The Thirsty Dead (1974) – Bizarre Horror with a Twisted Tale 👻

Things go from bad to worse to just plain weird when stewardess Laura, go-go dancer Claire and two other women are snatched from the streets of Manila and dragged to a jungle paradise to join a cult in search of eternal youth. <br /><br />A cult buried deep in the jungles of the Philippines kidnapped four women from Manila in the middle of a hot summer’s night and imprisoned them in a long, winding cave full of hanging beads and bowls of fruit. And you thought dead people were involved. The truth is, none of these people are dead. The cult can be explained thusly: Certain members, those wearing the decorative robes (and sometimes super decorative collars), are “superior people” who retain their youth by drinking the blood of the lesser members, who end up dry and shriveled, locked in tiny rooms in the far recesses of a labyrinthine cave. Once wrinkled and used up, these elderly people turn feral and can’t be controlled. The superior people worship their god, Raoul, described by cult leader Ranu as the “seed of their seed” and “father of immortality.” Laura, one of the women kidnapped by the cult, is deemed to be a long-awaited princess of sorts, but she has second thoughts about drinking human blood. <br />In other words: This movie has no idea what it’s about. <br /><br />Cast: <br />Jennifer Billingsley as Laura, <br />John Considine as Baru <br />Judith McConnell as Claire, the cabaret dancer <br />Tani Guthrie as Ranu, Queen of the Community <br />Fredricka Meyers as Ann, one of the young women abducted <br />Chiqui da Rosa as Bonnie <br />Elena Sampson as Hala <br />Mary Walters as Eva <br />Rod Navarro as Francisco <br />Vic Diaz as Police Lieutenant <br />Rick Rohrke as Sailor in the Cabaret <br />Ken Metcalfe as Helicopter Pilot (uncredited)