Beast of the Yellow Night

"A man is saved from certain death by selling his soul to the devil, who charges him with recruiting others to his evil cause. As part of his terms for relinquishing control of his soul to Satan, the man is cursed to endure transformation into a hideous creature and stalk his victims by night. The local authorities want to find and destroy this murderous creature before it can take another victim, while the man looks to find a way to end his cursed existence," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

Filmed in the Philippines, with director Eddie Romero. It's difficult to completely understand the story; approximately, it's Faust becoming the Werewolf with a touch of Frankenstein, after a time warp.

It's more interesting, at this point, to assess the career of star John Ashley. When he mysteriously appears in the present, doctors remove bandages from Mr. Ashley's said to be horribly disfigured face. Instead, a bearded Ashley looks better in 1971 than ever (in films since the 1950s). Ashley's characterization (as Joseph Langdon aka Philip Rogers) isn't terrific, but it's valiant; probably, his career lacked worth material. Vic Diaz (as Death aka Satan) is entertaining, in the tastiest role. And, Mary Wilcox (as Julia Rogers) is the blonde dish Ashley samples.

A bad man makes a deal with the devil to stay alive. His reward a pile of rotten meat and existence. The devil has plans for him. The man must occasionally turn into a beast and reek havoc on the surrounding area. There is another part of the plot, his relationship with his min- skirt wearing wife. He has not treated her well, but because she loves him, she puts up with his inconsistencies, including coming back from the dead in a hospital. He knows that there is no good end, but he has been made invulnerable, so he must carry out the wishes of his master. The problem lies with what the desired end is. When dealing with he devil, we must recognize his powers and, since we don't know how extensive they are, our hero (anti-hero) has no real free will. That's the rub. He meets a snarly old blind man who has a checkered past and philosophizes constantly. The central character would like to die. The interesting thing is that after his resurrection he is a pretty kind man, thoughtful and gracious and caring. I don't know. It's so darned obtuse that I just never got a handle on it.

This movie begins in Southeast Asia immediately after World War 2 with soldiers searching in the jungle for someone (or something) who has killed a couple of innocent villagers. As it turns out, an American deserter named "Joseph Langdon" (John Ashley) is also in the vicinity and due to his desperate situation makes a deal with the devil (played by Vic Diaz) to escape from the situation he has found himself in. It's at this point that the movie fast-forwards to the present with the body of Langdon being buried but his soul transported into a man named "Philip Rogers" (also played by John Ashley) who has just been declared dead by a surgeon in a hospital. Needless to say, his wife "Julia" (Mary Wilcox ) is overjoyed when Philip comes back to life. However, the new version of Philip isn't the same and immediately makes decisions that hurt all those around him by sowing evil among them--and that especially applies to Julia and his brother "Earl" (Ken Metcalfe). But then one night something very unexpected happens and Philip is transformed into a kind of werewolf--which creates even more problems for everyone involved. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a standard low-budget film characteristic of movies produced in the Philippines during this particular time. Yet, even though the acting was adequate it was the makeup and special effects which really doomed this film-especially on the part of the supposed werewolf. It was really bad. That said, I have rated the film accordingly. Below average.

Beast of the Yellow Night features a hideous man-monster that tears its victims to shreds, but the real horror is a semi-naked Vic Diaz. The rotund Filipino actor appears at the beginning of the film as Satan wearing nothing but a loincloth (my eyes!), promising dying army deserter Joseph Langdon (John Ashley) immortality if he agrees to become a servant of evil. Unperturbed by Vic's lack of clothing, Joseph agrees and is 'reborn' in several bodies over the years, his mission to awaken the evil in the people that he meets. Langdon's latest guise is that of facially disfigured accident victim Philip Rogers, who, having been pronounced dead, amazes everyone by coming back to life with a brand new face (his doctor is so shocked that he promptly has a heart attack).

Phil's sexy blonde wife Julia (Mary Charlotte Wilcox) takes her hubby home but notices that he now behaves rather strangely. But it's not just his personality that has changed: from time to time, Phil/Langdon physically transforms into a horrible bloodthirsty creature with rubber claws and great big jaws.

The first of producer Roger Corman's movies to be shot in the Philippines during the '70s, this clunker from director Eddie Romero is frequently confusing (what Satan has to gain from turning his servant into a killer beast is never explained) and pretty dull for the most part, even when Ashley is in monster mode. There are a couple of brief gory moments (a disembowelment and some slashed faces), and Wilcox sheds her clothes (or her body double does--it's hard to tell), but for the most part the film is painfully slow, especially when the creature is given refuge by an old, blind bandit (an idea lifted from Frankenstein?). The ending sees the monster and the blind man trapped by the army in a burning field of grass, Phil/Langdon finally shot and killed even though he was bullet-proof only moments earlier.

BEAST OF THE YELLOW NIGHT is yet another classic from Director Eddie Romero. War criminal, Joseph Langdon (John Ashley) makes a deal with Satan (Vic Diaz), inheriting another life. He becomes businessman, Philip Rogers. With his beautiful wife, Julia (Mary Wilcox), he seems to have hit the jackpot!

Of course, as the old saying goes, "When you dance with the devil, the devil calls the tune", and Philip's existence soon becomes a nightmare of grisly murder and madness. He's transformed into a monster, resembling a scorched pot roast with fangs!

Meanwhile, goody-two-shoes Julia tries to save their marriage. Can her love overcome Philip's bloodlust and break his bargain with Beelzebub?

Compared with other horror films, BOTYN is a royal mess. However, compared with other Romero epics, it's a minor masterpiece! Are the actors like human furniture? Yes. Is the dialogue inane, and delivered in emotionless fashion? Yes. Still, the plot holds together in a strange, dull way. Watch and believe...