Beast of Blood (1971) ** (out of 4) The third and final film in the Blood Island trilogy takes place hours after the events in MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND. As the film picks up Dr. Foster (John Ashley) is on the boat thinking he's going to safety but the green monster shows up and pretty much destroys the entire crew. The ship blows up and the doctor is the only one to survive. Flash forward a year and the doctor is going back to the island with a reporter (Celeste Yarnell) to see if the crazy doctor is still alive and doing more experiments (well of course he is). BEAST OF BLOOD might come across to many as being a disappointment because the horror elements aren't nearly as strong as in the previous two movies. I thought overall that this one worked quite well even though it plays more for a jungle-adventure movie than anything else. It's still got plenty of exploitation and this includes some rather hilarious death scenes. Since the majority of the kills are via gunshots you'll have a good time seeing how much blood they have pumping out of the wounds at all times. It seems they had the fake blood hooked up to water hose because that's pretty much how much comes out with each bullet wound. Another good thing that the film has going for it are the Philippeans locations. The jungle certainly adds a lot of atmosphere to the movie even though this one appears to be the slickest of the three. Ashley and his sideburns are once again back in action and it appears that he's having a good time even though he's phoning the performance in. Yarnell makes for a good sidekick and those wanting to see her naked will be pleased. There are, as you'd expect, some problems here and the pacing is one of them. The film never really picks up a good flow from start to finish but I will say that overall this here is probably the most entertaining as there's usually always something going on whereas the first two films had a lot of dialogue. The highlight of the movie happens before the opening credits when the monster goes around with an ax tearing up the boat crew. BEAST OF BLOOD isn't a classic but if you're a fan of exploitation then it's a decent close to the series.

The Philippino B-movie maker Eddie Romero is probably best known for two WIP (Women in Prison) flicks starring the gorgeous Pam Grier, BLACK MAMA WHITE MAMA (1973), which he directed, and fellow cult-director Jack Hill's THE BIG BIRD CAGE (1972), which he produced. The prolific Mr. Romero has been active in various sub-genres of low budget Exploitation cinema. His filmography includes several gory Horror films including this awesomely titled BEAST OF BLOOD (1971). While this incredibly cheesy but quite gory Horror effort is certainly not what one would call a 'good' film, it is certainly recommendable to my fellow fans of low-budget-Horror, and especially to admirers of Eddie Romero. BEAST OF BLOOD is actually a sequel to Romero's earlier Horror film MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND (1968), which I have yet to see.After some mysterious attacks, the protagonist Dr. Bill Foster (John Ashley) returns to an island where an evil scientist is keeping his monstrous creation alive. Among his traveling companions are the sexy journalist Myra (Celeste Yarnall) and the equally sexy native chief's daughter Laida (Liza Belmonte)... BEST OF BLOOD is cheesy as hell, in an incredibly entertaining manner. Considering this is a very-low budget movie, the gory outbursts are very gory and very well-made. Especially the eponymous monstrous creature is made very well, even if its depiction on the supremely cool cover art is a little exaggerated. Both female leads take their clothes off for no real other reason than nudity at one point in the film. The acting performances are B-movie-standard-bad, but not abysmal, which adds to the trashy charm of the film. The one complaint I have about his amusing slice of sleaze-cheese is that BEAST OF BLOOD is quite a bit too long for its own good. Whit a running time of about 90 minutes a film like this one will inevitably get tedious at times. Still it is entertaining and shouldn't be missed by my fellow trash fans. One to avoid for those who find fascinating plots, logic and great performances essential in a movie, but warmly recommended to everyone who can enjoy low-budget cheese. P.S.: The poster/cover artwork which shows the monster holding its own severed head must be one of the coolest B-movie posters ever.

"Beast of Blood" is the third of the Blood Island-Eddie Romero series, all of which starred terrible actor John Ashley. Although, with these films, it is better just to ignore the acting and enjoy the exploitation elements.There's some gore, a cheap but neat-looking monster and a little bit of skin too. (Celeste Yarnall ain't much of an actress, but she is photogenic.) The plot is nonexistent, something about the Monster of Blood Island's head being saved for experiments. It is extremely silly, but it's also imaginative. The monster's head and body are severed, but the monster manages to control his body to escape and kill anyway. Did Stuart Gordon see this before making "Re-Animator"?My biggest complaint here is that the film shoots its wad at the beginning. The first scene of the film is kind of confusing: John Ashley is on a ship leaving Blood Island when the monster, a stowaway, breaks loose and starts killing the crew. Ashley and the monster duke it out until both end up shipwrecked back on Blood Island. After that, the film really drags until the above experiments on the monster occur. As with the other Blood Island films, there are a lot of filler scenes that supposedly develop the characters but are actually there to eat up the film's running time.Still, there is some fun to be had in "Beast of Blood," but I wouldn't recommend it to serious horror film fans. This is for bad movie fans only, and even then they might be disappointed.It's still better than Final Destination 2, though.

Actually, BOB is considerably better than the first film, MDof BloodIsle. I believe BOB could well stand alone without the first if need be. The use of cameras and lighting are improved, as well as the acting, with the exception of that boat captain! I rather like the jungle adventure that makes up most of ActII, but given a choice, I would like to have seen more scenes of the monster. As a fan of the genre, must say it's not a bad little film all considered...