The Beast of the Yellow Night – 1971, Philippines/US, 87m. Director: Eddie Romero.
Demon of Paradise – 1987, Philippines, 87m. Director: Cirio H. Santiago.
The Thirsty Dead – 1974, Philippines/US, 88m. Director: Terry Becker.
THE BEAST OF THE YELLOW NIGHT (1971) In 1946, soldiers are deployed into a Filipino forest where killer Joseph Langdon (John Ashley) has been hiding from authorities. On his deathbed, Langdon is confronted by Satan (Vic Diaz), who promises the murderer eternal life as long as he becomes Satan’s henchman. The next twenty-five years has Langdon possessing several different men in an effort to fulfill Satan’s intention to bring out mankind’s “inner evil”—but Langdon’s humanity begins to seep through with his latest host, an engineer married to a friendly but unhappy homemaker (Mary Wilcox). When Langdon rejects Satan’s plan, his master turns him into a deformed monster. Langdon goes about the streets ripping off the limbs of unlucky passersby and feasting on their glistening innards. It’s hard not to enjoy this camp semi-classic from the ceaselessly imaginative but financially strapped Eddie Romero (Beast of Blood). While not worth writing home about, the man was churning out one to two movies a year on shoestring budgets, and could always be relied on to make colorfully moronic epics. C+ (Currently streaming on Prime.)
DEMON OF PARADISE (1987) A beast-fish concoction created from toxic pollution emerges from the waters off a Hawaiian island—actually the Philippines, which would explain the consistently murky waters. The creature begins eating the island’s fishermen, which the owner (Laura Banks) of a Club Med-type resort uses as publicity to attract tourists, ensuring a ready-made buffet for the watery terror. Luckily, the island paradise has its very own herpetologist (Kathryn Witt) who’s hot on the case. This film’s lunchbox budget is rather obvious considering how often (or how little) we see the monster, which is intermixed with endless scenes of two-bit characters spouting mundane dialogue. The writers were clearly not inspired to create any sense of originality as Demon of Paradise borrows heavily from Creature from the Black Lagoon, Jaws, Piranha, Humanoids from the Deep, and even Bog! Witt deserves a better role, and the viewer deserves a better film. D (Currently streaming on Tubi.)
THE THIRSTY DEAD (1974) A bikini-clad go-go dancer is kidnapped from a strip club in Manila by men in ceremonial robes. The Keystone Cops think her boyfriend is responsible, despite a city-wide news bulletin about a wave of disappearances in the area. The women were abducted by a cult of New Age flakes who live in some jungle caves and worship the disembodied head of a man named Raul. One of the abducted (Jennifer Billingsley) is chosen as the new High Priestess, while the others are bled and used in a ritual that grants immortality. Enlightened cult member John Considine falls for Billingsley, and the two escape but face the inevitable when Considine passes the “Ring of Age” and withers into a winkled prune. The abundance of beehives and flipped bob hairstyles gives the film a dated feel, as do the gaudy costumes and a musical score that would sound more appropriate in an episode of Dragnet. The lush green wilderness gives the film an exotic backdrop, but that’s not enough to make it worth sitting through this nondescript American/Filipino co-production. C– (Currently streaming on Tubi.)