By – Gareth Jones

For fans of weird folk horror, the Welsh language

Released in 1975 by Blood on the Stars was one of the first films commissioned by the new Welsh Film Board.  The Board was created to help promote the Welsh language which was spoken by fewer and fewer people.  For those who don’t know me, I am half Welsh, with my father immigrating to the United States in the 1960’s.  Like many of his generation, he was part of this language decline and did not speak it. In fact, I only have a few distant cousins who do.  As such, the Film Board was founded in the hope that by making films in Welsh, more people would want to learn and preserve the language.  Of course, the Board had next to no money to give and that was certainly the case for Blood on the Stars, but it is a great example of when a community bands together to preserve what is important.  The Welsh Film Board only lasted from1971 until 1986, but it laid the groundwork for future independent films made in Welsh in Wales including the recent The Feast.

The film was written and directed by Wil Aaron, a young man who had returned to his homeland of Wales.  He is also the director of O’r Ddaear Hen (From the Old Earth) also made for the Welsh Film Board in 1981. That film has become a bit of a cult film, but six years before that he made Blood on the Stars. The cast was made up of local children, a few professional actors, and some Welsh cultural celebrities including radio personality Hywel Gwynfryn, soccer star Barry John, musician Dafydd Iwan, and harpist Eleanor Dwyryd.

It tells the story of a group of children who sing in a choir led by a creepy scarred man named Shadrach. They are set to perform at a local performance, but the folks in charge of the festival have decided that they also need to invite famous musicians and celebrities to the show to sell more tickets.  Upset about this, the children with the help of Shadrach kill each of the scheduled performers clearing the pathway for their own solo performance.  All of this is presented in a delightfully over the top manner with many inside jokes and humor.  Each murder is meant to be laughable including Hywel over the top death by garden snake and the exploding soccer ball kicked by Barry John. The murders are investigated by a duo of police investigators who are always one step behind and who are unable to figure out who is committing the murders even when the children reenact them right in front of them.  Fair warning, a few jokes are definitely culturally insensitive now with a reference to cannibals and the treatment of women.

The film is a playful folk horror, with nods to The Wicker Man in particular with the creepy children.  The board was trying to take advantage of the popularity of the horror genre.  It is also a very short film running at just under an hour. For modern audiences, it does not have anything particularly frightful, but for some reason when it was first released they thought it would be a good idea to play this and Aaron’s other horror film for an all ages screening.  Apparently, it was a night of trauma for many small children.  Interestingly, a few years after its initial release, it was still being played for children including a school screening for a young Gruff Rhys who went on to become one of Wales’ most well known musicians as the leader of the group Super Furry Animals.  He loved the film and does a sweet introduction on the blu-ray release by Severin films.   

For me, this film is a marvelous time capsule that captured the pop culture and zeitgeist of a specific time in Wales.  I am so glad that this was released so that others can learn about the Welsh language, but also about the resilience of the Welsh, who in spite of significant repression by the British government found a way to make this film.