Night of the Bloody Apes / Feast of Flesh

Rating:
Summary: Night of the man in an ape mask
Review: Another of those lovely 70's Video nasties that were banned in the UK in the early 80's and watching this today you gotta wonder why? Man in Ape mask goes round raping and killing young ladies, a sub-plot involving a female wrestler and one has to say the worst scalping ever commited to celluloid (It's a wig god damn it!!) all of this in mind the film is hilarious in every department, the only contentious scenes are those of real life heart surgery which if you've ever watched ER will come as no surprise or shock to anyone and the whole film is so deliciously camp, how this ever got viewed as being depraved and shocking is lost on me. Apparently theres a xxx version made for mexican porno theatres floating around but i have yet spoken or heard of anyone thats actually seen it. This is the most complete version available and if like myself your an avid horror historian or just want to have a good giggle my advice is buy the dvd then seek professional help. Happy monkey-ing.

Rating:
Summary: Mexican horror double feature, extra queso por favor!
Review: Chiller Theatre and Something Weird video got together to do this kick-butt combo of two absurd Mexican horror movies from the late 60's. Both are very low-budget campfests with moments of brutality and weirdness that will appeal to depraved horror addicts like myself.

I remember Night of the Bloody Apes from video rental days (sheds sentimental tear). A doctor transplants the heart of a gorilla into his son's chest to save him from a disease, and guess what? His son Julio turns into a monkey-faced maniac who rampages the Mexican streets attacking people, especially voluptuous women. This film will satisfy even the most jaded sleazemonger, delivering some extreme (for the time) gore scenes and some nudity, and, of course, tons of ridiculous dubbed dialogue. Great party movie, especially considering you get (deep breath) Mexican lady wrestling as well! If that doesn't convince you, consider the fact that the heart transplant scenes feature actual surgery scenes inserted in a gratuitous, amateurish manner, and WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??! GET IT!!!

Next, we are blessed with the black & white Feast of Flesh, another Mexican horror film clocking in at a tight 70 minutes. There's no wasted time here as a masked psycho tears the clothes off of women and stabs them with syringes. The hip young people in the film dance to cool tunes, wonder who the killer is, dance to cool tunes, go the beach, dance to cool tunes...at one point, right after finding a body, a couple says a couple worried lines about the killings, and the next second is TWISTIN' THE NIGHT AWAY TO COOL TUNES!! Picture the Frankie & Annette Beach Party movies, in black and white, in Mexico, with some stripper-style partial nudity, an LSD scene, a masked maniac, a cliche flaming gay guy, a cliche tough lesbian girl, and you've got a pretty good concept of the cinematic miracle that is Feast of Flesh.

If the movies themselves weren't enough, Something Weird rewards us rabid freaks with the usual cornucopia of extras. You get the double feature theatrical trailer and TV spots along with The Deadly Organ trailer and TV spots. In case you were wondering, sickos, The Deadly Organ was the alternate title for Feast of Flesh...BECAUSE THE MASKED KILLER PLAYED ORGAN MUSIC! Not what you were thinking, I'm sure. Anyhoo, you also get gore outtakes from Bloody Apes, trailers for Blood Splattered Bride & I Dismember Mama, Carnival of Blood & Curse of the Headless Horseman, Face of the Screaming Werewolf, The Flesh Eaters, Flesh Feast, Invasion of the Flesh Hunters (AKA Cannibal Apocalypse), Shiver Shudder Show, Tender Flesh, and Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory & Corridors of Blood. Watching these trailers back to back is the abbreviated "crack cocaine" version of these drive-in/grindhouse classics, with ridiculous voice-overs; the double-feature trailers were utter horror/sleaze madness. Not recommended for those with weak hearts. But WAIT! THERE'S MORE! Four short subjects: Gorilla and the Maiden (ape meets stripper), Artist's Paradise (1920's ape meets nude women), White Gorilla (ape vs. ape) and The World Championship Women's Wrestling Contest (self-explanatory). Ramming it all home is a horror comic cover art gallery with psychobilly-ish music by the Dead Elvi.

If you're a B-horror fan, you probably already have this DVD. If not, you know what you must do. This stuff is aged like a vintage wine, or more like fine cheese....bwahahahahah.

Rating:
Summary: Blood and Gore Galore!
Review: Night of the Bloody Apes is a ham-fistedly made concoction of sex, wrestling, gorillas and gore with footage of actual open-heart surgery tossed in for good measure. Making a long story short, Dr. Krellman replaces the bad heart of his son Julio with that of a gorilla. The primate's heart proves to be too "powerful" and transforms our boy into a rampaging ape-like thing. The good doctor, realizing his folly, then replaces the damnable organ with the heart of a female masked wrestler. I had high hopes at this point that Julio would change into a transgender-masked-wrestling-ape-like thing, but regrettably we only get to look at the silly chimp get-up some more.

As a monkey-man Julio terrorizes the city, raping women and disemboweling men. Not a banana in sight, so blood and intestines will have to do. Giving in to the idea that all gorilla movies are spawned from King Kong, director Cardona deliberately carries out a similar fate and finale atop a lofty structure mid-city (sans the airplanes and helicopters - no money for that!). Julio the beast is brought down by gunfire, our heroine is returned safely to her boyfriend and all is well, the happiest of the happy.

Night of the Bloody Apes is less than compelling in the narrative department and even a might dull in places. The lengthy trailer would be plenty for most but I'm a glutton for punishment and only the full 84 minutes will suffice. While shoddy and ill-paced, `Apes attempts to make up for its short-comings by bombarding the viewer with its bevy of (un) redeemable qualities: gobs of make-shift gore, nudity and wrestling all interspersed with a deadpan delivery that approaches the surreal, perfect for those late night viewings, in a bewildering sort of way.

`Apes was lensed in 1968 by Rene Cardona as a vile send-up of his very own Doctor of Doom from 1962. The film houses an arsenal of alternate titles including: Gomar The Human Gorilla, La Horriplante Bestia Humana and Horror Y Sexo but was eventually christened Night of the Bloody Apes and dumped on the American drive-in circuit.

-Christopher Curry