Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968) User Reviews

Worth a look for Drive-In enthusiasts

[Sheep_Dip · 5/10 · 5 October 2005]

If you are a Z-grade movie fan then you'll pleased to hear that this is one gloriously bad film. You get the full works here - paper-maché monster masks, screaming maidens, wooden acting, brief flashes of nudity, cave walls that are less-than-solid and a surprising dash of 1960s gore. However the best part, or worst depending on your point of view, is the wonderfully stodgy dialogue on display, for example:

Man: "What a scare you gave me. But then you are a kind of ghost yourself aren't you". Woman: "What sensitivity".

Add to this a plot involving chlorophyll (the stuff that makes leaves green) poisoning, native rituals and you've got yourself a decent B-movie. There are some aspects that will undoubtedly annoy most people, the large number of "padded" scenes for example, but the worst has to be the bloody annoying manic lens zooming!. Otherwise the film is fun to watch and will no doubt please most fans of Romero and low-budget horror fare.

Delicious Cheese

[gavin6942 · 5/10 · 14 September 2016]

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.

It's Not Easy Being Green

[ferbs54 · 6/10 · 31 January 2007]

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...

"Let the bizarre ennui envelop you!"

[roddmatsui · 8 August 2004]

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.

Zoom past this one.

[BA_Harrison · 3/10 · 4 October 2020]

This film made me feel nauseous, not because of the messy gore, but because every time its 'half human/half brussel sprout' monster makes an appearance, director Eddie Romero goes crazy with the zoom. In and out, in and out, shaking it about - it's enough to bring on a migraine.

Perhaps the intention was to prevent the viewer getting a clear look at the creature, but to be honest, when we do get to see it, it doesn't look THAT bad. Eddie should have concerned himself more with the plot - which is uninspired 'mad doctor' nonsense - and the pacing, nothing of interest happening between the zoom in, zoom out monster attacks.

Some effort is made to distract the viewer from the sheer mundanity of the narrative with T&A, Filipino cutie Alicia Alonzo, as Marla, stripping off for a naked swim and buxom beauty Angelique Pettyjohn getting her puppies out. There's also the aforementioned gore, the monster's victims torn apart, limbs over there and intestines over here. Unfortunately, the dreary plot and plodding pace mean that all the gratuitous bare flesh and blood and guts cannot prevent this from being a rather tedious watch.

I will not give up the work of a lifetime simply because you think I'm mad.

[lastliberal · 5/10 · 19 July 2009]

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.

Green with Envy - I Think Not

[BaronBl00d · 4/10 · 28 May 2006]

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.

One of the tackiest monster movies you'll ever see

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 20 August 2016]

In the arresting opening, a naked girl is killed by a slimy monster. We cut forward to a ship visiting a remote island whose passengers include a man looking for his mother and a girl, Sheila, searching for her father. A young doctor, the hero Bill, is also on board. Once on the island, they meet a doctor who is looking for his lost patient. However soon one night Sheila is disturbed by a deformed man outside. One afternoon she is attacked by the creature in the woods, a native impales it on a pole but it turns and kills him. A corpse is discovered with "chlorophyll poisoning", and meanwhile a young native girl and her lover are brutally murdered, their organs strewn over the grassy ground...

Eddie Romero's tacky but cheerful Philippines-filmed horror feature is a typical feature about a monster on the loose which makes good use of the jungle locations but ultimately fails as a film due to atrocious camera-work and a tiny budget which isn't exactly put to good use. Some flashes of inspiration occur but these are few and far between the long moments of boredom which fill out the film. Most of the time people walk around a lot (this is called padding, and it happens very often in this film). I would say that there are probably 9 minutes of boredom to every minute of action in this film, which isn't very good when you think about it, and only the ending offers any real excitement. The tacky nature of the film is certainly attractive, and brings images of a time where horror was a lot more fun and cheap and entertaining in nature than it is in these days, where the latest horror films are blockbusters and the independent features seem to be trying to outdo each other in terms of grossness and gore.

The acting in the film is all below standard, with former teenage star John Ashley (HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER) as the bland hero doctor who doesn't actually do much, and Angela Pettyjohn displaying no acting talents whatsoever (and, sure enough, she later went into the porn business, which is obviously where her real interest lay). With a cast of dull characters, you may wonder what this film does have to offer to the horror fan.

