Brides of Blood
Brides of Blood
NR | 29 May 1968 (USA)
Brides of Blood Trailers

Americans investigating the results of nuclear radiation discover a man-eating monster on a remote island.

Reviews
Ameriatch One of the best films i have seen
Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
Twilightfa Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.
Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
lemon_magic Well, you've got your cold, unemotional scientist explorer, you've got your typical hot, sexy, unfulfilled wife, you've got your intrepid, smoothly handsome hero; you've got native girls on a tropical island, sinister henchmen, a mysterious monster (or two) lurking around and assaulting the tropical girls; you've even got the Men's Adventure magazine analog to anime tentacle rape in the living tree vines that wrap around their victims and try to crush them, or eat them, or something. In short, it's as if someone took a cover story for Argosy magazine in the late 60's and brought it to life in movie form! Adjust your expectations accordingly.All the movie was missing was Nazis, or a dungeon scene. Production values, acting, dialog, sound design,etc. are all over the place varying wildly from decent to jaw-droppingly cheap and silly. Some scenes have a fair amount of energy (for all their goofiness), while some scenes just drag endlessly with exposition or walking or flatly delivered dialog that doesn't do a thing to advance the plot or develop character or dynamics within the cast.But I kind of liked it anyway, for whatever reasons. I actually did not think through the bit with the plot point when the plantation owner revealed his "exposure" to radiation in previous years, and while it wasn't a huge surprise to find out who the monster was, it did add a nice jolt of energy to the film.My only real quibble with the movie was that the islanders seemed to be sacrificing their virgin daughters to the monster at the rate of one or two every night (at least in movie time)and apparently had been for quite some time...you'd think they'd be running low on young women after a while.
Woodyanders Radioactive fallout on a remote tropical island causes the plants and animals to mutate into dangerous and hideously malformed monsters. The scared natives regularly sacrifice fair maidens to an especially vile and ferocious beast known as the Evil One. Noble Peace corps volunteer Jim Farrell (a likable performance by Filipino exploitation cinema mainstay John Ashley) tries to get the locals to stand up to the foul subhuman fiend. Directors Gerardo de Leon and Eddie Romero relate the cheerfully ridiculous story at a steady pace, do a solid job of creating and sustaining a gloomy brooding atmosphere, offer a flavorsome evocation of the exotic setting, deliver a satisfying smattering of tasty female nudity and lovably cheesy gore, and stage the rousing fiery conclusion with a reasonable amount of brio. This film further benefits from acceptable acting by a competent cast: Kent Taylor as stoic, no-nonsense scientist Dr. Paul Henderson, Mario Montenegro as suave rich guy Esteban Powers, Bruno Punzalan as Esteban's loyal servant Goro, and Andres Centenera as wise tribal elder Arcadio. Moreover, we get some delicious distaff eye candy courtesy of buxom blonde Beverly Powers as Henderson's horny, sarcastic wife Carla and sultry brunette Eva Darren as sweet local girl Alma. Better still, there's an infectiously sincere and enthusiastic go-for-it pulpy sensibility evident throughout that's endearing and entertaining in equal measure. The rough, unpolished cinematography gives the picture a suitably gritty look. The throbbing tribal score likewise hits the shuddery spot. The heavy-breathing lumpy'n'rubbery humanoid creature is a total tacky riot. A good deal of blithely low-grade fun that's not to be taken seriously.
ferbs54 Wow, does this flick make for one wild and woolly experience! "Brides of Blood" (1968), the first adventure in the Blood Island trilogy, must be deemed, along with 1959's "Terror Is A Man," one of the crown jewels of Filipino horror cinema. In it, 1950s star John Ashley plays Jim Farrell, a Peace Corps worker who comes to the eponymous Blood Island in the Philippines. He is accompanied by naturalist Dr. Henderson, who wants to study the effects of recent nearby nuke tests on the island's flora and fauna, as well as by Henderson's randy, bubble-bosomed wife, played by Beverly Hills (love that name!). This film is some kind of ultimate drive-in experience, and throws in much to ensure a memorable time. Thus, there are some scary, groping, mutated trees (still not as scary as the ones in "The Wizard Of Oz," though), sacrificed topless maidens, gaggles of scampering little people (that IS the PC expression at the moment, right?), battles with torches, bolos and flare guns, AND a roaring, woman-hungry monster that beggars my poor powers of description. Please don't get me wrong; this is certainly not anybody's idea of a quality film (even my beloved "Psychotronic Encyclopedia" calls it "terrible"). It is somewhat shoddily put together, and features God-awful dubbing and egregious day-for-night photography. Still, it does offer truly exotic Filipino atmosphere, interesting characters, decent-enough acting, and eerie native chants. Plus, the film culminates with a wild, celebratory native mating dance that must be seen to be believed; a most satisfactory windup. The bottom line is that I can't imagine any fan of sci-fi, horror or action films not enjoying this pulpy funhouse of a movie on some level. Recommended.
Kansas-4 I first watched this film in a drive-in theatre, when I was just out of high school. I must say it scared the begeebers out of me. And, that was doing something! I was already a dyed in the wool fan of Horror, and Sci-Fi movies. Even though it was filmed with a lot of night scenes, and there-fore hard at times to make out what you were seeing on a drive-in screen, and the special effects were not what they can do by todays standards, I still found it a very disturbing, and frightening film. If anyone else has seen it, please let me know what you thought at the time of it's release.