"The Deadly Organ" (aka "Feast of Flesh" aka "Placer Sangriento" (1967)

by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden

In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s The Deadly Organ (aka Feast of Flesh)!

Synopsis

A masked killer prowls the beaches of Argentina, injecting beautiful girls with heroin, and then using weird organ music to make them his zombie slaves.

The Good

Joseph: My main takeaway from The Deadly Organ is whether 1960s Argentina was as free and groovy as the young folks dancing and partying either at the beach or clubs in this movie make it seem. Was dropping tops, along with and gay and lesbian public displays of affection, as accepted as shown in the movie, or is it for the sake of cinematic exploitation? If questions like this interest you, you may have a reason to watch this feature.

Mike: Vieyra's 1967 Argentinian film, Placer Sangriento, known in English as both The Deadly Organ and Feast of Flesh, is a film that defies easy categorization, existing in a strange space between giallo-esque thriller, exploitation flick, and outright surrealist nightmare. While flawed, it's a film that has earned its cult status through sheer audacity and a commitment to its own internal (if warped) logic.

Visually, The Deadly Organ is a mixed bag. Shot in stark black and white, the film occasionally achieves a moody and atmospheric quality. The beachside settings, particularly in the nighttime sequences, have a certain eerie beauty. The masked killer himself, with his blank, white mask and dark clothing, is genuinely unsettling, evoking classic horror villains.

The Bad

Joseph: Mike wrote his “The Bad” section before I got to mine, and I’ll simply state that everything he says is true. It does indeed seem like we watched a censored version of what is reputed to be the original, supposedly lewder version — or is this the full-length version, and the jarring cuts when something is about to go down — so to speak — are just big teases?

Mike: That “mixed bag” mentioned earlier? The cinematography is often inconsistent, and the editing can be jarring and incoherent, contributing to the film's overall sense of disorientation. The acting is equally uneven. The performances range from passable to unintentionally hilarious. The actors often seem unsure of the tone, resulting in a strange mix of overwrought melodrama and wooden delivery. The dubbing (in the English-language versions) further exacerbates this issue, rendering much of the dialogue stilted and unnatural, adding to the film's surreal and dreamlike quality. The Deadly Organ is peppered with strange and often inexplicable scenes: bizarre dance sequences, awkward romantic interludes, and what seemed like it would be gratuitous nudity had we not watched what felt like an edited version.

It’s safe to say that the low budget is evident throughout.

The Verdict

Joseph: The Deadly Organ is the type of movie that you have to see to believe. You’re probably not going to love it without a bit of irony or at least sarcasm involved, but it’s too insane to hate. What’s not to like about a killer in a cheap mask who plays the titular musical instrument like some cut-rate Phantom of the Opera while the young ‘uns groove to rock and roll and fun in the sun?

Mike: The Deadly Organ is not a "good" film in any conventional sense. It's poorly paced, often nonsensical, and lacks the polish of more mainstream horror. However, it's a fascinating and unforgettable cinematic artifact for those with a taste for the strange and the unconventional. It's a film that exists in its own bizarre universe, a testament to the wilder side of international exploitation cinema. While it may not be a masterpiece, it's certainly a memorable and often hilarious descent into Argentinian absurdity. It's a film that will leave you scratching your head and chuckling in disbelief, long after the credits have rolled.