Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Brides of Blood, Mutant Plant Rapist

Ah the Peace Corps! Travel to exotic lands and help the unfortunate natives. What could go wrong? Civil War? Famine and disease? Cannibals? Perhaps, but in 1968's "Brides of Blood" our noble warriors of altruism are beset by radioactive mutants, man-eating banana trees and a very amorous and misogynistic mutant humanoid.
Alma
Our Peace Corps team is about to land on Blood Island. Dr. Paul Henderson (Kent Taylor) is preparing his test tubes for experiments. Jim (John Ashley) is reviewing his plans to build an irrigation system for the hapless and very superstitious natives. Carla (Beverly Powers), Paul's wife, is having very rough sex with a swarthy, young crew member. Don't be too hard on Carla, Paul is a cold fish.  Upon landing, our trio witness the natives performing a ceremony which entails throwing the severed and torn body parts of native babes into the sea. We should not be judgmental, but Paul, Jim, and Carla are unsettled by this display.  You guessed it, the babes are sacrificed to some evil god who rapes them and tears the women from limb to limb. Perhaps a metaphor for the female plight in a very paternalistic culture.
God monster accepts virgin sacrifice
Okay, Jim grows quite close to Alma (Eva Darren), an island girl. As Paul and Jim help the natives and Paul finds mutant specimens of crabs and fauna, the god-monster continues to rape and shred babes. The trio accept the invite of Esteban Powers (Mario Montenegro), the handsome and exotic plantation owner at the opposite end of the island.  Carla does everything she can to bed Powers. Powers is served by a team of midgets...don't ask.  As tentacled trees try to eat Carla, she is often rescued by Jim or Paul. No cause for alarm here...mutants will be mutants. Uh oh, Esteban appears to be suffering from a mysterious malady and Carla is really wanting extra-marital sex. See what's coming?  Uh oh, Alma is selected to be the next sacrifice and her beau, Jim, is willing to go to war with the natives to rescue her.  Carla is willing to brave the man-eating banana trees to have sex with Powers.
Carla finds a taker for sex
Will Alma's virginity end in sprays of red and internal organs? Will Carla find carnal pleasure with Powers, the midgets, or something more un-godly?  Will Jim's war for Alma's virtue start a conflict which will be deadlier than the god-monster?  This is a good one, and the gore and nudity are front and center.  Made in the Philippines and directed by Eddie Romero and Gerardo de Leon, "Brides of Blood" is pure gold for fans of horror exploitation films.

4 comments:

  1. this looks good.. im.interested in seeing..

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  2. this looks good.. im.interested in seeing..

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  3. Of course, Paul is a cold fish. He is a scientist, damnit, not a porn star! Rapey trees. They seem to be an inherent theme in horror films. Thank you, Sam Raimi! Good review, Christopher.

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  4. I am so so sold by this can't believe I never heard of it before, thanks for the great review and cool heads up mate.

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