Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968) Reviews

• See it!

  hoodcsa2004-07-23

  Forget all the critics (though much of their criticism is technically on target). Watch this film with an open mind and revel in the sheer audaciousness of it all. Gruesome monsters. Trashy, gorgeous heroines. Square jawed men of action. Let the bizarre ennui envelope you. Enjoy the sheer inanity of the whole thing. I saw this as a teen and was utterly captivated by it and the crude power remains intact. On location shooting (in the Philippines) and cast of unknowns adds enormously. It's a wonderful piece of trash film making -- a classic of the sort.

• "Let the bizarre ennui envelop you!"

  roddmatsui2004-08-08

  I had some fine memories of seeing this (heavily edited) on TV when I was a kid, so I went and got the DVD...and it's really neat to see this completely uncut. It does deliver the exploitation goods, plus there's real characters and real story. Surprisingly well-written and well-made. If you like trash cinema, this is one of the very best, and it was made for almost nothing, but features some very serviceable performances and a nice script--in addition to the graphic violence, nudity, ritual dances and atmosphere. Deep within the jungles of Blood Island--in the interest of science--twisted Dr. Lorca has been using chlorophyll to turn some of his patients into green-blooded mutations. The worst of these experiments has transformed into a horrible, murderous monster barely recognizable as human. It's up to civil servant John Ashley to try to save the local population from this danger. Can he destroy the dangerous experiments of Dr. Lorca? "Mad Doctor of Blood Island" was made with total seriousness, something very rare in low budget exploitation. Characters intellectualize and debate in a civilized way rather than having screaming arguments. They wander the island depressed, questioning their lives. VERY SELDOM do horror films approach such thinky territory! And it's all done with a straight face. The entire cast is wonderful... As another reviewer suggested, "Let the bizarre ennui envelop you." This movie is definitely not everyone's cup of tea (what movie is?), but if you like good cheap movies, I feel it is worth a look. The sequel to this one ("Beast of Blood") is entertaining, and the Chlorophyll Monster costume looks a lot better, but IMHO it's nowhere near as good as this first one.

• Drive-in classic lives up to its reputation

  dbborroughs2006-10-19

  Three people come to Blood Island for their own reasons. The beautiful Young girl is there to find her father. The handsome islander is there to reunite with his mother. The doctor is there to investigate a supposed out break of a new disease. What they find when they get there is a monster on the loose that likes to disembowel and dismember (graphically) his victims. Sequel to Brides of Blood (and third of the Blood Island films, the first being Terror is a Man which only shares the same location) this is more of the same only up a notch. Its mad doctor on the loose using science to create a monster that runs around killing people. Hooray for crackpot medical degrees. What can I say about a movie that begins with the audience being given "the pledge of the green blood" other than see this movie? If you like old school horror films, or drive-in style movies, this film is for you. This movie is a blast. It moves along at a good clip, has a great monster, some very graphic killings (you will see blood, limbs and intestines) and some topless women. Its the sort of movie they don't make any more. My only complaint is that some knucklehead thought it would be a good idea to zoom in and out every time the monster attacks. Its the equivalent to whiplash and really distracts from the early attack scenes. Thankfully the effect isn't done as wildly in the later scenes and you actually can put away your neck brace and enjoy the film. A drive-in movie classic. 7.5 out of 10 (8 for IMDb purposes.

• Exotic Exploitation

  mrthrill2002-09-26

  This amazingly atmospheric ,surreal and sleazy drive-in masterpiece is a must-see for all fans of monsters, exotica, John Ashley, mad scientists, and cheesecake. I bought it based on its notorious reputation (and some seductive stills) and was not disappointed. It has some HG Lewis type gore, lots of gratuitous nudity, beautiful scenery, earnest bad acting, a seriously scary monster, and more. This is B Movie making at its finest, sheer exploitation with no apologies and no holds barred. Even the eerie exotica music score is cool. Eddie Romero's Filipino horror films of this era will appeal to all fans of 60s/70s Mexican and Spanish horror cinema. They are even as unique, bizarre, and compelling as the Japanese yakuza flicks from Seijun Suzuki of the same era, and much more colorful, entertaining and original than contemporary horror cinema. I also highly recommend "Brides of Blood" (the monster is kinda like a demonic tiki, a relative of the tree monster Tabanga in "From Hell it Came")and "The Blood Drinkers"m featuring a vampire that is as suave as a James Bond villain and incredible photography. I've heard some genre fans hate these movies for being so awful. I was pleasantly stunned at how wrong these naysayers were. What a great discovery.

• Worth a look for Drive-In enthusiasts

  Sheep_Dip2005-10-05

  If you are a Z-grade movie fan then you'll pleased to hear that this is one gloriously bad film. You get the full works here - paper-maché monster masks, screaming maidens, wooden acting, brief flashes of nudity, cave walls that are less-than-solid and a surprising dash of 1960s gore. However the best part, or worst depending on your point of view, is the wonderfully stodgy dialogue on display, for example: Man: "What a scare you gave me. But then you are a kind of ghost yourself aren't you". Woman: "What sensitivity". Add to this a plot involving chlorophyll (the stuff that makes leaves green) poisoning, native rituals and you've got yourself a decent B-movie. There are some aspects that will undoubtedly annoy most people, the large number of "padded" scenes for example, but the worst has to be the bloody annoying manic lens zooming!. Otherwise the film is fun to watch and will no doubt please most fans of Romero and low-budget horror fare.