December 6th, 2015 - Blood, Boobs, and Beast (2007)

After a number of mockumentaries, Blood, Boobs, and Beast marks my first proper documentary for this blog. And while it's not a horror film, it's about a guy who made horror movies (including the pretty rad Nightbeast), which is good enough in my book.

The subject here is Don Dohler, a filmmaker who is known in some circles for a couple of different projects: he had a late 70s comics 'zine that launched the career of many a famous artist, as well as a special effects magazine called Cinemagic. While the film touches on these, it's most interested in his horror films, which have gained cult status for their regional charm and their DIY aesthetics. And for the record, I've very much enjoyed everything I've seen from him, so I may be a little biased.

Basically, Blood, Boobs, and Beast is about the journey of a low budget/indie film maker. The framing device/general story is "present day-ish," as Dohler and company shoot their new film Dead Hunt. They face a number of obstacles, as many filmmakers do making a low-budget film: scheduling difficulties, actors bailing on the film, and problems with the set (here, it's people setting off the alarm of the warehouse they are borrowing). In between the daily business on Dead Hunt, (or rather, weekend business, as they can only shoot on Saturdays and Sundays), you get interviews from the man himself, as well as fans and family members reflecting on his career and why his films have such a devoted fan base.

None of Dohler's films are looked into in a super in-depth way. You kind of get to see some highlight reels of the big effects shots, but the documentary is really more about independent film in general, and how the landscape has changed in the nearly 30 years that Dohler was making films. His Alien Factor hit (relatively) big on TV thanks to the popularity of Star Wars at the time, but then VHS came along and changed just about everything. Dohler had his ups and downs in the industry (including 10+ year hiatus after a bad experience with a distributor) and even questions why he continues to make films. Blood, Boobs, and Beast is one of those films that profiles the passion of an artist... even if they don't know *why* they continue, and even if it's harmful to them, they still continue. And the bottom line is Dohler continued to make movies.

Dohler himself is a pretty interesting guy. At first glance he comes across like a quiet, kind of conservative dude (his girlfriend/future wife didn't believe it when she found out he made sci-fi/horror films) and I guess that kind of shines through in Dohler's opinion of his own films. It's actually kind of ironic that they called this film Blood, Boobs, and Beast (the three things an independent film needed to have to find distribution in a VHS-based system). He never wholly embraced that model, and seems to feel a little bad/awkward about the nudity in his films. You get the feeling he considered it a necessary evil. So for this documentary to sort of celebrate that seemed a little misleading. (Although it is a Troma-distributed film, complete with a (maybe disrespectful) Lloyd Kaufman intro, and I know they are often in the business of title-changing.) The bottom line is Dohler was a guy who just loved the process - I got the idea that he was more of a fan of the FX/writing aspects of movie-making, and just got in the directors chair because "who else would do it?"

As far as documentaries go? (Not like I watch a ton of them.) Blood, Boobs, and Beast is all right. There's a good balance of old footage with new interviews, and director John Paul Kinhart opts for more of a full-coverage approach, as it touches on both Dohler's film work and his family life. Personally I would've liked a little more insight into some of his earlier films. We spend a lot of time on his current film, which I'm not sure even his fans care about all that much. But everything is covered in a rudimentary way, which I suppose is good for people who haven't heard of the man. I could've done without the Super Fans though. They are just kind of grating and I feel like they got more screen time than anyone else besides Dohler himself and his partner/coproducer Joe Ripple (who is an interesting guy in his own right).

At the end of the film, things get emotional... and not in a good way, as Dohler is diagnosed with cancer. There are some genuinely touching and *real* moments here. It would've been easy to exploit the drama of the situation, but I thought Kinhart showed a respectful amount of restraint. Needless to say, this is the first time I recall crying during a movie that I watched for this blog. You don't see Dohler suffer or anything, but it's still a brutal way to wrap up an otherwise pretty light film. That's a documentary for you though.

So overall, I liked Blood, Boobs, and Beast okay... it doesn't provide a ton of insight into the man, but it is a kind of interesting look into the world of low budget/indie filmmaking, warts and all. (Or should I say "the history of"... it's a different beast in 2015.) I would definitely check out Nightbeast, Fiend, Alien Factor, etc. before checking out this one. But if you're a fan of Mr. Dohler or indie horror in general it's probably worth seeing.

I would   mostly recommend   this film.