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Ganja & Hess(1988)

R
1h 52m

Release Date: May 30, 2018 | Limited

After being stabbed with an ancient, germ-infested knife, a doctor's assistant finds himself with an insatiable desire for blood.

Releases

Original Release | May 30, 2018

Box Office

Results

Opening Weekend US & Canada:
$3,406
Total US & Canada:
$21,197
Total Worldwide:
$21,197

Director & Top Cast

Bill Gunn
Director

Duane Jones
Dr. Hess Green

Marlene Clark
Ganja Meda

Bill Gunn
George Meda

Sam L. Waymon
Rev. Luther Williams

Leonard Jackson
Archie

Candece Tarpley

Girl in Bar

Richard Harrow

Dinner Guest

John Hoffmeister

Jack Sargent

Betty Barney

Singer in Church

Mabel King

Queen of Myrthia

Betsy Thurman

Poetess

Enrico Fales

Dr. Green's Son

Tommy Lane

Pimp

Tara Fields

Woman with Baby

Evangel Revivaltime Church

The Congregation

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: Mono(Dolby 2.0), Aspect Ratio 1.66:1

Aspect Ratio: 1.66 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States

Summaries

Plot Summary

Dr Hess Green [Duane Jones], anthropologist and geologist, is studying the Myrthian culture of Nigeria. Myrthians were human blood drinkers. Green gets a strange dagger from Myrthia and asks research assistant George Meda [Bill Gunn] to help him. When Meda stabs Green with the dagger (Why? "Oh, he's freaking out again"), Green doesn't die; he becomes immortal and needs to drink human blood. When Meda's wife [Marlene Clark] comes looking for Meda, she falls in love with Green. And when she finds her husband's body in Green's freezer, she marries Green!!!! Green makes Mrs. Meda immortal, then goes to a revivalist church to save himself. It's a screwy life being a Myrthian vampire, I guess.

Storyline

When two prominent black anthropologists, Dr. Green and Dr. Matara, uncover the remains of an ancient African tribe of bloodsuckers called the Myrthians they unleash an evil force buried for centuries beneath the earth. Matara, possessed by the spirit of the Myrthian queen, attacks his partner and then kills himself- leaving Hess to return to the U.S. with an unquenchable thirst for blood. After seducing Matara's widow, Green soon has her hooked on the red stuff as well. Together they lure innocent victims into their deadly trap, leaving a trail of drained bodies in their wake. The grisly murders go unsolved-that is, until the fateful day when Green stumbles into a Gospel meeting and all hell breaks loose. Dr. Hess Green, an archaeologist overseeing an excavation at the ancient civilization of Myrthia, is stabbed by his research assistant, who then commits suicide. When Hess wakes up, he finds that his wounds have healed, but he now has an insatiable thirst for blood, due to the knife carrying ancient germs. Soon after, Hess meets his former assistant's wife, Ganja. Though Ganja is initially concerned about her missing husband, she soon falls for Hess. Though they are initially happy together, Ganja will eventually learn the truth about Hess, and about her husband. Will she survive the revelation? Will Hess? — Jean-Marc Rocher

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