Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Michael_Elliott Brides of Blood (1968)** (out of 4) Crazy cult film from the Philippines centers on three researchers (John Ashley, Kent Taylor, Beverly Hills) who arrive on Blood Island to see if radiation has caused any problems. Soon they realize that certain trees are alive and attacking people but even worse is a deformed monster who the locals are giving "brides" to, which it then eats. BRIDES OF BLOOD isn't a well-made movie so if you're looking for class then it's best to go watch the Val Lewton horror movies. If you're looking for cheap exploitation then this here should be right up your alley. I will start off by saying the 92-minute running time is way too long for a movie like this because with an exploitation film you want the goods and nothing else. There are a few too many dialogue scenes that really stretch the running time out and I think the film could have been more entertaining without all of these. With that said, there are some really memorable moments to be found here and they're good enough to make this a cult film. The highlight is without question the monster, which is hard to describe because it's just something you have to see to fully believe. If I had to describe it I'd say it's a mutated pile of spinach with a mouth and pointy teeth. The look of this thing is so silly but at the same time you can't help but be entertained by it. Another good thing are the really bad special effects of the trees attacking people. There's a reason killer tree movies are kept limited and it's because the effects look so silly. It's obvious that in many scenes it's the actors "moving" the trees to make it appear that they're the ones moving and attacking them. The Philipeans setting is another major plus because it just gives the film a cheap look but it also contains some nice atmosphere that really jumps off the screen. Both Ashley and Taylor sleepwalk through their roles but they're still fun to see. BRIDES OF BLOOD certainly isn't a classic but if you enjoy exploitation then there's enough here to make it worth sitting through.

Scarecrow-88 This is as bad as it gets, folks. Three Americans go to an island where they encounter trees with limbs that grab people, ripping them to shreds, not to mention a mutated man monster who the islanders sacrifice virgins to. The butterfly scene is proof that BRIDES OF BLOOD belongs in the annals of wretched creature features, this time shot in the Phillipines with two of the worst white heroes(in the form of scientists Kent Taylor and John Ashley)you ever to come across. Beverly Powers(as Taylor's horny wife)spends most of her screen time lusting after one man or another(and not exactly hiding it from her impotent, non-caring husband who seems immune to her delicious voluptuous breasts). Eva Darren is a luscious island girl Ashley saves from being torn apart by the mutant beast terrorizing the island people. The mutant monster costume is side-splittingly hilarious. There's a celebratory jungle dance at the end which brings the film to a crashing halt(it has no reason for being other than to seal the deal on Ashley and Darren's blossoming romance)and is unnecessary. Handsome Filipino actor Mario Montenegro(whose bones Beverly wants to jump)is Esteban Powers, owner of a palatial estate on the island who provides refuge to the Americans. Esteban's security is a brute named Goro(Bruno Punzalan)who beats on his servant staff of little people! Andres Centenera is Arcadio, leader of the island villagers who fear the beast and feed it from their own people, choosing names on paper as to determine who will be tied to poles to await being eaten. I watched this under the title, DANGERS ON TIKI ISLAND.

lastliberal Island atmosphere with tropical music and friendly natives. An idyllic setting for a group of adventurers to find some peace. A doctor (Kent Taylor) and his horny wife (Beverly Powers) and a peace Corps volunteer (John Ashley) journey to this Philippine island to help and do research.Unfortunately, things have changed and danger lurks. Has radiation from atomic tests in the 40s drifted to the island causing mutations? The fact that trees can attack like Harry Potter's whomping willow is some indication that things are not normal.The natives have returned to previous customs by sacrificing naked virgins to be satisfied by someone or something; it certainly was some hideous creature! They stay with a strange man (Mario Montenegro), who has a staff of little people in his home. He also appears some 20 years younger than he actually is.When it is time for the chief's granddaughter (Eva Darren) to be sacrificed, Jim (Ashley) swings into action to save her.Later, Carla (Powers) is really desperately looking to get laid and follows Estaban (Montenegro). She meets the Tiki-headed monster instead. He will certainly ravish her, but not in the way she wants.Of course, the finally defeat the monster by finding the cajones that had put aside.

silentgmusic I saw "Brides of Blood" recently on its new pristine DVD release, and I was struck by several facts. First, the film has a ridiculous plot about a nuclear-fall-out-created monster (called "The Evil One") killing screaming native girls on the vaguely tropical Blood Island. Kent Taylor, a regular in Al Adamson films, is the so-called star, playing a scientist who is trying to solve the series of murders alongside John Ashley (dependable for bad acting). The monster is ludicrous, obviously some poor Filipino actor under a bunch of brown foam rubber. Maybe the other viewers commenting here thought the film was scary because of the heavy sinister breathing sounds that the monster makes before a kill. Okay, it's a little creepy, but it sure ain't all-out scary. At least I wasn't scared. In fact, through most of it I couldn't stop laughing. Not that it was supposed to be funny, but the film is so dated, poorly acted, and low budget that it has a certain naive charm.The native girls have their tops ripped off before being raped and torn apart by "The Evil One." Why the monster attacks the sacrificial native girls is never explained.The nudity in "Brides of Blood" is tame by today's standards. It is surprising, however, to see nudity in a film from 1968. Granted, the DVD is the unrated version (with a little goofy gore) but directors Eddie Romero and Gerardo DeLeon were certainly on to something with this film. Nudity and gore, while not new to films in 1968, were just being widely incorporated into movies at that time. This exploitation film, perhaps a classic in bad drive-in movie history, helped set the trend for the next decade of horror films. While "Brides of Blood" is hilarious in its attempts at horror (wait 'til you see Beverly Hills' freak-out scenes), the film is also an interesting piece of exploitation movie history.Other highlights include the weird native dancing, the virtually incoherent assemblage of scenes of "character development" and the red tint of the film that is used every time the monster attacks. Also, Beverly Hills has her clothes ripped off by the monster but we only see her bare back. Beverly Hills (Powers) is now an ordained minister in Hawaii. Go figure.