Ep. 106: Gilbert Adler's "Bordello of Blood" (1996)

A vampire bordello hidden in a funeral home should be wicked fun. Instead, Bordello of Blood stumbles between snickering one-liners, rubbery effects, and a finale that finally shows the movie it could have been. We crack it open with a candid look at why the humor wears thin, how the horror gets undercut, and where the chaos behind the scenes bleeds onto the screen.

We start with the promise: a Tales from the Crypt setup that winks at camp and invites gleeful excess. Then comes the letdown. Dennis Miller’s constant ad-libs pull the film off its rails, character arcs vanish under punchlines, and the “chosen blood” thread never pays off. Still, there are glimmers—gooey holy-water kills, a super soaker arsenal, and a brief run of practical effects that feel satisfyingly gnarly. The soundtrack teases swagger early and returns for a Ballroom Blitz finale that almost redeems the ride.

We dig into the production drama: budget cuts to fund the star, weekend-only shooting windows, rewrites to appease cast demands, and night scenes filmed with precious little night to spare. It explains the uneven makeup, spotty ADR, and why scenes feel stitched together rather than staged. For context, we stack Bordello of Blood against sharper genre blends like From Dusk Till Dawn and The Lost Boys—two films that balance dark humor, kinetic action, and character beats without treating every line like a rimshot.

Come for the candid breakdown, stay for the best-worst one-liners, and leave with a clear verdict: this is a short, sometimes amusing curio that’s better as a case study than a midnight staple. If you’ve got nostalgia or a soft spot for 90s horror misfires, press play; if you’re after tight horror-comedy, we’ve got better recommendations ready. Enjoy the episode, then hit follow, share it with a horror-loving friend, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find the show.

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