On the plus side there is some (brief) gore, with a decapitation with lots of blood and some internal organs being ripped out. There is also an unconvincing monster on the loose which is absolutely hilarious, it runs around and just sort of thumps people to death. As a marketing ploy audience members were given vials of green blood which was supposed to be used as an aphrodisiac, and I'm sure this was very popular with the teenage drive-in crowd. However some moments of the film are embarrassingly amateur and don't work at all, like the camera zooming in and out whenever the monster is around. Instead of being wacky and psychedelic, it's just distracting and stupid. The title is one of the more fetching aspects of this '60s slice of exploitation, which, while not necessarily totally bad, is just too clichéd, slapdash and silly to be a good film. It's worth a look if you're into this sort of thing though, just because it's different.

"The Order of Green Blood"

[Uriah43 · 4/10 · 22 September 2013]

Although not an actual sequel to "Brides of Blood" this film is the second movie of the "Blood Collection" series. In this particular film two people, "Sheila Willard" (Angelique Pettyjohn) and "Carlos Lopez" (Ronaldo Valdez) are coming to Blood Island to visit relatives. Also on the ship is a young pathologist named "Dr. Bill Foster" (John Ashley). When they reach the island they soon discover that a green monster is loose in the jungle and is killing the horrified natives in a very grisly manner. Some of the inhabitants, particularly "Dr. Lorca" (Ronald Remy) and Carlos' mother "Mrs. Lopez" (Tita Munoz), don't seem too surprised. Anyway, in some aspects this film is a bit better than its predecessor. Especially in the special effects department. However, the lighting wasn't good and some of the actors had a noticeable monotone delivery which hurt the overall production values. Now, I realize that this was a low-budget movie and in that regard it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. But the fact remains that there were some areas that could have used improvement and I have rated the film accordingly.

See it!

[hoodcsa · 7/10 · 23 July 2004]

Forget all the critics (though much of their criticism is technically on target). Watch this film with an open mind and revel in the sheer audaciousness of it all. Gruesome monsters. Trashy, gorgeous heroines. Square jawed men of action. Let the bizarre ennui envelope you. Enjoy the sheer inanity of the whole thing. I saw this as a teen and was utterly captivated by it and the crude power remains intact. On location shooting (in the Philippines) and cast of unknowns adds enormously. It's a wonderful piece of trash film making -- a classic of the sort.

What deranged mind thought this up? :)

[Coventry · 3/10 · 19 April 2005]

The first conclusion you spontaneously make while watching "The Mad Doctor of Blood Island" is that there are some sick-minded individuals walking this planet! I'm one of them, of course, since I voluntarily purchased the DVD and am proud of owning it now. But the real insanity-credit goes to people like Eddie Romero and Gerardo de Leon for actually unleashing a tale like this upon the world. I mean…green-blooded monsters? A mad doctor that looks like a bad Elvis-impersonator? Bad cases of leukemia side effects? This film qualifies as pure drive-in exploitation, meaning that your expectations should be at their lowest and then you still get less! We're talking ridiculous dialogue, no plotting whatsoever and not even an attempt to build up tension. All these aspects, which determine the quality of a horror film, are replaced by filthy grotesque gore and sleaze. There's no point in summarizing the plot for you as it's – surprise surprise – very inept and rather stupid. It's great entertainment, though, as long as you've got beer and a lot of perseverance. The only real disadvantage is the total lack of talent of everyone involved. Every cast member could have used a couple thousand more acting lessons and the cinematographer obviously doesn't know that rough camera movements are irritating instead of suspenseful. No matter how I much I love Z-grade horror, I simply can't give this one a positive rating. Nonetheless, I'd like to recommend it to cult-fanatics and admirers of off-category cinema. Good times!

Drive-in classic lives up to its reputation

[dbborroughs · 8/10 · 19 October 2006]

Three people come to Blood Island for their own reasons. The beautiful Young girl is there to find her father. The handsome islander is there to reunite with his mother. The doctor is there to investigate a supposed out break of a new disease. What they find when they get there is a monster on the loose that likes to disembowel and dismember (graphically) his victims.

Sequel to Brides of Blood (and third of the Blood Island films, the first being Terror is a Man which only shares the same location) this is more of the same only up a notch. Its mad doctor on the loose using science to create a monster that runs around killing people. Hooray for crackpot medical degrees.

What can I say about a movie that begins with the audience being given "the pledge of the green blood" other than see this movie? If you like old school horror films, or drive-in style movies, this film is for you. This movie is a blast. It moves along at a good clip, has a great monster, some very graphic killings (you will see blood, limbs and intestines) and some topless women. Its the sort of movie they don't make any more.

