Mad Doctor of Blood Island

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.

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.

I don't suppose any character from the original Blood Island film, "Brides of Blood" (1968), would ever have had the bad sense to step back onto that radiation-mutated pesthole again, which probably explains why, in part 2 of the trilogy, "The Mad Doctor of Blood Island" (1969), we have all-new characters, and even returning actor John Ashley plays a different person. This time, Ashley plays pathologist Bill Foster, who comes to Blood Island accompanied by Angelique Pettyjohn (beloved in 1969 by all Trekkers for her turn as the Triskelion drill thrall Shahna, and soon to be famous for appearances in porn cinema), who is looking for her lost father. So what's shaking on the island now? Howzabout a chlorophyll-mutated monster that likes to rip his victims to bits, for starters! This film has the same exotic Filipino locales as the first and the same lustfully gyrating native dancers, but ups the ante with more nudity, a slightly more interesting story, nicer scenery, and lots more blood and guts. It also unfortunately features the same egregious day-for-night photography, the same lousy dubbing and the same slapdash editing that were the hallmarks of the first picture. And yet, the film is so pulpy, the story is so much fun, Ronald Remy is so convincing as the mad Dr. Lorca, and Angelique proves to be such an effective screamer that many technical faults can be forgiven. This film has absolutely nothing to do with the first--it is a sequel in name only--but I suppose seeing these things in order is always a good idea. My beloved "Psychotronic Encyclopedia," which usually has a high tolerance for shlock cinema, deems this film "awful," but I still had fun with it. Anyway, I guarantee that you will not find a better picture dealing with Filipino chlorophyll mutation anywhere...with the possible exception of part 3 of the trilogy, "Beast of Blood" (1970). I for one am sufficiently curious to find out...

You know you are in one one weird cinematic experience when a prologue to the film opens with some bit about joining the order of the green blood - which has no relevance to the rest of the film other than the fact that green blood is a central ingredient in this poorly crafted, badly acted, and thoroughly fun drive-in exploitation film from the early 70s. Made on the proverbially shoestring budget in the Phillipines with capital and "talent" offered by actor John Ashley, Mad Doctor of Blood Island is really an inexplicable film in many ways. The central story surrounds a daughter going back to some island to see her father who she has not seen in many, many years. A young doctor is traveling along as well(Ashley). When they get there, the two see that there is a dark oppressive cloud hanging over everyone, and it seems it is entirely due to the presence of one Dr. Lorca - resident mad doctor with Roy Orbison shades barking out orders and going on inane diatribes about the fate of mankind, etc... It really doesn't matter as it really doesn't make any sense. Soon we discover through a series of very slow-moving scenes and tight-lipped residents, that Dr. Lorca has been experimenting with plant chlorophyll(yep, you heard me) and human beings(now we can surmise the genius used in making the blood green right?). Well, to spin a not-so-intriguing story short, chaos ensues and the doctor gets even madder - if that were even possible. This movie has all the elements needed to have a successful so-bad-it-is-good movie: ridiculous dialog, hammy bad acting(Remy playing Dr. Lorca is a real hoot for all the wrong reasons), virtually no budget and what budget it does have is poorly used, and atrocious special effects. The "monster" looks just awful and totally unconvincing. John Ashley is okay in his role. You can do a lot worse to be sure, and his female buxom co-star Angelique Pettyjohn will keep you interested while she is on screen(especially during her very brief session in the background of the Phillipine woods amidst terror being reeked by the green monster. Pettyjohn is a real stunner! The real inexplicable thing about this film was that it spawned two sequels. Now, that has me scratching my head.

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.