Brain of Blood is Al Adamson's (and probably Sam Sherman's) masterpiece, a thoroughly coherent and highly engaging romp through sleazy exploitation film-land. Apparently shot in a rushed eight days, and having an entire production life of about ninety days, BoB is an example of creative minds working in concert towards a predetermined goal, to good effect. Great characters, a terrific - even epic - screenplay, plausible performances by all, and even excellent cinematography (for this kind of thing) add up to what now looks like a minor masterpiece of the drive-in exploitation genre.
Al Adamson and Sam Sherman had started their own brand, Independent International Pictures, a few years previously, so they were ready and willing when Hemisphere head honcho Kane Lynn came to Sherman with a lament that they had been unable to make a deal for the next Philippines-shot "Blood Island" entry. This film, already produced, was to be released by Roger Corman's New World Pictures as Beast of the Yellow Night. This might have been for the best, as Beast of the Yellow Night is an awful film, having little in common with the previous Blood Island entries; one might conjecture that the Filipino production team was running out of steam, as this last Blood Island entry was so disappointing. This product void on Hemisphere's part proved to be lucky, as BoB is a terrific film, far better than the film it was replacing, and an impressive effort from all involved. Adamson and Sherman had already knocked out a few winners from I-I, including Satan's Sadists, Horror of the Blood Monsters and the impossible Dracula vs Frankenstein.
Although producer Sam Sherman vociferously disagrees, the scenario of BoB runs a great deal like a Monogram/PRC Bela Lugosi quickie of the 1940s, with distinct touches of The Monster Maker, The Ape Man, and even The Corpse Vanishes. What these 40s quickies lacked (along with a coherent screenplay and decent cinematography) was lurid color-soaked gore, which BoB makes up for admirably.
Reusing the brash, bombastic Tito Arevalo score from Mad Doctor of Blood Island was also a genius stroke (even if motivated by economic factors), and lends BoB a creepy jungle-centric flavor which ties it uncannily to its Filipino cousins. Cinematography is unusually arty for this type of film, with many tight closeups of characters, making the sleazy pulp-fiction scenario quite intimate at times. Editing is also good, with some great montage and flashcut work so endemic to this time period. Some gruesome scenes of brain surgery easily fulfill the required "gross-out" factor. Adamson/Sherman even manage to sneak in a thrilling car chase and crash, and an exhilarating foot chase by two characters over a charismatic industrial setting, which ticks off two more "must have" boxes for any respectable drive-in thriller.
BoB ends in an extraordinary epilogue which predicts a horrible techno-fascist future for the luckless citizens of this fictional Middle Eastern country, turning them into lobotomized zombies doing the will of its leader. Credit Sam Sherman with this gruesome ending, told via grim narration annotated by a flashback montage of all the carnage which has led to this dark turning point in history - sort of prescient, I'd say. A dark brilliance haunts this magnificent final entry in the Hemisphere Blood Series, a drive-in legend of note; we even love the Bob LeBar title sequence.
Kent Taylor, 40s leading man who had a mini-comeback (mainly thanks to Al Adamson) appeared first in Brides of Blood, but in BoB takes on a whole new dimension of villainy, as a thoroughly evil, even diabolical mad doctor of the worst kind. Sweet Regina Carrol, Adamson's wife at around this time, gives possibly the best performance of her too-short film career as a rather despicable, duplicitous gold digger whose pretty face and soothing voice hide the heart of a vile serpent. "Zandor Vorkov" also gives the best performance of his too-short film career as a devoted lackey, a small role brimming with pathos and anguish; "Vorkov" was another seriously underused actor. John Bloom shines as usual, playing essentially the same character he played in Dracula vs Frankenstein and The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant: an innocent, giant boy-child who is exploited and abused by the cruel "grown-ups" who surround him. Bloom's performances are memorable, and it is a shame that he did not do more acting along this line. Everyone's favorite little person, Angelo Rossito, makes a terrific sidekick to the mad doctor, essentially reprising his role from the Bela Lugosi horror hit The Corpse Vanishes - and reinforcing the connection between BoB and any number of 1940's Poverty Row programmers. Sweet and saucy Vicki Volante, Adamson's recurring sexy victim, has a notable role as one of the mad doctor's chained victims. An entire reel of BoB is taken up with poor Volante's attempts to escape her dungeon prison, and you get the sense that Adamson was determined to really showcase his favorite female star; these scenes really verge on the fetishistic. Lastly, little Margo Hope shines as another of the mad doctor's blood-donor victims; her inclusion gives BoB a slightly Asian-centric flavor, aiding the attempt to make the film look like it could have come from "over there."
Some folks opine that Beast of Blood is the best of the Hemisphere Blood series, but it is actually the weakest entry - although it has its quotient of excessive gore, sleazy ambience and surreal horror elements (the beast's head on a plate is a highlight), the screenplay is weak, the cinematography pedestrian, and the scenario unfolds in a perfunctory manner. Alternately, Brides of Blood and Mad Doctor of Blood Island boasted lurid pulp screenplays, beautiful cinematography and bountiful production values, making them the two undisputed gems of the Filipino Blood Island entries. Brain of Blood hearkens back to those glorious films, and is a fitting end-cap to the Hemisphere Horror experiment.
