DIRECTOR: Bill GunnWhen the studio commissioned "Ganja & Hess," the expectation was a blaxploitation horror flick that would cash in on the commercial success of 1972's "Blacula." Playwright Bill Gunn, uninterested in such an assignment but hungry for the opportunity to direct, resolved to make a vampire movie the vehicle of his artistic vision.
WRITER: Bill Gunn
PHOTOGRAPHY: James Hinton
MUSIC: Sam Waymon
COUNTRY: USA
CAST: Duane Jones, Marlene Clark, Bill Gunn, Sam Waymon
GENRE: Horror, blaxploitation
MISCELLANY: 110m; on DVD
The result is a challenging film that failed commercially and critically.
Here is a vampire movie that uses the word victim instead of vampire. A "blaxploitation" hero who is intellectual, wealthy and suburban.
Intensely visual and aural with dialogue and turns of plot that often feel spontaneous and non-linear, "Ganja & Hess" is not so action-packed as its horror brethren but is far creepier. It is arthouse psychotronica in the vein of "Suspiria" with the rhythm of free jazz and an underlying bluesy moan. The tapestry of disturbing images and sounds seeps into the psyche: Plastic-wrapped corpses dotting fields of golden grass; porcelain, linoleum and glass cups stained sanguine; a buzzing noise to signal blood cravings; childish tribal chanting that is sped up and slowed down; twisted religious imagery.
Sadness tinges the horror. Gunn paints the vampire as an addict, and takes pains to show his struggle. We watch Hess Green, doctor of anthropology and geology, whose emotions at first seem pressed behind museum glass, sink into desperation and self-hate, then reach for redemption.
When a troubled assistant, played by Gunn, stabs him with an artifact from the ancient blood-drinking civilization of Myrthia, Hess awakens from death, immortal and thirsty. He finds nonviolent ways to sate his need until bloodlust explodes in a moment of self-defense. Then the assistant's beautiful and opportunistic wife, Ganja, comes looking for her husband, and falls quickly into bed with Hess.
Pioneering black photographer James Hinton shot "Ganja & Hess" in soft, saturated 16mm. The soundtrack, which ranges from gospel fervor and bluesy soul to chants and trance-inducing noise, was scored and performed by Nina Simone's brother Sam Waymon, who also plays a reverend.
The Complete Edition DVD restores Gunn's vision, which was hacked up by the studio and packaged under various lurid pseudonyms over the years, including "Blood Couple," "Double Possession" and the puzzling "Vampires of Harlem."
— Becky
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