Mad Doctor Of Blood Island

Mad Doctor Of Blood Island Directed By Eddie Romero Starring John Ashley (1968).

   During the original screening of Mad Doctor, they gave out soy sauce type packets of green blood to the audience, but they should have doled out massive joints!

I think they put acid in this Kool-Aid

   Whenever the creature arrives, the camera frantically zooms in and out. The monster is covered in slime with plucked out eyeballs, wearing a fancy blue dress shirt. A group of landlubbers sail to the dreaded island, which include a Russ Tamblyn looking guy with hamhock features, a ditzy blonde and a few others. The “MAD” doctor wears blue tinted shades. Fandor is currently streaming the complete uncut version with all the naked women and severed heads!

BUUURRRRRPPPP!

   I’d imagine this flick got trashed by various horror hosts in its initial late night run. I first became aware of it, by its goofy trailer narrated by Brother Theodore (Gums, The Burbs) on the legendary Mad Ron’s Prevues tape. Sadly I was unfamiliar with Eddie Romero, until I read about him in a film encyclopedia at the library were I worked, then a few weeks later he died. I’m planning on checking out more of his films like Beast Of Yellow Night and his Dr. Moreau knockoff, The Twilight People (I remember first seeing the flying bat guy with giant side burns in Terror In The Aisles). Romero was a child prodigy, who made films and wrote published articles in magazines at an early age in the 40's and 50's with the help of his mentor Gerry Leon (Tombs 50).
   Romero even did second unit work for Francis Ford Coppola on Apocalypse Now in the Philippines. Although if I were Coppola and saw the blown out colors and lens flairs here, I hate to say it, but I wouldn't trust this guy to park my car!!
   Eddie was also responsible later on for many of the Roger Corman/ Pam Grier WIP flicks like The Big Doll House and Women in Cages. Mad Doctor is the first in the "Blood Island" trilogy that includes Beast and Brides of Blood.

I require some tomatoes and ranch dressing

   The creature looks like they tarred and feathered him with garbage and salad fixins! I could see this make-up job being taught in that 60's Dick Smith Monster Make-up book. The story is pretty thin, basically a group lands on an island where sinister "Dr. Moreau" type experiments are going on. Not much is explained and its pretty much a dopey monster movie with guts and boobs.
   The Mad Doctor (played by Ron Remy) explains why there is a monster roaming the jungles and that he's connected somehow to one of the actor's wearing white jeans. The doctor's speech at the end reminded me of Bela Lugosi's in Bride Of The Monster about that "race of atomic superman that will conquer the world".

No refunds!

   At one point there is a gyrating tree down in the experimental lab that cracked me up and my favorite character is Marla (Alicia Alonzo) the island girl. The monster goes to rip her up into a bloody, gutty mess, but she stops the gruesome creature in his tracks, even eggs him on and for some reason has him by the balls (or in this case Croutons)!

All monsters quake in Marla the island girl's presence

   John Ashley (the fake Russ Tamblyn looking gentleman) and his blonde girlfriend are pretty forgettable and the film slightly goes into that direction of Dr. Moreau territory that later on, Romero's The Twilight People was almost grand larceny committed against H.G. Wells. Final verdict: Mad Dr. is a kiddie monster mash with organs served up with a side of titties.
Available to stream on Fandor.com  <---- click here

here's that organ salad you ordered!

Work Cited:
Tombs, Pete. Mondo Macabro. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998. Print. <http://www.amazon.com/Mondo-Macabro-Wonderful-Cinema-Around/dp/0312187483>.