Brides of Blood (1968)

Overrated and overhyped

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

What to say, what to say? I've never been particularly interested in these Blood Island pics, but, without anything else to watch today, I decided to give BRIDES OF BLOOD a go. Whoa! What a kooky film! This is one creepy fun diamond-in-the-rough made up of various parts of ISLAND OF DOCTOR MOREAU, whatever fell on the Mario Bava cutting-room floor, and next generation HORROR OF SPIDER ISLAND and THE MANSTER with some ATTACK OF THE FUNGUS PEOPLE and FREAKMAKER thrown in.Exceeded expectations and made for a fun afternoon viewing. Definitely going out on a limb with 7 stars, but it was really enjoyable if you like a certain kind of schlock. Early on in the proceedings, I found a particular part disturbing in the male/female sex dynamic department, but I let it pass as an example of too many things that I don't have time to dissect to a judgement. In the end, I just found it all a bit hallucinatory. Even close ups of the monster: Just too OTT to be anything but kooky-kreepy like a distant relative of the Viy of VIY ("Open my eyelids!")

Radioactive fallout on a remote tropical island causes the plants and animals to mutate into dangerous and hideously malformed monsters. The scared natives regularly sacrifice fair maidens to an especially vile and ferocious beast known as the Evil One. Noble Peace corps volunteer Jim Farrell (a likable performance by Filipino exploitation cinema mainstay John Ashley) tries to get the locals to stand up to the foul subhuman fiend. Directors Gerardo de Leon and Eddie Romero relate the cheerfully ridiculous story at a steady pace, do a solid job of creating and sustaining a gloomy brooding atmosphere, offer a flavorsome evocation of the exotic setting, deliver a satisfying smattering of tasty female nudity and lovably cheesy gore, and stage the rousing fiery conclusion with a reasonable amount of brio. This film further benefits from acceptable acting by a competent cast: Kent Taylor as stoic, no-nonsense scientist Dr. Paul Henderson, Mario Montenegro as suave rich guy Esteban Powers, Bruno Punzalan as Esteban's loyal servant Goro, and Andres Centenera as wise tribal elder Arcadio. Moreover, we get some delicious distaff eye candy courtesy of buxom blonde Beverly Powers as Henderson's horny, sarcastic wife Carla and sultry brunette Eva Darren as sweet local girl Alma. Better still, there's an infectiously sincere and enthusiastic go-for-it pulpy sensibility evident throughout that's endearing and entertaining in equal measure. The rough, unpolished cinematography gives the picture a suitably gritty look. The throbbing tribal score likewise hits the shuddery spot. The heavy-breathing lumpy'n'rubbery humanoid creature is a total tacky riot. A good deal of blithely low-grade fun that's not to be taken seriously.

Wow, does this flick make for one wild and woolly experience! "Brides of Blood" (1968), the first adventure in the Blood Island trilogy, must be deemed, along with 1959's "Terror Is A Man," one of the crown jewels of Filipino horror cinema. In it, 1950s star John Ashley plays Jim Farrell, a Peace Corps worker who comes to the eponymous Blood Island in the Philippines. He is accompanied by naturalist Dr. Henderson, who wants to study the effects of recent nearby nuke tests on the island's flora and fauna, as well as by Henderson's randy, bubble-bosomed wife, played by Beverly Hills (love that name!). This film is some kind of ultimate drive-in experience, and throws in much to ensure a memorable time. Thus, there are some scary, groping, mutated trees (still not as scary as the ones in "The Wizard Of Oz," though), sacrificed topless maidens, gaggles of scampering little people (that IS the PC expression at the moment, right?), battles with torches, bolos and flare guns, AND a roaring, woman-hungry monster that beggars my poor powers of description. Please don't get me wrong; this is certainly not anybody's idea of a quality film (even my beloved "Psychotronic Encyclopedia" calls it "terrible"). It is somewhat shoddily put together, and features God-awful dubbing and egregious day-for-night photography. Still, it does offer truly exotic Filipino atmosphere, interesting characters, decent-enough acting, and eerie native chants. Plus, the film culminates with a wild, celebratory native mating dance that must be seen to be believed; a most satisfactory windup. The bottom line is that I can't imagine any fan of sci-fi, horror or action films not enjoying this pulpy funhouse of a movie on some level. Recommended.

This is the second of the Blood Island films after Terror is a Man. Its not related to that film, only loosely to the two films that follow, Mad Doctor of Blood Island and Beast of Blood. All the films are nominally set on a remote island in the Pacific where strange experiments happen.Here a research team arrives at Blood Island to find that the natives have begun to return to their old superstitions. The reason is that the far off atomic testing has mutated some of the plants animals and people into killing machines. They have taken it so far that the natives sacrifice two virgins every night to the man beast that wanders the woods.Edgy and atmospheric this is a monster movie in the grand tradition. You have weird things going on, sexual tension between the cast members, and monsters running amok, what more could you ask for? This movie was a drive-in staple for years and its easy to see why since it gives you everything that a drive-in crowd would want sex blood and breasts. Its also lots of run, creepy and just a bit scary.The only place the movie falls down is the man beast. Its really silly. It looks like a drippy Michelin man with a stupid grin Until you get a really good long look at it towards the end of the movie it holds some ,ystery and fear, but once we see its face its all over. If you can get past that, knowing its gonna look dumb helps, you'll have a grand time with this movie. Lots of mindless fun.7 out of 10(FYI- This was the film picked by Cinematic Titanic, what Joel and friends are doing post MST3K, for their 2010 tour under the title Danger on Tiki Island)