sol- Having sailed to a remote Asian island for a diverse variety of reasons, a group of Americans begin to suspect that a local doctor's experiments may be responsible for a growing number of unexplained deaths in this horror film shot on location in the Philippines. The film benefits from eerie jungle exteriors that evoke a sense of a foreboding foreign land and there are some nifty gore effects, but this is a very lethargically paced movie with its monster attacks and stalking scenes few and far between. The film does not get much better though in the moments when the monster is on screen with rapid fire zooms in and out constantly distracting from the action at hand. There are, however, some curious plot turns as the local doctor eventually reveals the nature of his experiments with a surprisingly altruistic objective, however, this does not occur until the final 25 minutes, which results in the first hour being a bit of a chore to sit through. The acting leaves a little to be desired too, however, this is one of those films where the grisly murders are more important than the characters and there are certainly memorable bits and pieces... even if they sometimes get lost amid the shaky zooms.

lastliberal 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.

lovecraft231 Dr. Bill Foster (a returning John Ashley, now playing a different character) and Sheila Willard (a really easy on the eyes Angelique Pettyjohn) come to Blood Island, only to discover a new creature is on the loose. Is Dr. Lorca (Ronald Remy) behind all of this? The second entry in the "Blood Island" series, "Mad Doctor of Blood Island" is also the best. Here, the gore is more plentiful, the nudity more abundant (Ms. Pettyjohn-thank you,) the monster less goofy (though still goofy-notice the obvious eye hole), and the plot is easier to follow.Sure, the acting is still bad (Ashley still hasn't gotten a grip on this whole acting thing yet), and the incestuous undertones between a mother (whose a real MILF) and son may raise some eyebrows, but those are just minor quibbles. "Mad Doctor" feels like what would happen if H.G. Lewis himself directed an entry in the series. We get intestines, severed limbs, severed heads, decapitations, and mutilated bodies. Fans of old school gore flicks will definitely be satisfied."Mad Doctor of Blood Island" is a blast from beginning to end. Sadly, it's follow ups in "Beast of Blood" and Brain of Blood" weren't nearly as successful, though "Brain" has it's own "so inept it's good" kind of charm.

ferbs54 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...