PROMO FOR
THE BLOODY APE

HORROR OF THE BLOOD MONSTERS (1970)

Remember that old Reese's Peanut Butter Cups commercial in which two people bump into each other and mix their chocolate and peanut butter together? They taste the new mixture and proclaim, "Tastes great!"

I think this film was the result of a similar situation:

"Hey, you got your black and white Filipino prehistoric monster movie in my color sci-fi footage of John Carradine in a rocket ship!"

"No, you got your color sci-fi footage of John Carradine in a rocket ship in my black and white Filipino prehistoric monster movie!"

But it doesn't taste great.

The Producer/Director team of Sam Sherman and Al Adamson had a real talent for making so much out of nothing. Sometimes, they made nothing out of very little. So it is with "Horror of the Blood Monsters." A black and white Filipino monster movie was purchased dirt cheap and cut into some color footage of the ubiquitous John Carradine pretending to fly to various planets in a space ship.

But wait! How do you explain the obvious difference between the color and black and white footage? Easy... merely claim that the film was shot with a special color effect called "Spectrum-X!" and tint the black and white footage blue... red.. green.. whatever you want. Sure, the film is in color... just not more than one at a time. Then, provide a hasty explanation that something in the atmosphere of each planet causes the air to appear a different color. Problem solved.

The plot is this: Some kind of virus is running rampant on Earth, turning everyone into vampires. I suppose the government was unable to get Jonas Salk on the phone, so John Carradine is immediately dispatched to outer space to find the cure. He witnesses some very strange sights as he planet-hops, including a battle between two prehistoric monsters (actually two alligators (or is it crocodiles? I always forget) with all kinds of prehistoric-monster-looking accessories glued onto them,) bat creatures ( a dwarf in a furry costume with bat wings who actually drops like a stone when he attempts to fly,) and more vampire men.

Does he ever find the cure?

Does it really matter?

By the way, Sam and Al were masters at repackaging their material, sometimes slightly re-edited for a different market. Their primary customers were drive-in theaters, so most of the time it didn't even matter what was on the screen. "Horror of the Blood Monsters" was also released as: Blood Monster, Creatures of the Prehistoric Planet, Creatures of the Red Planet, Cry of the Wolf, Night of the Wolf, Flesh Creatures of the Red Planet, The Flesh Creatures, Horror Creatures of the Lost Planet, Horror Creatures of the Prehistoric Planet, Horror Creatures of the Red Planet, Space Mission of the Lost Planet, Space Mission of the Prehistoric Planet, Space Mission to the Lost Planet, and Vampire Men of the Lost Planet.

If you've seen one, you truly have seen them all.