As one of the most beloved pop culture figures of the modern era, Stephen King's opinions carry a lot of weight, and he is notably not shy about sharing them. He has been letting his thoughts about film, literature, television and more be widely known for decades – and in recent years his regular go-to vehicle for such musings has been social media.
Most of his posts lean toward the positive, as he Tweets about his excitement for upcoming films, posits theories regarding popular television, and turns people on to shows that he is enjoying – but the opinions cut both ways, and most recently he identified what he feels is the worst horror movie he has ever seen:
Released in 1963, Herschell Gordon Lewis' Blood Feast has a significant place in movie history, as it is considered to be the seminal feature of the splatter film subgenre, but clearly that clout has zero impact on Stephen King's sentiments. Unfortunately he doesn't elaborate at all regarding what he doesn't like about it, but when you consider that King is not just a horror author, but a scholar of the genre, his opinion means a lot.
Made for less than $25,000 and shot in just four days, Blood Feast is best known for its extreme depictions of violence, telling the story of a serial killer who kills women in the effort to hold the titular gore banquet and resurrect an Egyptian goddess. The movie's limited resources definitely show on screen – but one has to wonder how much of the approach alone turned Stephen King off to it.
Contrary to how some may think of King's body of work, the author doesn't have much of the "exploitation" side of horror in his writing, as he instead opts to unearth terror through character development, emotions, and circumstance (with a regular dash of the paranormal). Obviously there are some people who die hard in his books, but the material never broaches the line of being gratuitous unless that gratuity is being executed for comedic purposes.
Is this kind of a weird take for Stephen King to share? Sure. It's hard to imagine that an individual is going to come across his Tweet and say, "Well, I guess I should never watch Blood Feast." (In fact, it will probably have the opposite effect.) From a certain perspective, it comes across as a random dunk on a half-century-old cult film.
That being said, it's pretty fascinating to know that King has such a passionate dislike of it, and that, in his opinion, no other horror movie he has seen in his 73 years of life compares to its terribleness. There is a bottom, and it's Blood Feast.
If you're personally looking for material that is more Stephen King's speed, you should really consider getting an Apple TV+ subscription and checking out Lisey's Story – which is an adaptation of the book of the same name that King has written himself. The sixth episode of the eight-part miniseries will be live on the streaming service this Friday at midnight PST/3am EST.
