Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson is a feature-length documentary film that explores the life and work of legendary B-movie director Al Adamson, who created over 30 low-budget horror and exploitation films during the 1960s and 70s. Adamson's films were known for their eccentricity and creativity, often featuring bizarre plotlines, outrageous violence, and unconventional casting choices.
The film delves into Adamson's childhood and early fascination with filmmaking, his rise to fame in the exploitation genre, and his eventual murder in 1995. Through interviews with colleagues, friends, and admirers, including iconic filmmaker John Landis, the film paints a vivid portrait of Adamson as a passionate, driven, and unconventional artist.
Blood & Flesh also explores the larger cultural context of Adamson's work, examining the outsider communities of filmmakers and actors that existed in California during the 70s, and their relationship to the Hollywood mainstream. The film also examines Adamson's connections to the infamous Charles Manson, who briefly worked on one of his films.
Directed by David Gregory, who also directed the acclaimed documentary Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau, Blood & Flesh is a compelling and entertaining tribute to one of the most idiosyncratic directors in the history of American filmmaking.