Engendros del mal

BRAIN OF BLOOD is another dose of cinematic agony from Director Al Adamson.

When Amir (Reed Hadley), a foreign leader, dies, it's up to mad science to save him. Said leader is in the hands of Dr. Trenton (Kent Taylor) and his assistant, Bob (Grant Williams), who plan on transplanting Amir's brain into another body, resulting in a new lease on life.

How could this possibly fail?

After a suitable subject proves to be too fragile, it falls to one of Trenton's henchmen to receive the transplant. Trenton must choose between a mindless giant named Gor (Tom Bloom), and a sinister "dwarf" named Dorro (Angelo Rossitto), who keeps women chained in the dungeon.

Can you guess who gets the brain?

Tragedy strikes and untold horror ensues. Or, something like that.

Mr. Adamson pulls out all the stops, making this movie as insufferably dull as possible.

BEST BITS AND BOBS: #1- Amir, wrapped in aluminum foil like a Thanksgiving turkey, ready for the roaster! #2- The international intrigue angle, added simply to pad things out, and as an attempt to make this movie interesting! #3- Bob's driving hat! #4- Gor's "makeup" (i.e., a rubber shower cap melted on his head)! #5- The constant water dripping in the dungeon, sounding exactly the same no matter what part of the dungeon the characters are in!

So, sit back, relax, and prepare for cranial blisters!

EXTRA POINTS FOR: Katherine's (Vicki Volante) mile-high, haymow of hair!...

A man who goes by the name of "Amir" (Reed Hadley) is a rich and powerful leader of a country called "Kalid" and he is dying of cancer. Wishing to prolong his life he turns to an insane surgeon named "Doctor Trenton" (Kent Taylor) who guarantees him that he can transplant his brain from his diseased body into a healthy one. Of course, to do that Dr. Trenton needs a live human specimen and since there are no volunteers, he sends a mentally challenged and seriously deformed henchman named "Gor" (John Bloom) out to procure one. Unfortunately, Gor fails in his assignment and so Dr. Trenton is compelled to use Gor as the recipient of Amir's brain. But things don't go as planned. Anyway, rather than disclose the entire story and risk spoiling this film for those who haven't seen it, I will just say that I don't recommend it to anybody but die-hard, Category-Z movie buffs. For starters, the special effects weren't very good and some of the scenes--like the initial surgical procedure or with the young lady named "Katherine" (Vicki Volante) wandering around in the dungeon--seemed to drag on forever. Likewise, I didn't especially care for the ending at all. Below average.

Since two of Al Adamson's previous monstrosities, "Dracula vs. Frankenstein" and "Horror of the Blood Monsters," both from 1971, are two of the very worst films that I have ever suffered through, it was with a distinct feeling of what I can only call cinematic masochism that I sat down to watch his 1972 offering, "Brain of Blood." And guess what? The impossible has happened, and I've finally seen an Al Adamson movie that I actually liked! While no one could honestly call "Brain of Blood" a good, well-made picture, at least it has a story that we can follow, hangs together fairly decently, and is actually fun and entertaining to watch, unlike the torture dished out by those previous films. The story here concerns one Dr. Trenton (Kent Taylor, the star of 1968's "Brides of Blood"), who successfully transplants the brain of Amir, leader of the fictitious country of Khalid, into a younger, stronger body. There is one catch, however: The only body available belonged to Gor, Trenton's hulking, imbecilic, acid-scarred servant. And that's when the fun and games begin! As if a deformed monster weren't enough, the film throws in a gross-out surgical sequence, a high-speed car chase, a well-choreographed rooftop dukeout, assorted murders, explosions, corpses, an over-sized spider and on and on. Three members of "Dracula vs. Frankenstein" return here: the maniacal little person Angelo Rossitto, who here delights in torturing some female prisoners in the basement; the blonde gargoyle known as Regina Carrol; and Zandor Vorkov, the blue-faced Dracula himself. Gor, it must be said, looks absolutely ridiculous, his scarred-puss makeup job resembling nothing more than a rubber bathing cap with a side flap. Still, despite everything, the film works, and coming from Adamson as it does, must be deemed a minor miracle. Now: Should I try his 1978 opus, "Nurse Sherri"?

