This might be Corman's best movie out of all his works (it is definitely my favorite) and it is loved and praised many cult horror fans (still not enough in my opinion). Horror comedy and satire are both very hard genres to make them work (horror comedies are usually not horrifying nor funny, at least not in the right way) and satire is hard to capture and carries on without sounding or looking bitter, but Corman manages both aspects magnificently and mostly thanks to smartly written screenplay by Charles B. Griffith. The film truly stands the test of time as its satire works today as well, maybe even better when the world is infested with pretentious hipster wannabes who crave to be praised as deep and meaningful artist while just being hacks. In this case, satire works on many levels - it only doesn't successfully mock beatnik culture of that era, but also Corman's previous films as well.Dick Miller gives nuanced and wonderful performance as Walter Paisley, a dimwitted and impressionable busboy who more than anything wants to be an artist. Miller keeps the awkward clumsiness at right level without overacting once so Walter doesn't turn into cheap slapstick hero. The depth given into Walter makes the viewer feel compassion towards him before he starts his killing spree. Even after that it is hard not to feel sorry for him.The film suffers from many low production values typical for Corman's film. There are enough plot holes and inconsistencies that reduce the film into 'just another B-movie' category (the screenplay is so well written that one can't go over nitpicking) but never takes away the entertainment value. It rather adds certain charm to the movie. Miller himself also has expressed dissatisfaction considering the low production values, as this could have been classic little film.Although the poem read by Maxwell (Julian Burton) at the beginning of the film was meant to mock pretentious beatniks (and set the proper mood for community of artists) I kind off liked that really.Just a wonderful movie. In Walter Paisley we trust.

Talent and good looks rarely go together. Dick Miller had the bad luck to combine a blue-collar face with a blue-collar voice, and suffered for it throughout his career. Such people are rarely successes in "leading" roles. Charles Bronson comes to mind, but he's barely a good actor. Miller is genuinely talented.His Walter Paisley (at one point the character wears a cravat with a paisley pattern) is played absolutely straight. He never winks at the camera or steps outside the character. He's a pathetic creature we sympathize with, even when doing horrible things. It is a finely nuanced, essentially perfect performance. That is not an exaggeration.Charles B Griffith's excellent script combines pointed satire, solid laughs, and genuine wit. Griffith did a lot of work for Roger Corman, and this is surely his best. The lesson to be learned is that you can't make a good movie from a bad script, but not even Roger Corman can ruin a good story.Griffith would go on to pen "The Little Shop of Horrors", which Dick Miller passed on, because he didn't want to do another film where he played a serial killer. This didn't help his career much, and today he's best-remembered as Mr Futterman in "Gremlins" and its sequel, as well as one of Lawrence Woolsey's cronies in "Matinee!". He is a beloved actor, and there aren't many actors, living or dead, who can claim that distinction.

As is often the case, when you sit through a whole number of cheesy, cheap and poor-quality movies, you'll generally find one diamond in the rough. One classic in the otherwise forgettables. A BUCKET OF BLOOD is such a film, which is miles above the earlier schlocky sci-fi/horror flicks that Corman either produced or directed in the late '50s, before colour and Edgar Allan Poe came along. The saving grace here is the great sense of humour in the production, from the often satirically witty script to the depictions of the most amusing "beatnik" culture. Even the murders and deaths which are a major part of the film have an element of black, macabre comedy to them and the film as a whole is a hoot.Dick Miller stars as Walter Paisley, a mild-manner and put-open waiter, immediately a type you feel sorry for. When he actually kills a cat which is stuck in his wall, he decides to cover its body in plaster and immediately wins the respect of his peers. It's not long before he becomes unhinged and human victims suffer for his art, and inevitably he is found out, hunted down and... well, I won't spoil the ending, other than to say it's totally expected but still exciting and done with style. Miller is a real strength as Paisley, and it's kind of a shame his career dwindled in the doldrums before Joe Dante found himself and gave him a new lease of life. You get the idea from this that Miller is a real nice guy, just like his character, and despite the many murders he commits you can't help loving him.A BUCKET OF BLOOD, despite the title, isn't really a horror film. It's a comedy with horrific overtones, for instance in the macabre statues that Paisley makes or the murders themselves, which whilst offscreen are still suitably gruesome. The film is also about a loner trying desperately to fit into society and being driven to extreme lengths in his desire to do so, and as such can be applied to many real-life situations. In this way it can also reach out and touch the audience. Although the black-and-white subtracts somewhat in a film desperately crying out for colour, this is a well-shot, well-directed movie, even if it was made on the cheap in however many days. Many "horror as art" style movies and unofficial remakes have followed, but so far none have equalled this short, straightforward cinematic gem.

I thought this movie was surprising really good, I did not expect to like this movie as much as I did As it a some-what short movie, the movie dose not drag at all and it not always action packed. I really liked the plot the movie, was really intruding and I liked how story flowed really well.I liked some of deaths scenes in this movie, most of them were impaled.it's was clever as they made to see deaths with out even seeing themI really liked this movie Really good acting from the whole cast 8 out of 10