“Death by hydrophobia is agony.”

If you’re a fan of schlock horror you might want to pick up Grindhouse Releasing’s just-released Blu-ray of 1971 film I Drink Your Blood, which boasts a brand new high-definition restoration of the uncensored director’s cut and comes jam-packed with hours of special features – including two bonus films in the form of 1964’s I Eat Your Skin, which was often double-billed with I Drink Your Blood back in the ’70s; and 1969’s Blue Sextet, presented for the first time on home video.

I Drink Your Blood is most notable for being the first film to ever receive an X-rating for violence alone, and though it’s incredibly tame by today’s standards – and honestly, even by the standards of the time – it’s nevertheless home to a few sequences that certainly push the limits of good taste; in one scene, a pregnant woman plunges a stake directly into her own belly. The David Durston-directed film, undoubtedly and quite proudly inspired by Night of the Living Dead and the Manson murders that occurred just one year prior, is a must-see/must-own for gore-hounds.

In the film:

After consuming rabies-infected meat pies, an LSD-addicted hippie cult goes on a vicious murdering rampage!

What you may not know about I Drink Your Blood is that director David Durston was at one point planning to remake the cult film. Speaking with Fangoria back in 2009 for an interview that is no longer on the internet – we tracked it down through the Internet Archive – Durston laid out his plans for the remake, noting that it was going to be better and gorier than the original.

He told the site:

I wasn’t thinking about a remake until these offers started coming through. I turned all of them down, because their budgets were too small. I decided that if I Drink Your Blood would be remade, it should be better than the original, so that people really had something to see if they went to see it again. Naturally, that means there is more violence in the picture, and it’s a little more detailed. But everything in the original is still in this version, with a few more things added.

Durston noted that he had already begun updating his original script (the gang’s drug of choice, LSD, was changed to crystal meth), and he planned on bringing actress Sybil Danning (The Howling 2) on board to help produce. Though Durston didn’t intend on directing, his passing in 2010 seems to have brought an end to the remake plans he set in motion.

Will I Drink Your Blood ever be remade? We’re not holding our breath.

Special features on the new Grindhouse Releasing Blu-ray include:

•Spectacular new HD restoration of the original UNCENSORED DIRECTOR’S CUT
•4 controversial deleted scenes including the original blood-drenched ending deemed too disturbing for ’70s audiences!
•Provocative audio commentary by director David Durston and star Bhaskar
•Newly recorded audio commentary by stars Jack Damon and Tyde Kierney
•Revealing on-camera interviews with stars Lynn Lowry, Tyde Kierney and Jack Damon
•New in-depth interview with director David Durston
•The original theatrical trailer and radio spots
•Extensive gallery of stills and poster art
•Rare and shocking film of Bhaskar performing THE EVIL KING COBRA DANCE
•TWO BONUS CO-FEATURES – I EAT YOUR SKIN (1964) – presented for the very first time in HD + exclusive interview with 2nd unit director William Grefe, BLUE SEXTET (1969) – David Durston’s long-lost uncensored psychedelic shocker – presented for the very first time on home video!
•Liner notes by renowned horror journalist David Szulkin
•Beautiful embossed slipcover
•BONUS – I DRINK YOUR BLOOD HORROR HYPO – Inject your friends with rabies! Limited to the first 3,000 copies!
•PLUS OTHER SURPRISES!