Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary (1975)

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

A Disappointing Continuation

A different way of telling a story

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Beautiful bisexual artist Mary (a fine and touching performance by the fetching Cristina Ferrare) suffers from a strange disease that compels her to murder people for their blood. Beach bum Ben Ryder (a likeable portrayal by David Young) and sultry art dealer Greta (slender brunette Helena Rosa) both fall under Mary's deadly seductive spell. Director Juan Lopez Moctezuma relates the absorbing story at a deliberate pace, ably crafts a haunting melancholy atmosphere, delivers a handy helping of bloody violence, and makes nice use of the breathtaking Mexican countryside. Malcolm Marmorstein's compact script offers a nifty spin on the vampire concept as well as presents the main character as a lonely and tormented tragic figure that the viewer feels sorry for. The lovely Ferrare not only brings a soulful sadness to her role, but also bares her sumptuous body a few times. John Carradine has a small, but memorable role as Mary's deranged estranged father. Both Miguel Garzon's pretty cinematography and Tom Bahler's harmonic score are up to par. Recommended viewing for fans of more thoughtful and unusual fright fare.

More exploitation than horror, MARY, MARY, BLOODY MARY is a visual treat. Not only because the leading lady, Cristina Ferrare, is downright gorgeous but the Mexico location offers an abundance of locales providing eclectic situations to keep the viewer interested and entertained, and the characters always have something to do, and somewhere to go.From beaches to highways, villas and art galleries, here's a low-budget flick that, despite an abundance of wooden acting, will keep you in entranced during every single frame.Mary is a surreal artist about to enjoy a show displaying her strange artwork. When not painting, she hangs around with a handsome drifter, who becomes the only person she doesn't sink her teeth into… Actually, that's the one thing that separates this from all other vampire flicks. Mary doesn't use her teeth (and her teeth aren't fangs): Instead she stealthily carries a finger-sized dagger that she stabs her victims with and devouring them of blood.After a few kills, including a fisherman and in one delectable scene, a bisexual female art collector, the police begin to catch on – each corpse is not only bled from the neck and sucked dry but were drugged beforehand, using the same chemical.But Mary's not the only killer on the road… John Carradine plays a mysterious masked man that travels around leaving his own bodies behind, including a sexy hitchhiker. He's also after Mary, who becomes more of a heroine after this new darker menace is introduced. She's now more vulnerable as she falls deeper in love with her boyfriend, who doesn't know her dark secret.After a car chase replete with a 1970's slick soundtrack (think STARSKY AND HUTCH meets a game show theme), there's a showdown along a rolling hillside where John Carradine reveals his true identity and battles our heroine in a prolonged wrestling match… he has a knife and she her own wits… resulting in a fitfully bloody finale that includes her one true love being put to the test.The direction is creative, relying on a stockpile of the usual close-ups and zooms from this era, and the pacing is suspenseful. Although the love scenes with Mary and her pretty boy boyfriend drag; you'll wish she'd either take off to find more victims or turn him into lunch.Not scary in the conventional sense, MARY is more creepy and sadistic. And fans of vampire flicks will have to put some rules aside. Other than the non-biting technique, this particular sexy vamp roams the daylight hours. In fact that's where most of the bloodletting takes place, so you can see Cristina Ferrare even better! For More Reviews: www.cultfilmfreaks.com

I rather liked this small budgeted movie from the 70's about a woman who acts like a vampire in terms of feeding on blood but in no other way. Mary is an artist who kills men - and a woman - for the blood in their bodies. The sunshine doesn't bother her, apparently Crucifixes hold no spell over her, or garlic or any other vampiric safeguard we have seen in movies before. But that really is not what the film is about. It is about Mary finding herself and something/someone she loves - maybe. If I do not sound too convincing, it is because it is not too direct in what it is trying to do. Mary has other problems. It seems her father holds some sway over her, even though they have not seen each other in many, many years. He is the one that gave her this insatiable thirst to feed on the living. Character actor legend John Carradine plays the role with gusto, and at least several stunt doubles as he drives cars maniacally, runs up hills, and fights like a street kid. I do have to say that watching the cloaked and masked figure of Carradine do all these things was quite amusing, especially later when he pulls the mask down and we see this somewhat feeble old man that was John Carradine. That leap of credibility aside and several other leaps as well, Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary has some interesting things going for it. It is a precursor to Martin, perhaps Romero borrowed from here. Christine Ferrare looks lovely, and I thought she did an OK job with the role. She was quite good at looking bewildered. Maybe that was not intentional but worked for me. The settings in Mexico and Southern California have that cheap 70's feel that always injects some nostalgia into me. That was a decade for films like this that I grew up watching late at night(on the weekends) and all summer long. The murders too are for the most part pretty unsettling. The opening flashback scene and the one with the fisherman were particularly well-shot. I loved the eerie paintings too. But before you get the impression I thought this was a great film, Ferrare is very limited in her acting range, the rest of the actors often more so, Carradine's character is ridiculous, and the second half of the film plunges into total unreality - I shook my head again and again. Notwithstanding these very real problems, because of the atmosphere, the weird, interesting story, and the nostalgic feelings it gives off - I give this film a qualified thumbs up!

Mary, Mary is a female vampire who happens to enjoy the company of both sexes. Unlike the highly superior Female Vampire, this movie fails on both levels. Cheap budget and bad costuming seemingly fits with this forgettable film. What angers me the most about this movie was that it had a great premise, but the film-makers either chickened out or didn't know how to handle the material. The producers should have given this project to a person who knows how to handle such material (i.e. Jesus Franco or Jean Rollin). However, there was one nice scene that I really enjoyed that occurred between Mary and her "friend". Hey, I got my money's worth from the rental. My only complaint is that it could have been a great film if the producers hired someone who knows how to flesh out this type of material. Weak Female Vampire clone is a failure, but its..Worth a look.