Beast of Blood

Rating:
Summary: DISAPPOINTING "BEAST".....
Review: Another entry in the Blood Island films, this one opens with a fanged monster bursting out of hiding on a cargo ship parked off the coast of Blood Island. The beast grabs an axe and slaughters the crew before the ship explodes in the melee. The sole human survivor, John Ashley, washes ashore as does the monster who ambles off into the jungle. Ashley determines to find and kill the beast but first he must locate the evil Dr.Lorca whose experiments in his island hideaway resulted in the beast as well as some murderous mutated natives. Intrepid reporter Celeste Yarnall comes along to get the scoop. She is kidnapped by Lorcas' henchmen and taken to the hideaway house. A chubby local native girl takes a shine to Ashley and helps him battle the henchmen through most of the middle of the film in the jungle. The beast doesn't show up again until the end when it's revealed Dr.Lorca is looking to give it a new head. Not as fun as "Brides of Blood" although there is a bit more gore and some topless shots of Yarnall and the chubby native girl. The photography is good to poor with some scenes tinted so dark it's hard to make out what's going on. Ashley is wooden as always and Yarnall is not much better but she is fetching in a sarong. I can only say see this if you're curious but there's not much "Beast of the Dead". Instead there's too much jungle action between Ashley and the henchmen.

Rating:
Summary: A DISAPPOINTING "BEAST"...
Review: Another installment in the Blood Island series has a fanged monster coming out of hiding on a cargo ship and killing the crew with an axe. The ship explodes and the lone survivor (John Ashley) washes ashore on Blood Island. The monster also washes ashore and disappears into the jungle. Ashley is rescued by the natives, most of whom he knows from a previous Blood Island outing and there is talk of "The Evil One" running amok. Ashley wants to find the mysterious Dr.Lorca who is rumored to have survived a fire when "The Evil One" last ran amok. Dr.Lorca conducts fiendish experiments that usually results in monsters and native deaths. Ashley is joined by the lovely Celeste Yarnall who is a writer and photographer. She is promptly abducted by Lorcas' henchmen who take her to his island house. The ending has Dr.Lorca attempting to give the aforementioned monster a new head and all hell breaking loose. This is a pretty dull movie. The monster shows up in the interesting beginning and at the end. In between, it's just endless battles between Ashley and Lorcas' henchmen through the jungle. Several of Lorcas' "failed experiments" show up to cause mischief but they're only natives with awful patchwork make-up jobs. There is some gore and some bare breasts but I thought this movie was about the "Beast of Blood" not jungle battles and fistfights. I hate to admit it but "Brides of Blood" was more fun than this. The photography ranges from good to terrible with some scenes so dark it's hard to see what's going on. I can't recommend this very highly. It's just not very good at all.

Rating:
Summary: DISAPPOINTING "BEAST".....
Review: As in the other "Blood Island" films, this one is filmed in the Philippines and stars John Ashley again battling a monster hatched from the island lab of Dr.Lorca. In the opening, the fanged creature bursts from hiding on a cargo ship and slaughters the crew with an axe. The ship explodes during the melee and Ashley and the creature are washed ashore. Ashley is rescued by the natives of the island and the creature ambles off into the jungle. Ashley wanys to find Dr.Lorca and destroy the creature. He is joined by the lovely Celeste Yarnall as a reporter on a similar mission to meet Dr.Lorca. Dr.Lorca was presumed dead in a fire but is actually alive with half his face burned and still conducting experiments in his island house lab that result in mutated natives that attack now and then. The creature doesn't show up again until near the end as Lorca seeks to give it another head. Yarnall is kidnapped by Lorca's henchmen and held in Lorca's house where she now sports lovely island apparel replete with flowers in her hair. Hmmm. Anyway, there's a lot of jungle fighting between Ashley and Lorca's henchmen, some mild gore and bare breasts but little else going on here. "Brides of Blood" was much more entertaining and imaginative. The photography in "Beast" is poor at times and gets so dark you can hardly see what's going on. The monster is fun when he appears but he's not around much except in the beginning and towards the end. I was disappointed in this one.
And Ashley's acting seems to be worse than he was in "Brides" if that's possible. Yarnall is Ok to look at and does some topless scenes but I wanted to see more monster on the rampage. To sum it up, see this if you're curious but "Brides" is better.

Rating:
Summary: Classic Drive-In Wonder, Okay DVD
Review: This no-budget wonder from Eddie Romero (The Orson Welles of the Phillipine Islands) and Hemisphere studios is a great throwback to the Drive-In era. 'Beast' is the third entry in the 'Blood Island' series (fourth if you count 'Terror is a Man'). This one has a well concieved monster, surprisingly gory kills (for its' day), 'mondo' jungle ambience, silly sub-Bond intrigue and yes, even some topless babes going for it. The DVD has some nice extras, but I do have some complaints. First, the print used for this DVD transfer is hurting. They claim it's been restored, but I just can't believe it. This thing's riddled with scratches and artifacting and is so dark in places, it's hard to make out what's going on. Also the commentary by the producer is a real snoozer. He goes on and on about the minutae of Hemisphere's history and repeats himself endlessly, not really giving much insight into the making of 'Beast'. That said, I got the impression that Image really was trying to do the best they could with this DVD and that's more than can be said of most genre DVD releases. Even with the drawbacks, this disk is a welcome addition to any schlock-fiend's library and I especially enjoyed the interview with Romero.

Rating:
Summary: Classic Drive-In Wonder, Okay DVD
Review: This no-budget wonder from Eddie Romero (The Orson Welles of the Phillipine Islands) and Hemisphere studios is a great throwback to the Drive-In era. 'Beast' is the third entry in the 'Blood Island' series (fourth if you count 'Terror is a Man'). This one has a well concieved monster, surprisingly gory kills (for its' day), 'mondo' jungle ambience, silly sub-Bond intrigue and yes, even some topless babes going for it. The DVD has some nice extras, but I do have some complaints. First, the print used for this DVD transfer is hurting. They claim it's been restored, but I just can't believe it. This thing's riddled with scratches and artifacting and is so dark in places, it's hard to make out what's going on. Also the commentary by the producer is a real snoozer. He goes on and on about the minutae of Hemisphere's history and repeats himself endlessly, not really giving much insight into the making of 'Beast'. That said, I got the impression that Image really was trying to do the best they could with this DVD and that's more than can be said of most genre DVD releases. Even with the drawbacks, this disk is a welcome addition to any schlock-fiend's library and I especially enjoyed the interview with Romero.