Blood of the Virgin by Sammy Harkham Review

It’s early ‘70s Hollywood and young wannabe filmmaker Seymour has gotten his horror script, Blood of the Virgin, approved for production - though someone else is directing. The story follows the filming of the B-movie and the shenanigans that go on behind-the-scenes.

Sammy Harkham’s Blood of the Virgin is about as good as the movie in the book, which is to say it’s not very good at all. The story is tedious, the characters are all loathsome idiots and the book is bloated with numerous go-nowhere, uninteresting scenes.

I’ve no idea why Harkham chose early ‘70s Hollywood and in particular the B-movie horror films of that era to be the focus of his book but, as someone who has no direct experience of those days, it feels like he captured the spirit of the time. It’s probably a convincing look at B-movie filmmaking - rogue filming in public without a permit, make-up and props that don’t work on the day - and the difficulty of the process overall. It’s just not very interesting to read about.

I don’t know why the protagonist Seymour had to be such an unlikeable douche either but he is - and he’s among the “nicer” characters too; Harkham tiresomely underlining the scumminess of Hollywood yet again.

The book feels like it doesn’t need to be as long as it is as so many scenes seem pointless. There’s a lot of party scenes and Seymour bumbling about making a fool of himself that add nothing and an entire sequence at the end in New Zealand that was plain baffling for its inclusion. Ida’s mother’s story from how she went from WW2 Hungary to New Zealand was compelling but, again, why have that in - what is the point of the book?

I’m guessing the title is indicative of Seymour, and other young filmmakers, going to Hollywood - the “virgins” - whose talents and youthful energy - the “blood” - are used by the studio heads to make them money. But, if that’s right, then the overall point Harkham’s making in this book - that making films in Hollywood is a wretched business that chews you up and spits you out - is dull and trite.

A directionless and dreary read with a contrived maudlin air to it, I don’t know who Blood of the Virgin would appeal to but it’s definitely not a must-read comic for anyone unless the very specific subject of the early ‘70s horror B-movie business in Hollywood is your thing.