My only complaint is that some knucklehead thought it would be a good idea to zoom in and out every time the monster attacks. Its the equivalent to whiplash and really distracts from the early attack scenes. Thankfully the effect isn't done as wildly in the later scenes and you actually can put away your neck brace and enjoy the film.

A drive-in movie classic.

7.5 out of 10 (8 for IMDb purposes.

Trashy kind of fun monster, horror, exploitation film

[poolandrews · 7/10 · 17 November 2004]

A native woman is chased through the jungle on Blood Island by a mutant green monster, the result of a failed experiment. When it catches her, it kills her. Three people are sailing toward Blood Island. Sheila Willard (Angelique Pettyjohn) is looking for her father who lives on the island. Carlos Lopez (Ronaldo Valdez) who was born on the island and is returning to see his mother after hearing of his father's death. And finally the hero, Dr. Bill Foster (John Ashley) who has been sent from the mainland to investigate an incident that happened on this very same boat where a man was rescued from the sea and killed a member of the crew, and when shot had green blood. Upon arrival they are greeted by the Chief, Ramu (Alfonso Carvajal) and his people. Sheila finds her father (Tony Edmunds) who is a drunk, Carlos finds his old friend Marla (Alicia Alonzo) and his mother (Tita Munoz) at her mansion but she doesn't want to leave as all she has left is memories and also claims there is nothing for her on the mainland. Staying at the mansion with her is the crazy scientist Dr. Lorca (Ronaldo Remy) and his henchman Razak (Bruno Punzalan). Soon after arriving Sheila is attacked by a green monster, a native tries to help her only for the monster to kill him instead, Sheila sees her opportunity and escapes. As Foster investigates the island it becomes clear that all is not well. More people are brutally murdered, and Foster discovers that Dr. Lorca has been experimenting on the natives and Carlos's father Don Ramon that has turned him into a chlorophyll-contaminated, living, walking half plant half man monster who savagely mutilates anyone in his path! It's up to Foster to save the day.

Jointly directed by Eddie Romero and Gerardo de Leon on location in the Philippines, I thought it was pretty good fun. The script by Rueben Canoy moves along at a fair pace and remains interesting throughout, there is even a couple of nice lines in there, after meeting Foster for the first time Sheila's father says "he's dealt with wino's more than you and he's a shrewd judge of character, I hate him already!". Technically the films nowhere near as bad as I was expecting, photography, music, acting, sets and special effects while not brilliant, are perfectly acceptable. The monster itself looks decent, except it's cut out eyes so the actor underneath can see, you can see his eyelids. There is a surprising and pleasing amount of blood and gore, again while not brilliant it is effective. Severed limbs and heads, and mutilated corpses with their intestines hanging out look good, there is a bit of animal cruelty in here to, so beware. One thing I really disliked about this film was whenever the monster attacks or is on screen someone made the decision to have the camera constantly zoom-in zoom-out that becomes very annoying, very quickly. The jungle locations gives the film a nice lush green look to it. It's obvious that most of the night scenes were filmed in the day and are far too bright considering that we are supposed to be in the middle of a jungle with no natural light except the moon and stars, but the up side to this is that at least we can actually see whats supposed to be happening. A solid horror exploitation film thats worth a watch at least. Good fun.

Chewy; sinewy and bloody.

[jupiter2-6 · 2/10 · 27 November 2005]

This is one of the worst films to be exposed to acetate. It was the last film I saw at the Beach Theater on Randall Avenue in the Bronx. The theater turned into an "Iglesia" the next year. The previous year, I sat through ten viewings of "Night Of The Living Dead" and had a ball. Cheap popcorn and flat soda. It was great. By having added color, "Mad Doctor" became way to graphic for me and I left the theater by the middle of the film. Intestines were everywhere. Even more bizarre, I brought my 5 year old brother to see it and left without him. He sat mesmerized for the whole film. To keep the ushers from throwing him out, I had to come back in and watched until the end. It was a strange, scary experience with a stupid premise attached to it. But it was a hoot. I'd love to see it again one day. It was a great, disturbing piece of junk. It's probably very tame by now.

Eddie Romero... AUTEUR!!

[madsagittarian · 29 October 2002]

Shortly after the Beach Party cycle of films petered out, AIP regular John Ashley went to the Philippines to produce with Eddie Romero a handful of exploitation films, of which this is the best known. It is a little disconcerting to see the arch in his career at this point. All those beach party and hot rod flicks that John did for Mr. Arkoff were admirably quaint, yet seem like Kubrick compared to the standard production values of these films.