Some of us saw each and every one of the Hemisphere Horrors at the drive-in (some multiple times due to sneaky title changes), and we loved every single minute if it. Long live Blood Island!
Al Adamson and Sam Sherman had started their own brand, Independent International Pictures, a few years previously, so they were ready and willing when Hemisphere head honcho Kane Lynn came to Sherman with a lament that they had been unable to make a deal for the next Philippines-shot "Blood Island" entry. This film, already produced, was to be released by Roger Corman's New World Pictures as Beast of the Yellow Night. This might have been for the best, as Beast of the Yellow Night is an awful film, having little in common with the previous Blood Island entries; one might conjecture that the Filipino production team was running out of steam, as this last Blood Island entry was so disappointing. This product void on Hemisphere's part proved to be lucky, as BoB is a terrific film, far better than the film it was replacing, and an impressive effort from all involved. Adamson and Sherman had already knocked out a few winners from I-I, including Satan's Sadists, Horror of the Blood Monsters and the impossible Dracula vs Frankenstein.
Although producer Sam Sherman vociferously disagrees, the scenario of BoB runs a great deal like a Monogram/PRC Bela Lugosi quickie of the 1940s, with distinct touches of The Monster Maker, The Ape Man, and even The Corpse Vanishes. What these 40s quickies lacked (along with a coherent screenplay and decent cinematography) was lurid color-soaked gore, which BoB makes up for admirably.
Reusing the brash, bombastic Tito Arevalo score from Mad Doctor of Blood Island was also a genius stroke (even if motivated by economic factors), and lends BoB a creepy jungle-centric flavor which ties it uncannily to its Filipino cousins. Cinematography is unusually arty for this type of film, with many tight closeups of characters, making the sleazy pulp-fiction scenario quite intimate at times. Editing is also good, with some great montage and flashcut work so endemic to this time period. Some gruesome scenes of brain surgery easily fulfill the required "gross-out" factor. Adamson/Sherman even manage to sneak in a thrilling car chase and crash, and an exhilarating foot chase by two characters over a charismatic industrial setting, which ticks off two more "must have" boxes for any respectable drive-in thriller.
BoB ends in an extraordinary epilogue which predicts a horrible techno-fascist future for the luckless citizens of this fictional Middle Eastern country, turning them into lobotomized zombies doing the will of its leader. Credit Sam Sherman with this gruesome ending, told via grim narration annotated by a flashback montage of all the carnage which has led to this dark turning point in history - sort of prescient, I'd say. A dark brilliance haunts this magnificent final entry in the Hemisphere Blood Series, a drive-in legend of note; we even love the Bob LeBar title sequence.
Kent Taylor, 40s leading man who had a mini-comeback (mainly thanks to Al Adamson) appeared first in Brides of Blood, but in BoB takes on a whole new dimension of villainy, as a thoroughly evil, even diabolical mad doctor of the worst kind. Sweet Regina Carrol, Adamson's wife at around this time, gives possibly the best performance of her too-short film career as a rather despicable, duplicitous gold digger whose pretty face and soothing voice hide the heart of a vile serpent. "Zandor Vorkov" also gives the best performance of his too-short film career as a devoted lackey, a small role brimming with pathos and anguish; "Vorkov" was another seriously underused actor. John Bloom shines as usual, playing essentially the same character he played in Dracula vs Frankenstein and The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant: an innocent, giant boy-child who is exploited and abused by the cruel "grown-ups" who surround him. Bloom's performances are memorable, and it is a shame that he did not do more acting along this line. Everyone's favorite little person, Angelo Rossito, makes a terrific sidekick to the mad doctor, essentially reprising his role from the Bela Lugosi horror hit The Corpse Vanishes - and reinforcing the connection between BoB and any number of 1940's Poverty Row programmers. Sweet and saucy Vicki Volante, Adamson's recurring sexy victim, has a notable role as one of the mad doctor's chained victims. An entire reel of BoB is taken up with poor Volante's attempts to escape her dungeon prison, and you get the sense that Adamson was determined to really showcase his favorite female star; these scenes really verge on the fetishistic. Lastly, little Margo Hope shines as another of the mad doctor's blood-donor victims; her inclusion gives BoB a slightly Asian-centric flavor, aiding the attempt to make the film look like it could have come from "over there."
Some folks opine that Beast of Blood is the best of the Hemisphere Blood series, but it is actually the weakest entry - although it has its quotient of excessive gore, sleazy ambience and surreal horror elements (the beast's head on a plate is a highlight), the screenplay is weak, the cinematography pedestrian, and the scenario unfolds in a perfunctory manner. Alternately, Brides of Blood and Mad Doctor of Blood Island boasted lurid pulp screenplays, beautiful cinematography and bountiful production values, making them the two undisputed gems of the Filipino Blood Island entries. Brain of Blood hearkens back to those glorious films, and is a fitting end-cap to the Hemisphere Horror experiment.
Some of us saw each and every one of the Hemisphere Horrors at the drive-in (some multiple times due to sneaky title changes), and we loved every single minute if it. Long live Blood Island!