BLOOD BOOBS & BEAST

Directed and Edited by John Paul Kinhart

Featuring Interviews by:

Don Dohler
Joe Ripple
J.J. Abrams
Lloyd Kaufman
George Stover

Editor's Note: Below is the original review for John Paul Kinhart's documentary BLOOD, BOOBS, & BEAST. Not only was it my favorite movie to review this past year, but the review sparked numerous pieces of feedback from fans of Don Dohler as well as the regular readers. One person was even kind enough to say that this was the single most passionate review that they had ever read. Any movie that brings out such a response from not just me but but all of you is deserving of B-Independent's annual Underground Film of the Year award.

Don Dohler's reason for making his first movie is the opening scene for BLOOD, BOOBS, & BEAST, a documentary on his life and influence is the world of no-budget cinema. As a young man working a desk job in D.C., on his 30th birthday, someone walked into his office with a shotgun and pointed it at his Aunt's head. When Dohler approached the man, the gun was leveled squarely on him. At that moment, as the cliché goes, Dohler's life flashed before his eyes and he realized that he would never get to do all the things he's been putting off - like making his first feature-length movie despite having published a filmmaking magazine for years. Having lived through the event, and realizing that life is too short, Dohler jumped right into THE ALIEN FACTOR.

In John Paul Kinhart's documentary, that opening scene is the most candid Dohler ever allows himself to be. With that unmistakable Baltimore accent, it's clear that Dohler isn't comfortable in front of the camera as he often struggles for something to say. Dohler openly admits to not being a people person, which is why he turned directing duties over to Joe Ripple when Dohler came back to filmmaking after an 11-year hiatus. Dohler has always found satisfaction in the technical aspects of moviemaking, which is reflected in his early publishing days with his publication Cinemagic.

Anyone with the slightest knowledge of underground cinema is familiar with Dohler's contributions, not that Dohler would ever brag about them - a direct contradiction to those you'll find leaching off the no-budget film scene by touting their own accomplishments at the various conventions. Cinemagic, and the no-nonsense approach to practical filmmaking it provided, was an inspiration to a large number of wanna-be Spielbergs in the early 1970's. His initial run of movies proved that anyone with the desire could make a movie that could compete nationally with Hollywood features. His acknowledged fans range from the likes of Oregon's own no-budget wunderkind, Joe Sherlock (aka Dr. Squid), to Evil Dead effects artist Tom Sullivan to tv's J.J. Abrams, who speaks openly in BB&B about his admiration for Dohler.

What you probably didn't know about Dohler is that Cinemagic wasn't his first foray into the world of publishing. As a teenager, Dohler printed and distributed comic fanzines that helped launch the world of underground comics and the careers of Jay Lynch, Art Spiegelman, and Skip Williamson. You probably didn't know the favorite movie of this underground icon of sci-fi and horror is WEST SIDE STORY. And chances are that you didn't know Dohler married for the second time in his life only two months before he was diagnosed with the brain cancer that would take his life in late 2006.

Kinhart structures his documentary around the production of Dohler's last movie, DEAD HUNT, a giallo-esque spin on 10 Little Indians. As DEAD HUNT progresses, every weekend of production produces a new hurdle ranging from an un-cooperative actor to Ripple's mid-life crisis brought on by his retirement from the Baltimore police department. It's these crises that allows Kinhart to turn back the dial and see how Dohler got to this point. There's a point where Dohler talks of retirement so he can spend time with his grandchildren. About that time we learn that Dohler used his productions as a way of spending time with his own children. Only in hindsight do his children believe that being killed off in a movie by their father was just a tad morbid. To them, it was just business as usual.

The heart of BLOOD BOOBS & BEAST lies with Dohler's family. Not just his children, Kim and Greg, but also his girlfriend, and eventual wife, Leslie. We meet his brother, Glenn, and his developmentally disabled sister, Joy, whom Dohler cared for until he passed. When it's revealed that Dohler has cancer, he approaches it matter-of-factly knowing that treatment is painful for all involved after having seen his first wife succumb to the disease. Dohler says that had he known about the cancer he wouldn't have propossed to Leslie in hopes of keeping her from the same pain that he once endured.

We also spend time with Dohler's filmmaking family and learn why they flocked to the man; people like Ripple, George Stover, Leanne Chamish, Don Leifert, and Dick "Count Gore" Dyszel - all of whom speak of Dohler as if he were their big brother - none more so than Ripple. This affection provides an interesting contradiction; for a man who comes across as a curmudgeon, he was certainly loved by those that knew him. That's a testament to Dohler's decency as a person. How someone comes across on the outside doesn't necessarily reflect who they are on the inside. It's people like this that make the best documentary subjects. How they tick, how their contradictions define them, is infinitely more interesting than people who exist in a one-note black and white world.

I was in attendance at the 2006 HorrorFind screening of DEAD HUNT when Ripple announced Dohler's diagnosis with cancer. The collective "sigh" reflected how much Dohler was loved by his fans, and I know my heart broke that day. As J.J. Abrams says, Dohler was just as much a part of Baltimore cinema as John Waters, only Dohler never got the credit he deserved. It's a rare occurrence that I'm ever thankful a movie was made, but that's the case with BLOOD BOOBS & BEAST. Perhaps now a new generation will be inspired by this man who lived his celluloid dreams and taught us to do the same.

Blood Boobs & Beast Official Site
John Kinhart's Video Kitchen