![[box cover]](../../reviewimgs/b/beastofblood.jpg)
Beast of Blood
This barely cinematic tranquilizer of a horror flick continues the story begun in Mad Doctor of Blood Island, during which, the backstory tells us, the demented Dr. Lorca, holed away on a Pacific island, created a chlorophyll-fueled monster bent on causing great murderous havoc. However, in Beast of Blood the enjoyably freak-headed title beast is barely seen after an opening-title fistfight, leaving the majority of the movie to dwell on the impossibly dull adventures of a sideburned hero (John Ashley) as he endlessly stalks the jungles of Blood Island in search of Lorca's clandestine laboratory. Directed by Eddie Romero, Beast of Blood displays none of the tawdry or juvenile imagination that distinguishes good drive-in fare from the also-rans. What little is seen of the gooey beast (a.k.a. Ramon) always promises to bring the movie back to life, but Romero keeps his camera trained on worthlessly long and uneventful shots of Ashley walking around. Not impressive. Image Entertainment presents Beast of Blood as part of The Blood Collection. The damaged print of this poorly shot film is presented full-frame with monaural audio. Hemisphere Pictures producer Sam Sherman offers a short commentary focusing mainly on the history of his company. Also included are an unused title-sequence of Ramon boringly traipsing through the jungle, an interview with director Romero, an interview with heroine Celeste Yarnall, a long and annoying promo for "House of Terror," a still gallery, and trailers for several B-movies. Keep-case.
—Gregory P. Dorr