Reference books all mention how awful these movies are, yet for some they are so putrid that they create a strange kind of attraction. But these films are nonetheless interesting for their bewildering atmosphere: these sweaty, tinny opuses seem to be made in the spirit of 40's B-pictures with liberal amounts of cheap 60's gore. This second entry in the "Blood Island" series (following BRIDES OF BLOOD, which is even worse) concerns the Chlorophyll Monster running amok, scaring natives, and putting viewers to sleep. As dreadful as these spate of Filipino exploitation films are, during their proliferation in the 1960's and 70's, it was always interesting to see who popped up in them. This time, Ashley's co-star is the lovely Angelique Pettyjohn, whom Trekkies would remember from the "Gamesters of Triskelion" episode, and who had yet to embark on a career of Triple X features such as TITILLATION.

Romero's monster is so frightening that the height of suspense comes when the creature just stands there and stands there for the longest time when it is cornering somebody. I haven't seen this deadening rot in over 12 years, yet for some reason I am getting a craving to see it all over again. Are we that fed up with the mainstream, that we masochistically seek out films that we know are pieces of painfully inept tedium just to escape some piece of Hollywood mediocrity? Is it more important to trudge through the Grade Z movie universe to find that one moment that actually works or exhibits some whisper of technical competence, than to be de-sensitized by any standard commercial fare where production values are taken for granted? Is it just some piece of lost youth we are attempting to regain in these movie experiences no matter what the price of disappointment? I don't know, but thanks to the DVD revolution, someone is unearthing these curious pictures all over again, as it is well nigh impossible to find this stuff on VHS anymore, and the barrel scrapings of the late show are now lined with infomercials for mouthy psychics and TimeLife books. At least its sequel BEAST OF BLOOD is marginally better.

Drink the bloooood!

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 3 February 2020]

Ten years after we first got to Blood Island, we're back. Eddie Romero and Gerardo de Leon are back in the directing chair and this time, they've brought even more blood, beasts and boobs than they did in their last effort, Brides of Blood.

This film was syndicated to TV as Tomb of the Living Dead and is also known as The Mad Doctor of Crimson Island, because in some states like Rhode Island, the word blood wasn't allowed to be used when advertising a movie.

After Brides of Blood, John Ashley discovered that the film was so well-received that distributors asked him to make more. He moved to the Philippines and got to work.

The film starts with an initiation, as at some theaters, you were given a packet of green liquid and asked to recite the oath of green blood so that you could watch the unnatural green-blooded ones without fear of contamination. Years later, Sam Sherman said that he came up with this idea and when he drank one of the packets, he got incredibly sick. The film's other gimmick is to rapidly zoom in and out, like Fulci on speed, any time a monster shows up. That was to cover the bad special effects, but it made plenty of theatergoers sick. Man - bad green liquid and frequent pans and zooms. It's as if they wanted kids to puke!

A woman runs naked through a jungle before a green-skinned monster kills her. Yes, that's how you start a movie!

Then we meet our heroes, like pathologist Dr. Bill Foster (Ashley), Sheila Willard (Angelique Pettyjohn, who was famously in the Star Trek episode "The Gamesters of Triskelion" as well as early 80's hardcore films like Titillation, Stalag 69 and Body Talk) and Carlos Lopez (Ronaldo Valdez, who would become the first Filipino Kentuck Fried Chicken Colonel).

The captain of the ship that got them there tells them how the island is cursed and how its people bleed green blood. Everything falls apart - Sheila's dad, who she hoped to take home, is now a drunk. And Carlos' mother refuses to leave, even after the mysterious death of her husband.

It turns out that Dr. Lorca has been experimenting on the natives, who just want to be healthy. Instead, they're getting turned into green beasts that murder everything they can. Look out everyone! I hope you've drank your green blood before this all began!

Angelique Pettyjohn claimed that the love scene with John Ashley was not simulated. Well, seeing as how Severin finally found the uncut film and I haven't seen any penetration, I think she's full of it. But who am I to doubt her?

To make this even better, the American trailer of this is narrated by Brother Theodore!

Jungle Fever

[sol- · 4/10 · 21 October 2017]

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.

Is it Good?

[arfdawg-1 · 4/10 · 22 November 2019]

No. But you won't be able to stop watching. An added benefit is Pettijohn's giant knockers.

This is one of a number of similar Philippine made horror movies from the 60's/70's.

