Mad Doctor of Blood Island - Horror Movie DVD | Classic Cult Film for Halloween & Scary Movie Nights | Perfect for Horror Fans & Collectors

Eddie Romero's "Blood Island Trilogy"! This is the second film in the series. 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. Wow, they cut out a lot of stuff for TV! But all the cut material is happily on display here. This film does deliver the exploitation goods, plus there's real characters and real story.Now, there are also a number of expensive Steven Spielberg movies that "deliver the exploitation goods," like, for example, "JAWS" and "JURASSIC PARK". But this film, like many favorites of mine, manages to deliver the goods while costing about twenty dollars to make. I am exaggerating, of course, but the point is clear: This movie was made on VERY limited resources, but this did not stop director Eddie Romero and crew from cranking out a very watchable sausage. Surprisingly well-written and well-made. If you like trash cinema, this is one of the very best examples.We have some very serviceable performances here, and most of the cast takes the material seriously. The key to doing this sort of wacky, outrageous horror is to do it with a straight face, and these actors know enough to do that. Don't make a joke out of the material! The script is good--we get a decent story, in addition to the monsters, graphic violence, nudity, sex, ritual dances and atmosphere. It follows one of the "rules" of those fine Hammer Horror exploitation pictures: Introduce your questionable subject matter with intelligence and well-written dialogue. Your audience will stick around longer because you aren't just filling their plate with cheap thrills from the get-go. Once the audience is yours, however, you may then proceed to...fill their plate with all the cheap thrills you can wrangle up.If you are not familiar with this particular Blood Island movie, you must be curious by now; and it's a sordid tale. Deep within the jungles of Blood Island--in the interest of science--twisted Dr. Lorca (Ronald Remy in a fine, brooding performance) 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. This terrible creature just straight-up rips people apart with his bare hands! It's up to civil servant Bill Foster (John Ashley) to try to save the local population from this danger. Can he destroy the dangerous experiments of Dr. Lorca and win the girl at the same time? Can he maybe fit TWO girls in, if he puts in the extra effort? Kerwin Mathews he ain't, but you will root for John Ashley as Bill Foster. He fights the monsters, punches the bad guys in the face, avoids danger and snakes, runs out of the cave before it explodes, and gets the girl (s). He is three times the hero a cheeseball movie deserves.Please take note of the two lovely ladies who are the happy recipients of Bill Foster's amorous attentions: We have the super Star Trek beauty (TOS's "The Gamesters of Triskelion") Angelique Pettyjohn as Sheila, who is visiting the island to try to rescue her alcoholic father from himself, and we have the sultry and charming Alicia Alonzo as island girl Marla, who seems to want to seduce most of the male characters and also the camera. Had this film featured a catfight between these two gals, the hottness factor would've been off the scale, I suppose. But both girls do a good job separately, and play their characters well.Alicia Alonzo, by the way, is still among the living, and still works. She has had a steady career in film and TV since the late 60's."Mad Doctor of Blood Island" was made with admirable 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. When accused of being "mad," at one point, the mad doctor of the title, instead of debating the point, concedes that it's probably true (!). Obviously, this film is awesome, in its own way. Very seldom do horror films approach such thinky territory. The entire cast is wonderful...they are for the most part low-rent actors, but they give their all.This movie is definitely not everyone's cup of tea (what movie is?), but for exploitation enthusiasts, 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 in that film, but IMHO the sequel is nowhere near as good as this one.