Le Médecin dément de l'île de sang

Forget all the critics (though much of their criticism is technically on target). Watch this film with an open mind and revel in the sheer audaciousness of it all. Gruesome monsters. Trashy, gorgeous heroines. Square jawed men of action. Let the bizarre ennui envelope you. Enjoy the sheer inanity of the whole thing. I saw this as a teen and was utterly captivated by it and the crude power remains intact. On location shooting (in the Philippines) and cast of unknowns adds enormously. It's a wonderful piece of trash film making -- a classic of the sort.

I had some fine memories of seeing this (heavily edited) on TV when I was a kid, so I went and got the DVD...and it's really neat to see this completely uncut. It does deliver the exploitation goods, plus there's real characters and real story.

Surprisingly well-written and well-made. If you like trash cinema, this is one of the very best, and it was made for almost nothing, but features some very serviceable performances and a nice script--in addition to the graphic violence, nudity, ritual dances and atmosphere.

Deep within the jungles of Blood Island--in the interest of science--twisted Dr. Lorca has been using chlorophyll to turn some of his patients into green-blooded mutations. The worst of these experiments has transformed into a horrible, murderous monster barely recognizable as human. It's up to civil servant John Ashley to try to save the local population from this danger. Can he destroy the dangerous experiments of Dr. Lorca?

"Mad Doctor of Blood Island" was made with total seriousness, something very rare in low budget exploitation. Characters intellectualize and debate in a civilized way rather than having screaming arguments. They wander the island depressed, questioning their lives. VERY SELDOM do horror films approach such thinky territory! And it's all done with a straight face. The entire cast is wonderful... As another reviewer suggested, "Let the bizarre ennui envelop you."

This movie is definitely not everyone's cup of tea (what movie is?), but if you like good cheap movies, I feel it is worth a look. The sequel to this one ("Beast of Blood") is entertaining, and the Chlorophyll Monster costume looks a lot better, but IMHO it's nowhere near as good as this first one.

The second film in the Blood Island Trilogy, this movie has nothing to do with the first. But, it does feature John Ashley, was directed by Gerardo de Leon and Eddie Romero, and was shot in the Philippines, so it does have something to do with it, after all.

Ashley did managed to give up his Peace Corps job and become a doctor. he brings along Sheila Willard (Angelique Pettyjohn) to find her father (Tony Edmunds).

Trekkies might remember Pettyjohn from the The Gamesters of Triskelion episode of "Star Trek". Others may have seen her in films such as Stalag 69.

At the same time, Carlos Lopez (Ronaldo Valdez) is trying to convince his mother (Tita Muñoz) to leave the island. She works with the strange Dr. Lorca (Ronald Remy).

Now, this movie did start with a naked native girls running away from a hideous monster, so we can expect it to be a gore and sexploitation adventure.

And, it features just about the most repulsive monster I have ever seen.

It was, however, a disappointment in the sexploitation arena, and the gore wasn't too terribly excessive. Just crazy fun for drive-in movie lovers.

A man who loves to travel, travels to an island where a mad doctor is creating zombies.

"Brides of Blood" (1968), also starring John Ashley, had been popular in the US. American distributors approached Ashley to see if he would be interested in appearing in a follow-up movie. Ashley agreed, which led to him acting in and/or producing a series of exploitation films in the Philippines. The film, which cost $125,000, was followed by a sequel, "Beast of Blood", in 1971.

This is just the perfect kind of cheese for a low budget movie. Yes, the picture looks bad and could really benefit from a new transfer (everything is sort of blue-green tinted). But in a way, it's this imperfection that adds to its charm. A great picture might make it more obvious just how silly all the effects are.

I recall seeing this film at a drive-in many years ago. While I admit to a tendency of enjoying bad movies, this one had some allure because of its exploitive bent. Yes, the script is bad, the acting is also stinky, and there is some screwball operating the camera who keeps playing with the zoom lens, but the movie attempted to expand the boundaries of shock value in its day. An island monster is running around making hamburger of his victims. A not-too-savvy young American with a Ricky-Nelson haircut is on the case. Care to guess what happens next? When I saw it as a teenager it had an impact, but it probably rates as a grade D horror flick. A product of the Philippines, I believe. Am I recommending it? Only for fans of the genre.