IMDB sez this was rate M. It wasn't. It was rated R cuz there is female nudity and that got an R in the 60's.

Pettijohn was a horrible actor and wound up doing porn later in life, but man oh man did she have a body. And don't forget that Captain Kirk had her in her prime.The main male actor, Ashley was in a number of these Philippino films and the director made a few horror films as well. They are all oddly watchable but really not good.

Think Ed Wood.

Another variant title

[cathaven · 1/10 · 27 July 2008]

It seems this movie was also released under the title, 'The Revenge Of Dr X".

IMDb has that listed as one of the variant titles for, 'The Double Garden', but the bad quality version I watched was definitely this movie. I had to search on the cast & crew to track it down.

Hard to tell if 'The Double Garden' was also released under the 'Revenge Of Dr. X' title, or if it's a mistake in the database.

Since the copy I saw was a downloaded Xvid rip, I don't have sufficient proof to submit the additional variant title to the database.

It was also really bad quality. I shall look for a copy of the DVD to compare, so I can see if it's at least an uncut version.

It's actually amazing that anyone connected with this film would put their real name in the credits!

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 31 October 2009]

Other than an opportunity to watch a bad film, the other reason to see MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND is a chance to see Angelique Pettyjohn. Miss Pettyjohn gained some measure of fame among sci-fi geeks for appearing as the silver-haired Shanna in the original STAR TREK (in "The Gamesters of Triskelion"). While not a great actress, her striking looks and assets are hard to miss.

The film is about a strange island where people have green blood and a freaky monster that looks like Man-Bear-Pig (or is it the stinky cheese man?) lives. An agent from the government and a missing doctor's daughter arrive on the island to investigate. But, to their surprise, the island is a killing ground for the stupid looking creature. Who it is and why it behaves in such a nasty fashion is what the film is all about...if you particularly care (which I did not).

MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND is clearly an ultra-cheesy low-budget film that has an extremely low production values--as evidenced by the silly script, occasionally bad acting and headache-inducing zoom. Let me explain the 'zoom'. To heighten the horror (i.e., to cover up the fact it was all so dull), the film maker decided to have the camera zoom in and out again and again any time the monster appeared. It was very unpleasant but tended to hide the stupidity of the monster makeup. Plus, it let the dumber members of the audience know when to be afraid (though it may just make you nauseous). Surprisingly, for a low budget film, it has intense gore that actually is amazingly realistic and gross--so people who love looking at guts from a butcher shop will enjoy the film (and at least half the $219.87 budget went for animal guts and realistic blood). In addition, there is a bit of not particularly enticing gratuitous nudity in the film--pretty hot stuff for 1968, but not very explicit (or sexy) by today's standards--and not enough to encourage the perverts out there to seek out the film.

Overall, this is the sort of film you might actually want to see...if you are having friends over and want to do your own home version of "Mystery Science Theater". Otherwise, it's just too dull and stupid to recommend. The only reason it gets a 2 is that the guts were reasonably realistic--and much of them were real guts.

Oh, and for all the Star Trek fans, if you DO want to see the film just to see Miss Pettyjohn naked, don't bother. Although she's an amazingly beautiful woman, she keeps her clothes on for most of the film--and there's not that much of her to see when she does. If you INSIST on seeing Pettyjohn naked, then by all means jump ahead to about the 76 minute mark to see the naughty bits. However, her finally taking off her clothes made no sense at all, as the Stinky Cheese Man/Man-Bear-Pig or whatever it is was still roaming the island killing. Talk about a BAD time to get naked!! And, for that matter, I STILL don't think this makes it worth seeing this dull flick.

Mad Doctor of Blood Island delivers the goods

[michaelasiclari · 7/10 · 7 March 2013]

This is one of those little gems that used to show up late at night on Fright Night with John Carradine as host and other venues on t.v. during the late 70's and early 80's. This movie was so heavily edited that I didn't realize how good it was until I found it on DVD about seven years ago. There was a lot of gore and nudity taken out of the t.v. prints that were thankfully restored on the DVD version. Cant have a "drive-in" classic without those elements now can you? The chlorophyll monster was downright original and appalling at the same time. I loved this Phillipino horror film classic for it's atmosphere and campiness though it is evident that the producers of this flick took their job seriously. Second in the Blood Island series and one of the best. 1970's Beast of Blood is also worth a look . Kudos to that other Romero horrormeister.

A boring movie..... Thats it.