I'm not sure I've ever seen a film as bad as this. Awful acting, All over the place plot, terrible special effects. There are some 'so bad its good' moments in here but not really enough to maintain interest. The woman who plays Tracey looks hideous. There are some fairly worrying scenes with a dwarf which leave you feeling ever so slightly violated. On the plus side the operation scenes are fairly amusing for the special effects as is the car chase where one car is "trying to force us off the road" without actually making contact. Guess the budget didn't stretch to trashing cars. Oh and what looks like a Postcard of the Taj Mahal is shown every time they cut to the fictional foreign country.

What would you expect from a film entitled "Brain Of Blood"? I settled down for a B-movie extravaganza of bad acting, a preposterous story, and horrendous directing. I was gobsmacked when, ten minutes into the film, I realised I wasn't going to get what I'd planned for.

This is not your average B-Movie.

No! It's your above-average B-Movie.

It's not great, but it ain't no stinker either.

Writers Samuel Sherman (story) & Joe Rodgers (screenplay) give the audience a semi-decent sci-fi thriller.

Amir is the ruler of Kalid. He's a good and caring monarch whose people love him. Unfortunately, he's riddled with cancer. Not knowing of a suitable successor for his beloved country, Amir risks it all on an experimental operation. A brain transplant. Things go disastrously awry when Gor damages the host body. Amir's brain ends up in the scarred body of mentally disabled Gor. This isn't the only blow Amir has to weather as conspirators have other ideas regarding his future.

It would be a stronger film had they managed the story concept correctly.

Though in Al Adamson's hands we receive a film of missed possibilities. Adamson tries his best behind the camera, and there are some interesting shots. I liked the operating procedure where he filmed part of it through a glass jar. The best part of this scene is when the camera pans to the bottom of the jar and we spot the white rat. Though this scene shows his inventiveness the rat breaks the spell.

It's this sort of thing that lessens the film. For example, they fly Amir from Kalid to America and then they transport him to the secret laboratory; which is one small room. The doctor begins the operation immediately and Amir's trusted confidant, Mohammed, is allowed to stay. Trouble is, they don't get him to scrub up or even don a gown. Evidently, hygiene isn't a worry when you're pulling a brain from a skull. This is a good thing. Especially considering the Doctor's assistant needs a chair to stand on... being a midget and all.

I can almost hear you groaning out there. I admit to sighing loudly and shaking my head when the midget appeared, so I can relate.

However, Adamson films the operation well. So if they paired the whole thing back, and Adamson concentrated on the relevant parts of the story, the movie would be stronger.

Since the Doctor is operating secretly, he requires a constant source of blood. This comes from the two female prisoners chained in the dungeon. Yeah, you heard that right. Why this couldn't be a cellar, I don't know(?) It's another element handled incorrectly. We later learn how massive the dungeon is. When I realised this I wondered, why does he have only one room for his lab(?). All these mishandled inconsistencies hinder the movie further.

Nonetheless, the film kept me in its grip... just.

This is because there are some good scenes, and these outweigh the bad. You can see the lack of budget in every shot. But Adamson tries to keep it interesting. He composes the opening sequence of Amir on his deathbed superbly. Even though you know we're not in a mansion or a castle, it doesn't matter too much. The direction holds it together, as does the acting.

This scene leads to one of the best opening credit's I've seen in a B-Movie. It made me reminisce about my youth when I watched Re-Animater and other Brian Yuzna films. It's similar in style and just as good.

I have to admit to having a fondness for the car chase. Even though Doctor Bob (Grant Williams) shouts, "He's trying to run us off the road!" the cars never get too close. I want to believe it's because one car is the directors and he's told them, "Scratch my car and you're fired!" Regardless, he deals with the chase admirably, using different angles. I especially liked the upward shot of the passing tree branches. This adds to the feel of speed, anxiety, and unease. At least he gets to set one car on fire.

As for the acting, this is well above average. It's the cast and their portrayals that are the glue to the film. Each gives a believable rendition, and it was this that kept me watching most.

There's only one person who lets the cast down. Regina Carrol, who plays Amir's aid and love interest, Tracy. Three things stand out in her performance. Her hair, which is so heavily lacquered with hairspray, she may be solely responsible for the hole in the ozone. The other two are her breasts... and Adamson's camera loves them. Not once does her acting ability surpass these attributes.

I would only recommend this film to B-Movie lovers and aficionados. This is chiefly because this is a bad film... but it's a good bad film. Everybody else should stay away. You won't appreciate the films badness.

Ratings: Story 1.25 : Direction 1 : Pace 0.75 : Acting 1 : Enjoyment 1 : Total 5 / 10

Transplant yourself into my Absolute Horror and The Final Frontier lists to see where this B-Movie crashed.

Take Care and Stay Well.