Terror of the Bloodhunters

Terror of the Bloodhunters (1962)

BOMB (out of 4)

It's rather sad that the name Ed Wood has become known as the worst director in the history of cinema because it's simply not true. There are so many worst directors out there that never get the credit they deserve for being the absolute worst and I'd say anyone who'd call Wood bad had never seen something from Jerry Warren. Check out films like TEENAGE ZOMBIES, FRANKENSTEIN ISLAND and HOUSE OF BLACK DEATH and you'll come to realize that Wood deserves an Oscar compared to these duds. The "story" here takes place on Devil's Island where two new prisoners (Robert Clarke, William White) make their escape with a commandant's daughter (Dorothy Haney) but the three soon find their plan destroyed as they have to make their way through deep jungles and fight off snakes, disease and bloodhunters. Perhaps everyone, myself included, has looked at Warren incorrectly all these years. I guess you do have to give credit to someone who could sell an interesting story but do nothing with it. In TEENAGE ZOMBIES there were no zombies. In FRANKENSTEIN ISLAND there really wasn't an island or a Frankenstein doctor or monster. In this film there's not much of an escape, a prison or many bloodhunters. The film pretty much is one dialogue scene after another and after a while you have to wonder why the three bothered to escape from prison if the only thing they were going to do is sit around in the jungle and talk. This type of film could have worked had the screenplay been of any interest but it all sounds like the actors are making it up on the spot. It's boring, doesn't add anything to the film and whatever "message" it's trying to deliver gets dropped on its head. Clarke was an expert at Warren movies and he at least can act like he's having a good time. The rest of the cast are pretty forgettable and this includes Haney in a pretty bad performance. The film runs just over an hour and very little happens. In a common Warren touch, we do get quite a bit of stock footage of the jungle creatures including one really bad sequence where we see a snake come up on the trio. The snake is gliding through water yet none of the characters are by the water when the "attack" happens. Fans of Warren will want to check this film out but don't get your hopes up of getting any laughs or entertainment. However, if you are a fan of Warren then you know not to expect that.

Despite the amazingly cool (and kitschy) title, this film is MUCH more sedate and not nearly as bad as you might expect. Sure, it is bad--but with Jerry Warren directing, I really expected far worse!! After all, this is the same guy who brought us "Teenage Zombies", "The Incredible Petrified World" and "Frankenstein Island"--all absolutely terrible films. I wish it had been worse--then at least it would have been good for bad movie buffs.

The film is set in South America at some French penal colony like Devil's Island. Oddly, however, not one person in the film has a French accent and the film seems about as French as Chop Suey. In fact, throughout the film there are clumsily inserted scenes of native dancing girls who are supposed to be South American--but they clearly are Asians living in the South American jungle!!

"Terror of the Bloodhunters" begins with a shipment of prisoners being brought to the island. One of them, Steve Duval (Robert Clarke) is a political prisoner--sent there because of the books he's written. The commandant's dissatisfied daughter, Marlene (Dorothy Haney) is dying to escape the wretched place and helps Duval to escape. Together with one of Duval's expendable friends they set into the dense jungle (the sort made up mostly of old stock footage). Can they survive? And, more importantly, do you even care?

The film is extremely talky, has almost no bloodhunters in it and it a pretty dull film. Clearly it's bad but it is amazingly low-key and lacks the tackiness I'd hoped to find. Instead, it's just boring--and not a film I could recommend unless you either need to get some sleep or if you are a masochist.

Jerry Warren gives us whats probably his most ambitious effort (in that theres more than just a few people on-screen through a good portion of it). A highly entertaining and pleasing B movie thats probably the most lively and well written proyect Warren ever made, with memorable and charming characters along with a captivating plot.

It has a lot of the usual Warren tropes, such as blatant stock footage and long static shots that some may find to be bland or bothersome, others may argue that the movie doesnt deliver when it comes to the exploitation elements it promises, but you can honestly say that about many B movies of the time (and now). Its all very well paced, it goes by very fast and doesnt overstay its welcome.

Overall, some problems keep it from being really good but its one of the best Z grade jungle pictures of the era and probably one of the most delightful productions Warren has to offer.