ***

- John "El Juan" Shatzer