A Bucket of Blood

In 1959, Roger Corman released "A Bucket of Blood" which was probably his best film. Corman was best known for his campy B-movies of the fifties and sixties. He seemed to almost churn them out, sometimes up to four films a year. Given that, most of them were less than great and often forgotten until "A Bucket of Blood".

Released only a few years after "House of Wax", it does have one main similarity, but the stories around that similarity are so different that it doesn't feel like a complete rip-off.

Dick Miller brought poor Walter Paisley to life. Walter is a lonely simple-minded bus boy at a hip bohemian cafe full of beatniks, druggies, and artists. He is jealous of their popularity and after accidentally killing his landlady's cat and hiding it beneath clay, he becomes a sculptor. When he accidentally kills an undercover cop, and tries the same thing, he becomes a sensation in the art world. Thriving on his new-found popularity, Walter continues making sculptures out of some unlucky souls.

Corman's directing style is marvelous. He makes you pay attention to what's happening in the background as well as the fore, and his ability to capture the shadows is stunning. This is a cult classic dark comedy with staying power. It is just as funny and just as dark as it was in 1959 today.