The Horror of the Blood Monsters . Austin Chronicle . 07-21-97

The Horror of the Blood Monsters

DIRECTED BY: Al Adamson

REVIEWED: 07-21-97

It gets tiresome hearing Ed Wood Jr. referred to as "the world's worst director" by all the pantywaist dilettantes who don't have what it takes to go scuba diving in the cinematic septic tank. Off the top of my head I can name you a dozen films by the likes of the loathsome Larry Buchanan, Andy Milligan, or Billy Wilder's poor old brother W. Lee that make Glen or Glenda look like Orson Welles. A perfect example is The Horror of the Blood Monsters, a sci-fi mess by veteran crapmeister director Al Adamson. Old Al glommed onto an unfinished Filipino movie dealing with cavemen, flying bat-winged pygmies, and gill-man/lobster monsters. Problem is, he had to conjure up a plot around this half-complete junk, so he dragged out John Carradine to play the captain of a space team that lands on the caveman planet. To confuse things further, a love interest is thrown to the head of Mission Control; he and the babe kiss and grope in a bed (with no explanation) while colored lights flash on a $23 control panel. Problem number two: All the Filipino footage is in B & W while all the Adamson stuff is in color; but not to worry! Al accounts for it by saying that the surface of the planet is affected by "chromatic radiation" and tints entire segments of the movie red, blue, or green! Note how much the "chromatic radiation device" looks like a caulk gun! Incoherent and jumbled, Horror of the Blood Monsters is downright surreal at times, with all the production values of a Saturday morning kids' show. John Carradine is his hammy old self, looking alternately bored, puzzled, and irritable. No horror, no blood, no monsters, no blood monsters. You'll agree, Bride of the Monster looks like The Best Years of Our Lives by comparison.

--J.C. Shakespeare

Other Films by Al Adamson
Dracula vs. Frankenstein
Satan's Sadists

Film Vault Suggested Links
Lawnmower Man 2
Star Trek: First Contact
Virtuosity

Rate this Film
If you don't want to vote on a film yet, and would like to know how others voted, leave the rating selection as "Vote Here" and then click the Cast Vote button.