Throughout each murder, the camera constantly zooms in and out rapidly. The death sequences are all shot though a constant use of the zoom lens. In addition to this, this film has some of the more unusual displays of camerawork I have seen in a film. The use of the island setting also harkens back to The Island of Lost Souls, and on that point The Mad Doctor of Blood Island does manage to pay proper tribute to that classic film. If nothing else, it certainly is beautiful, but even beyond that, I did greatly enjoy seeing so much of Tiki culture on display here. It gives the film a sort of exotic quality that works nicely with the retro themes the film is exploring. The film’s tropical setting is also quite nice. In this sense, he is much more of a pure villain, which contrasts nicely to the more tragic villain of Powers, and Remy brings out this aspect of his character rather nicely. He is a man completely desiccated to his own power and science, a dedication that supersedes any sort of morality. ![]() Lorca is not a natural born aristocrat, but rather he is a man who has made himself an aristocrat, thus having the power of the old aristocracy, but none of the tendency towards the creation of great art or even being under noblesse oblige, not even in theory. But unlike Esteban Powers, the villain in Romero and DeLeon’s previous effort, Brides of Blood, Dr. ![]() For one, he has a great look to him that gives him a sense of an aristocrat. She is still to be sure a “damsel in distress” type character, but she does show some resourcefulness as well at times. Prettyjohn also gives an admirable performance. ![]() He is basically playing a 1950’s style B-movie hero scientist stock character, but he owns the role really well. Romero and DeLeon have a real knack for utilizing this retro/ contemporary look and it really shows in this film.īut beyond that, The Mad Doctor of Blood Island still has a lot to offer. And as in the case of Brides of Blood, combining such retro aspects with other aspects that give the film a more modern feel gives the film this really wonderful vibe as the old compliments the new and the new compliments the old. But regardless of that later influence, the movie has a great deal of fun playing with its roots, capturing the sort of oddball fun that was characteristic of the better films of the Mad Scientist genre during the 1930’s,1940’s, and 1950’s. Several parts of the film play like a Proto-Slasher film and in particular, this film appears to have been an influence on Anthropophagus. But what is interesting here is that the film also looks ahead a bit. This time though, instead of being indebted to the Nuclear Monsters genre of the 1950’s, this film is based in the Mad Scientist genre. Much like Brides of Blood, The Mad Doctor of Blood Island takes an old genre of Horror movies and reworks them into a more contemporary setting. Lorca is completely engrossed in his experiments, but there is another problem at hand, namely the fact that someone or something keeps massacring people. While there they meet the mysterious and aloof Dr. In the film, Bill Foster (John Ashley) is investigating the discovery of mysterious green blood, is joined on his tropical island quest by two people looking for loves ones, Shelia Willard (Angelique Pettyjohn) who is looking for her father and Carlos Lopez (Ronaldo Valdez) who comes to the island to convince his mother to leave. ![]() The Mad Doctor of Blood Island does not continue the story of Brides of Blood, but it does continue many of its major themes such as a tropical island setting becoming home to a gruesome monster as well as the presence of John Ashley. Later that same year, Romero and DeLeon would make a follow up film of sorts with The Mad Doctor of Blood Island. The results were one of my favorite Horror films of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s and peaked my interest to the world of Pilipino Horror. Our Filipino friends are at it again! Or at least Eddie Romero and Gerry DeLeon are at it again, the directorial duo that brought the world Brides of Blood in 1968, a deliriously good Exploitation offering 1950’s Science-Fiction/ Horror with elements of the Werewolf film and a heavy dose of late 1960’s style sex and violence.
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