Brides of Blood

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.

I first watched this film in a drive-in theatre, when I was just out of high school. I must say it scared the begeebers out of me. And, that was doing something! I was already a dyed in the wool fan of Horror, and Sci-Fi movies. Even though it was filmed with a lot of night scenes, and there-fore hard at times to make out what you were seeing on a drive-in screen, and the special effects were not what they can do by todays standards, I still found it a very disturbing, and frightening film. If anyone else has seen it, please let me know what you thought at the time of it's release.

Brides of Blood is a cheap and cheerful production but also one with a lot of problems. The plot synopsis actually makes it sound like you might be in for something rather enjoyable; but while the film definitely does have it's moments, they are few and far between and usually in the middle of a load of torrid and boring scenes. The film focuses on a primitive island where years earlier there were experiments with radioactive bombs. We follow a team who goes to the island in order to research the after-effects of the bomb as well as help the locals to build a village. However, there have been some unexpected side effects. The main problem with the film is that it really lacks a point; there's plenty of horror shown and it's actually quite inventive but it's not got any perspective. The special effects look extremely cheap and are unlikely to impress anyone; but they're fun to watch and directors Gerardo de Leon and Eddie Romero (no relation to George) have not let the budget hold them back as the effects are plentiful. Ironically though, it's the main monster that looks the most awful of all - it's unlikely to frighten anyone that is for sure! As mentioned, the plotting is all over the place and as such the film can be a bit boring at times, which is a shame and to be honest; I never really cared how it would all end. Overall, this does have some good moments; but it's not a good film and I wouldn't recommend anyone goes out their way to check it out!

Island atmosphere with tropical music and friendly natives. An idyllic setting for a group of adventurers to find some peace. A doctor (Kent Taylor) and his horny wife (Beverly Powers) and a peace Corps volunteer (John Ashley) journey to this Philippine island to help and do research.

Unfortunately, things have changed and danger lurks. Has radiation from atomic tests in the 40s drifted to the island causing mutations? The fact that trees can attack like Harry Potter's whomping willow is some indication that things are not normal.

The natives have returned to previous customs by sacrificing naked virgins to be satisfied by someone or something; it certainly was some hideous creature! They stay with a strange man (Mario Montenegro), who has a staff of little people in his home. He also appears some 20 years younger than he actually is.

When it is time for the chief's granddaughter (Eva Darren) to be sacrificed, Jim (Ashley) swings into action to save her.

Later, Carla (Powers) is really desperately looking to get laid and follows Estaban (Montenegro). She meets the Tiki-headed monster instead. He will certainly ravish her, but not in the way she wants.

Of course, the finally defeat the monster by finding the cajones that had put aside.

Brides of Blood (1968)

** (out of 4)

Crazy cult film from the Philippines centers on three researchers (John Ashley, Kent Taylor, Beverly Hills) who arrive on Blood Island to see if radiation has caused any problems. Soon they realize that certain trees are alive and attacking people but even worse is a deformed monster who the locals are giving "brides" to, which it then eats. BRIDES OF BLOOD isn't a well-made movie so if you're looking for class then it's best to go watch the Val Lewton horror movies. If you're looking for cheap exploitation then this here should be right up your alley. I will start off by saying the 92-minute running time is way too long for a movie like this because with an exploitation film you want the goods and nothing else. There are a few too many dialogue scenes that really stretch the running time out and I think the film could have been more entertaining without all of these. With that said, there are some really memorable moments to be found here and they're good enough to make this a cult film. The highlight is without question the monster, which is hard to describe because it's just something you have to see to fully believe. If I had to describe it I'd say it's a mutated pile of spinach with a mouth and pointy teeth. The look of this thing is so silly but at the same time you can't help but be entertained by it. Another good thing are the really bad special effects of the trees attacking people. There's a reason killer tree movies are kept limited and it's because the effects look so silly. It's obvious that in many scenes it's the actors "moving" the trees to make it appear that they're the ones moving and attacking them. The Philipeans setting is another major plus because it just gives the film a cheap look but it also contains some nice atmosphere that really jumps off the screen. Both Ashley and Taylor sleepwalk through their roles but they're still fun to see. BRIDES OF BLOOD certainly isn't a classic but if you enjoy exploitation then there's enough here to make it worth sitting through.