[katiesama · 1/10 · 26 May 2020]

By looking at the art for the movie, I expected some super shlocky, bloody, gross movie. It's low grade, not very interesting, and not very bloody. The monster doesn't make a lot of appearances, and the characters are auper boring. It really sucks how the poster for the movie is more entertaining than the actual movie.

Exotic Exploitation

[mrthrill · 10/10 · 26 September 2002]

This amazingly atmospheric ,surreal and sleazy drive-in masterpiece is a must-see for all fans of monsters, exotica, John Ashley, mad scientists, and cheesecake. I bought it based on its notorious reputation (and some seductive stills) and was not disappointed. It has some HG Lewis type gore, lots of gratuitous nudity, beautiful scenery, earnest bad acting, a seriously scary monster, and more. This is B Movie making at its finest, sheer exploitation with no apologies and no holds barred. Even the eerie exotica music score is cool. Eddie Romero's Filipino horror films of this era will appeal to all fans of 60s/70s Mexican and Spanish horror cinema. They are even as unique, bizarre, and compelling as the Japanese yakuza flicks from Seijun Suzuki of the same era, and much more colorful, entertaining and original than contemporary horror cinema. I also highly recommend "Brides of Blood" (the monster is kinda like a demonic tiki, a relative of the tree monster Tabanga in "From Hell it Came")and "The Blood Drinkers"m featuring a vampire that is as suave as a James Bond villain and incredible photography. I've heard some genre fans hate these movies for being so awful. I was pleasantly stunned at how wrong these naysayers were. What a great discovery.

Warning: Beware the Blood Island dizzy-cam!

[GroovyDoom · 6/10 · 10 May 2011]

The second in the "Blood Island" series ups the ante with even more explicit sex and violence, recycling much from "Brides of Blood", including John Ashley. I didn't notice any other holdovers from the previous film, but the director hired actors who looked just like them anyway. There are carbon copies of Arcadio, Goro, Esteban Powers, and Alma, as well as the lovely Angelique Pettyjohn standing in for Beverly Hills.

The plot is even wilder than before. This time, Ashley and damsel-in-distress-to-be Pettyjohn travel to Blood Island to locate her estranged father. No, the island is not called Matool. Anyway, what they discover is that the island is being stalked by a rampaging green humanoid monster, the result of a mad doctor's botched experiment involving chlorophyll used as a means of transforming human beings. Or something like that, right? Do we really care? There's a monster and it's killing people, and the protagonists don't have the sense to leave.

Fans of naked ladies have plenty to look at, as the film literally opens with a nude woman being chased through the jungle by the creature. The gore in the film is gratuitous and ever-present, with the monster clawing people to death, ripping out their guts, and in one especially angry moment, attacking a young couple making out in the jungle. It rips off the man's arm (or was it a leg?) and efficiently removes the woman's head, tossing it in the air. What a cranky monster! It's also worth mentioning that the movie contains a very disturbing sequence where real animals are violently slaughtered on camera--a "native ritual" concludes with the natives rushing at some bound goats and pigs, stabbing them to death with knives, which was a genuine shock for me.

Yet personally, I prefer "Brides of Blood" over this one, for one major reason. The director has attempted to disguise the ridiculous monster by using a pulsating zoom lens effect every time it's on screen. It's a gimmick that you'll either love or hate, and it's much more pronounced than the shakycam shenanigans of "The Blair Witch Project" or similar hand-held horror films. On a big screen, this effect would have been absolutely nauseating to me.

Still, I'd recommend this movie to anybody who liked the first one, or anybody who digs grade-Z drive-in trash just like I do. The horror exotica settings do a lot to make the film interesting, and believe it or not, the ridiculous dialog exists alongside scenes that actually are well-written and memorable. Who expected THAT?

Not so Mad

[dokvader · 5/10 · 25 April 2020]

John Ashley returns now as Dr Bill Foster. A totally new character but the same island. Here we find a new cast of characters now dealing with mysterious creatures that bleed green.

We are introduced to Dr. Lorca, which draws heavily from Dr Moreau, wearing sunglasses at any time of the day and speaking discreetly to loyal assistant. The character though was not that mad but truly cunning, ingenious, and determined to opposite of Dr. Foster's cheap charm and lack of machismo.

Script could not be better as the way it was acted out, local actors did so better than the lead Ashley. The violence, gore could not match what they come up these days but true to its exploitative way nudity was plenty.

If Ronald Remy could only go over the top, then truly he can be mad as the title says. Alas, the story really lacked the horror substance just limited to algae creatures hacking and ripping.