Mixed Blood (1984)

Rita la Punta (Marília Pêra, CENTRAL STATION), a Brazilian single mother living in New York’s Alphabet City, resides with her drug-dealing son Thiago (Richard Ulacia) and his gang of teenage delinquents. In an attempt to control the drug trade below 14th Street, Rita goes against the leader of a rival neighborhood gang, Juan the Bullet (Angel David, THE CROW), spurring a turf war. When Carol (Linda Kerridge, FADE TO BLACK), a friend of a drug lord known as The German (Ulrich Berr, BEETHOVEN’S NEPHEW), expresses an interest in Thiago, things become even more complicated.

Written and directed by NYC art scene, and exploitation cinema luminary Paul Morrissey (FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN, BLOOD FOR DRACULA), MIXED BLOOD (1984) is a characteristically grimy descent into urban malaise that is often punctuated by moments of gallows humor. Featuring an eclectic ensemble cast that includes the screen debut of John Leguizamo (SUMMER OF SAM) and Warhol superstar Geraldine Smith (FLESH, BAD), MIXED BLOOD is an essential, but often overlooked, entry into the canon of independent films made on the streets of New York in the 1980s.