Beast of Blood

Dr. Foster (Ashley again-damn, look at those sideburns) comes back to Blood Island when the creature escapes (in a great opening sequence). Can the nefarious Dr. Lorca (now played by Eddie Garcia) be stopped.

While it all seems like a lot of fun, "Beast of Blood" is actually the weakest in the series. Sure, there's the requisite gore and nudity (including the creatures severed head-and when it talks!), and some nice action scenes come in. The thing is, the movie fails to keep one's interest as much this time, as there's a feeling of deja vu. Sure, the creature looks better this time, but you can only put up with it the premise of the series for so long before it starts to get stale.

Also, there isn't as much carnage from the creature this time around (and what happened to those killer trees?), meaning we have to put up with some tedium-such as scene after scene of people going through the jungle. Really, it grows quite tiresome.

"Beast of Blood" is far from horrible, but it's the weakest entry in the series, as it showing that the creators have milked the concept dry-in spite of some nice moments.

Dr Bill Foster returns after leaving the island after nearly a year. The locals have moved to another location, but it seems the same just like the last movie.

With a reporter in tow, Dr Foster tries to obtain more information regarding the green blooded monstrosity that Dr. Lorca has created. The dame but of course gets in heaps in trouble in what expectedly is the alive and well Mad Doctor.

Truly the script is written masterfully to dull you. Even the great Eddie Garcia could not save the diabolical ways the movie was supposed to be. Ashley with his on-screen lack of presence really was in there for the steamy scenes.

What can go wrong when the Doctor's right-hand man is now a medical professional in the making? Pure illogical fun.

This is the third film in the "Blood Collection" series and it takes up where the last movie, "Mad Doctor of Blood Island" left off. As everyone knows from the last exciting movie, "Dr. Bill Foster" (John Ashley) and "Sheila Willard" (Angelique Pettyjohn) managed to survive the explosion at the lab of "Dr. Lorca" (played by Ronald Remy) and were last seen on a ship heading away from Blood Island. However, one of the green creatures had managed to smuggle himself aboard just as the film ended. Sure enough, he comes out of hiding right as this film starts and causes the ship to explode killing everyone on board except for Dr. Foster and the green creature-who is seen slinking into the jungle as the opening credits appear on the screen. We then learn that Dr. Foster was rescued by a native woman named "Laida" (Liza Belmonte) and was sent to a hospital on the mainland. Months later he decides to return to Blood Island and is followed by an attractive journalist named "Myra J. Russell" (Celeste Yarnall) who wants the inside scoop on what happened. Now, although this movie doesn't quite have as much eroticism as its two predecessors, it does have some decent jungle combat scenes if that's any consolation. Likewise, Celeste Yarnall filled in quite well as the mandatory damsel in distress. All in all then, I rate this movie about the same as the last two films and recommend that it be seen after "Mad Doctor of Blood Island" if for no other reason than to obtain some kind of continuity. Slightly below average.

"Beast of Blood" picks up where its predecessor, "Mad Doctor of Blood Island", leaves off, so in essence both movies are one long story. Dr. Bill Foster (John Ashley) is sailing away from the island when the monster of "Mad Doctor" causes the destruction of the boat. Bill is rescued, and one year later he returns to the island upon hearing stories of what may still be going on there, even though the villainous Dr. Lorca supposedly perished. He's now in the company of nosey, stubborn reporter Myra Russell (Celeste Yarnall) and a captain played by Beverly Miller (Miller also concocted the story for this entry). Of course, he learns that Dr. Lorca, now played by Filipino film veteran Eddie Garcia, is very much alive and still up to no good. Lorca is keeping the severed head of the monster alive in his lab, for one thing! This is overall not as much fun as one might wish it to be, as it has a mostly uneventful first half, and the movie does mostly consist of a trek / pursuit through the jungle. But, as with any of these Filipino horror movies, the inherent atmosphere of the locale comes through strong, and accompanied by the expectedly (and endearingly) grandiose music by Tito Arevalo, "Beast of Blood" does have the perfect "midnight movie" feel to it, and does have the legendary Eddie Romero in its director's chair; if you watch enough of these movies, Romero's is one name you'll start to see repeatedly. The acting basically gets the job done, with Ashley effective as the stolid hero. Yarnall, known for appearances in movies like "Live a Little, Love a Little", "The Velvet Vampire", and "The Mechanic", is super sexy and a commendably, fairly feisty type, and Liza Belmonte is also a real looker as helpful local Laida. Familiar faces Alfonso Carvajal as tribe leader Ramu and Bruno Punzalan as henchman Razak are fun, but not as much as Garcia, who seems to be relishing his role; Lorca cheerfully discloses at one point that he's "madder than ever". It's just too funny when Lorca is addressing the severed head, and even more so when the head is seen to speak! A pretty good finish and highly amusing gore and creature effects add to the appeal of this movie which if not great is still pretty good. Seven out of 10.

BEAST OF BLOOD is the third installment in Uber-Director Eddie Romero's shock / schlock trilogy. Picking up where the second film left off, John Ashley stars as Dr. Bill Foster, who manages to battle a murdering monster about 30 seconds into the movie! Said monster winds up back on the island. Foster arrives later, accompanied by nosy reporter, Myra Russell (Celeste Yarnall) to hunt the creature.

Let the terror begin!

Not surprisingly, Dr. Lorca returns, this time played by Eddie Garcia. Lorca's henchman-in-chief, Razak is also back, with the magnificent Bruno Punzalan once again in the role. Ashley, as always, delivers his lines as though he's aggravated that someone has interrupted his nap. His acting style could be called anti-dynamic, seeming as if he might drift right back to dreamland at any moment! He is perfectly suited for this film.

The "Beast" takes an eternity to reappear, leaving us stranded in the jungle with Foster and Russell getting into scrapes with Razak and company. At his fortress homestead, Lorca reveals his latest, eeevil experiment, leading up to the big finish.

Romero's signature elements are all on hand: mad science, mutation, green slime, topless females, Ashley's sideburns, etc.

Another triumph for Filipino filmmaking...