'60s Trash: Brides of Blood

The worst part- the Bridesmaids' dresses are still ugly as sin!  This is Brides of the Blood, a 1968 Film that is the unofficial start of the Blood Island Trilogy.  Machete Maidens Unleashed- a 2010 Documentary- tells the tale best, but, to put it simply, it was cheap and efficient to shoot in The Phillipines.  US Directors and Distributors took full advantage of this for as long as the Films came cheap and fast.  This Film- and its follow-ups- are some of the more infamous of this lot.  The Plot is basically a mish-mash of two tied and true Genres.  The first is the Jungle Peril Film, where everything on Earth is out to kill us white folks.  The other is Atomic Age Sci-Fi, a group of Films that were all about 'radiation' and what it could do.  Both Film Genres tended to have a big, iconic monster at the center, so it is a natural combination.  Is it a good one?  Reliable Genre Actor leads the Cast and is definitely the secondary selling point.  The first is, of course, the Island itself.  When pasty Americans come there, will it be the start of the end?  To find out, read on...

A group of nice Caucasians go to an Island in the Philippines to help fix things up.

It's Blood Island- what could go wrong?

Oh right- women on the Island are being sacrificed to some sort of creature.

Don't get any ideas, 2020!

Our Lead- Ashley- investigates what is going on.

Does he have help?

Not so much.

The married Couple are going through some issues- he's a cold duck and she's horny- and the man is also obsessed with the weird creatures on the Island.

For instance, these man-eating trees.

Apparently the Island was too close to some Atom Bomb testing.

That or someone took their love of The Evil Dead too far.

Ashley investigates the sacrifices and eventually finds out that it some sort of strange creature.

Mind you, the Scene is played out from about 40 feet away AND not in focus (to hide the cheap effects), but he does save the one Native Girl he's been lusting after.

As it turns out, the Island's Caretaker is actually the Monster.  He was transformed through the same Atom Bomb Testing fallout.

His wife died of Cancer due to the massive doses of radiation, but he just assumed that NOTHING happened to him.  Smart fella.

He fully transforms into a terrible-looking, but fun Man-in-Suit Monster (completely with non-moving mask) that nearly kills everyone.

He is lured into a burning House and dies...after he exits the House...and after he transforms back to normal.

The proper ending involves a very long Native Dance Routine in which the girl who Ashley has saved is clearly trying to seduce him.  He figures it out after about 10 minutes.

No more trouble on Blood Island now, right?  Right?  The End.

A fun, but trashy Film.  I mean, it is called Brides of Blood- what did you expect?  It is a cheaply-made, trashy Horror Film made in The Philippines for a quick buck.  It features a man transformed into a silly-looking creature due to Atomic Radiation.  It has a horny wife and a frigid old Scientist husband.  It has killer trees!  It has an extended sequence in which a butterfly 'transforms' into a killer moth.  Yes, you see the strings- the whole time.  It has cliche Natives.  Like many Films from this time, it feels like it has one foot in the 1950's (despite it nearly being 1970!) and another in the present.  It can't quite be one thing or another.  The killer Plant stuff is a bit of Jungle Peril cliche and Atomic Age Sci-Fi construction.  I'm curious when I see stuff like this.  Did they do it intentionally?  Am I giving the Film too much credit?  Probably.  As a Film, it's not that great.  As a Bad Film, it is quite good.  It is cheesy in all of the right ways, self-serious enough to enjoy and insane enough to constantly be befuddled by.  If you're still not sold, check out this promotional art...

Next time, an Amicus Horror Film that ushered in the return of the Horror Anthology Film.  Will it be historically notable AND good?  Stay tuned...