Watching the restored version of this film was like watching the film for the first time. Another film that I forgot was so experimental in style. Fantastic end credit sequence. So sad that Duane Jones passed away at such a young age.

Watched on the big screen at The Cinematheque - Vancouver

Vampirism as an ingeniously acid-angry rebuke to black assimilation, drinking a "savior's" blood as an act of self-preservation and of coercion. Visually rough but nevertheless a drone of disfigured reflections, body-obscuring superimpositions, and blurred focus. Even the slapdash ADR dialogue contributes to the derangement, as if Gunn himself felt (rightly, it would transpire) that his art was as out of his control as an entire people's selves were out of their own.

Underground experimental arthouse loaded with allegory and fractured storytelling. Evasive, passionate, and beautiful.

CW: blood/violence

Infected with a predator's disease, every kill comes with massive distortion (and even quiet moments scan be Dutch angled and dissonantly soundtracked). He does not seek salvation; he seeks first survival and then release. He embraces and rejects the poison at once; the cure is not a cure at all. He is infected with something ancient; something that serves as an infection on its own merits is the counter-balancing force. It is not a cure, but just a path to death. The cycle repeats, borne forward through love, so many possible metaphors alive within the fractured narrative (assimilation, erasure, actual disease). Unnerving orange blood and sweaty locales and crime-story grit make it not as much a Western vampire story as a reclaimed vampire story.

February count: 22/28

Halloween Watchathon 2019 - Film #174

I've been coming down with a cold/feeling lethargic the past few days and this film really did a number on me. So much going on here, I don't know where to begin. Thematic richness from top to bottom with the likes of assimilation, addiction, and more. Technical elements such as the cuts/editing, use of sound or music, the colors. I'm well and truly overwhelmed right now.

Incredible.

Released in an era of blaxploitation swagger, a deeply experimental and thoughtful film like Ganja and Hess stands out like a sore thumb, for better and worse. On the one hand, this is a film that breaks down traditional horror movie tropes to explore a larger metaphor of addiction and race. On the other, it's kind of unclear what the larger metaphor is, largely due to the experimental thing I mentioned earlier.

I certainly can't discount the significance of this film for black cinema and horror as a whole, but I don't think it was really for me. And that's okay! It was still a fascinating movie that I certainly don't regret watching.

A unique take on vampire stories, I can only imagine the impact it would've had in 1973, because it's fairly trippy still. Not the sort of film I think you can take in on the first viewing, I'm not quite sure how many viewings it might take.

A sort of experimental horror film that proves that there was much more going on in the 70s then Blaxploitation. African-American cinema was dynamic, expressive, and not afraid to take chances. There is quite a gap between Ganja and Hess and Blacula (1972), or Scream Blacula Scream, (1973). There is not much of a narrative in the film, it is almost free flowing with deep religious undertones. It is definitely not for everyone but a bold entry into African-American independant cinema of the 70s.

The most thrilling use of music in a film I have ever witnessed!

I learned about this one while watching the excellent Horror Noire. Lots to like here! I especially liked the stories/monologues.

girl i should rlly stop tasking myself to watch old/art house films bc my mind can never wrap around them unless i read pieces on it but either way still liked it (minus the end when my mom saw the frontal nudity at the end and died... n e ways)

It’s Shakespeare with vampires. What more do you want?

In all seriousness, this was pretty good. As someone who finds vampire movies super repetitive and boring, it was cool to see something so different from other vampire movies, especially seeing as it most likely inspired a lot of other later vampire movies. The only major issue is the pacing, which gets painfully sluggish at times, and the acting can be a bit hammy at times. 

If you like The Addiction (which is almost a spiritual successor to this film ) I would definitely recommend this.

i've never seen a take on vampires quite like this! what sets this movie apart for me is the monologues. several characters deliver some really memorable reflections on the struggles that have made them who they are & how they move through the world. but the dynamic between ganja and hess is also incredible. definitely one to re-watch 👌✨

This movie needs a 2nd watch. Quick cuts, beautiful shots, interesting characters but it’s alittle difficult to follow. There’s a lot to unpack and just from viewing I can’t tell how much is referential or endogenous.