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Customer Reviews of The Body Beneath

Tony Blair: The Gathering Storm
So you dial up 'The Body Beneath' thinking you'll get a basic campy vampire film, but -- surprise of surprises! -- you're actually getting a behind-the-scenes look at how U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair rose to power, consolidating his strength on the eve of the 2003 War in Iraq. Sorry -- BATTLE in Iraq -- because if we don't call it a war, we won't get charged with war crimes. Watch as a young Blair (here called 'Algernon Ford' to avoid pesky libel suits) candidly admits "I have no soul" while savoring the death of his challengers. Thrill as he calls a 'full conference' to sell a hotly disputed move to strengthen ties with America. And yes, shudder as a topless Blair has leeches applied to his body to lower his blood pressure. (Hey, these were the days before Beta blockers, y'know?)

Of course, the $64,000 question with this film -- alongside the one about faulty pre-war intelligence -- is whether it's Doris Wishman so-bad-it's-good, or Herschel G Lewis so-bad-it's-awful. I actually vote for it's-just-plain-good. Okay, so it's low budget. So the special effects are cheap. (Would we really feel better if we were convinced that actors were literally having their eyes gouged out?) You still get a fun romp in a cool-looking castle with views of Highgate Cemetery. What more do you need? A 30-minute film on gay bathhouses? You got it, bro!

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boring trash
Admittedly I am not familiar with the work of Andy Milligan. And after watching THE BODY BENEATH I surely won't check out his other movies.
This strange vampire film is simply boring beyond belief. Obviously it was shot on a shoestring budget. It is talky and outright silly. There are vampires trying to cure their medical conditions ( e.g. high blood pressure ) with blood transfusions and leeches, laughable makeup effects ( watch out for those female vampire underlings!), cheap gore and a sex scene, where the director seems far more concerned to display the nude actor's body than the feminine charms of the actress. ( Does this indicate a homoerotic proclivity? Well, watch the extra feature VAPORS...) Neither the very few and poorly done gore scenes nor the pseudo-straight sex scene add much entertainment value and the film isn't helped by bad actors and pedestrian direction either.
Picture quality is not up to SOMETHING WEIRD's usual standard to say the least.
Please notice: This is not a it's-so-bad-that-it's-good affair. It is REALLY bad.
While I appreciate SOMETHING WEIRD's efforts to release obscure horror and exploitation movies on DVD, some films are better left forgotten.
As for the extra features there are several trailers for Andy Milligan films: THE BODY BENEATH ( which is far more entertaining than the movie as a whole ), THE GHASTLY ONES, GURU THE MAD MONK, VAPORS and SEEDS OF SINS. There is also an Andy Milligan directed underground short VAPORS. If a 40 year old coming out tale set in a gay bathhouse makes a good supplementary feature for a horror film is questionable. Admittedly it is better in terms of direction, acting and dialogue.
Really cool is the Gallery of Exploitation Art feature! But this excellent piece does surely not warrant the price of the DVD.

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DVD Extras Steal The Show
THE BODY BENEATH is really only for Milligan fanatics...It's actually not as bad as some of his other films, but it just doesn't have much to offer. A centuries-old vampire clan inhabits a carfax abbey and seeks out new blood to continue their survival. Whatever.

What makes this DVD special, though, are the extras included. Primarily of interest is Milligan's early b&w 30 minute featurette "VAPORS" which takes place in a gay bathhouse in NYC. It's a bit tame by today's standards and somewhat banal, but it does have a gritty quality and is fascinating to watch. Also on the DVD are a great selection of Milligan trailers including "The Body Beneath", "Guru The Mad Monk", "The Ghastly Ones", "Seeds", "Vapors"......and topping it off there's a 6-minute photo gallery of lots of Rare and Very Obscure horror and sleaze movie posters /ad art...many of them are not Something Weird titles....and as you watch the gallery, the audio track plays hilarious old radio spots for various horror-trash titles.

So, the movie kind of bites, but the extras make this a worthy purchase for horror fans. It would be nice if Something Weird and Image collaborated on releases JUST featuring trailers and ad art of this nature. Skip the movie!