Joel M. Reed is the man responsible for the notorious grindhouse flick Bloodsucking Freaks (1976), originally titled as The Incredible Torture Show, before Troma re-titled it and released it once again. He also directed a few other titles, such as Night of the Zombies (1981), probably the second most popular of his titles. Now, while I’m not personally a fan of Bloodsucking Freaks, anybody that is able to make a movie like that, and become an icon because of it, in this huge world of cinema, that is pretty impressive. So like it or not, as horror movie fans, we have to get credit where it is due.

Sadly though, Reed recently passed away at the age of 86. But if you are a fan of him and his work, then I would recommend you picking up a copy of John Szpunar’s book on Reed, entitled Bloodsucking Freak! The Life and Films of Joel M. Reed. Szpunar is not only a great writer, he is a huge fan of Reed and is one that can put the proper spotlight on this grindhouse icon.