Joel M. Reed
Joel M. Reed (December 29, 1933 – April 13, 2020) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter.[1][2][3][4]
Joel M. Reed | |
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![]() Still of Joel M. Reed at his apartment from the documentary Reed Unbound: The Joel M Reed Story. | |
Born | Brooklyn, New York City, US | December 29, 1933
Died | April 13, 2020 86) New York City, US | (aged
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Film director, producer, screenwriter |
Years active | 1968–2020 |
Career
Reed is best known for directing the controversial Blood Sucking Freaks [5] (1976), a notorious horror comedy that was the subject of protests upon its initial release and has since achieved cult status.[6]
Reed also directed the films Career Bed[7] (1968), Sex by Advertisement (1969), The G.I. Executioner (Wit's End / Dragon Lady / Wild Dragon Lady;[7] 1971), Blood Bath (Terror / Night and the City;[7] 1976) and Night of the Zombies (Gamma 693 / Sister of Death / Battalion of the Living Dead;[7] 1981).
Reed wrote and directed Blood Bath, which was produced by the Trans-Orient Entertainment Corporation and had a budget of $100,000. In a 1974 interview with The New York Times, he described the film as a "contemporary, episodic occult-horror adventure". Harve Presnell starred in the film as a producer of horror films who arranges in his studio a Black Mass.[8]
On March 1, 1990, Masquerade Books published a book that Reed wrote on Donald Trump called Trump: the Man, the Myth, the Scandal, which did not sell well.
In May 2012, Reed signed with Polus Books, which released the books Zombie Wall and Outrage: Hitler Didn't Die.
Reed wrote all the scripts of the movies he directed.[9]
In 2011 Reed made a comeback as an actor playing the main character Uncle Joe in the film Dead Eye, directed by Louis Affortunato. After that, Reed acted in eight more films: I Spill Your Guts (2012); Supernaturalz: Weird, Creepy & Random (2012); Trashtastic (2013); Catch of the Day (2014); The Fappening (2015); Vault of Terror II: The Undead (2015); Freak in a Basement (2018); and The Dysfunctional Mob.
On September 17, 2018 a book by author John Szpunar was released by Headpress about Reed called Blood Sucking Freak: The Life and Films of the Incredible Joel M. Reed. In December 2018 Reed was Interviewed for a documentary about himself called Reed Unbound: The Joel M. Reed Story (2019) which chronicles his whole life and film career and was directed by Jerry Landi and Adrian Esposito.
Death
Reed died on April 13, 2020, aged 86, in a care facility in New York City after contracting COVID-19.[10][11][12][13]
References
- "details".
- "An Interview with Joel M. Reed". Film Threat. May 16, 2005. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- "Movies". The New York Times.
- Institute, American Film (November 4, 1971). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520209701 – via Google Books.
- Gingold, Michael (April 14, 2020). "RIP "BLOODSUCKING FREAKS" director Joel M. Reed". Rue Morgue. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- "overview".
- "Movie Reviews". The New York Times. May 8, 2020.
- Weiler, A. H. (April 28, 1974). "News of the Screen: Shooting Horrors in Local Studio". The New York Times.
- Warnock, Caroline (April 15, 2020). "Joel M. Reed Dead: Fans Mourn 'Bloodsucking Freaks' Film Director". Heavy.com. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- Dick, Jeremy (April 14, 2020). "'Blood Sucking Freaks' Director Joel M. Reed Dies at 86". Horror Geek Life. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
- Sprague, Mike (April 16, 2020). "RIP: BLOODSUCKING FREAKS Director Joel M. Reed Dies at 86 After Contracting COVID-19". Dreadcentral. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- "Joel M. Reed Obituary". everhere.com. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- Schwartz, John (May 22, 2020). "Joel M. Reed, 86, Director of Horror Movies, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2020.