The
producers of the notorious Philippino "Blood Island" movies wanted
to do another similarly themed film, but the director of those had gone to
work for someone else, and taken most of the regular cast with him. So, in
desperate need of new material , the producers called up their friend Al
Adamson, who'd just directed the low budget knock-off "Dracula V
Frankenstein" and got him to slap a low budget Frankenstein knock off
together.
Set in Los Angeles, the leader of some fictional Arab country, Abdul Amir (played by the decidedly American looking Reed Hadley) is on the verge of death, so his associates have his body shipped to a certain Dr Trenton (Kent Taylor) who says he can perform a brain transplant and thus prolong his life.
However, his grotesque assistant Gor (John Bloom), who I think is supposed to be a cross between Ygor and the Frankenstein monster, makes a complete balls up of securing a replacement body, and so with not much time left to get someone suitable, the good doctor transplants Amir's brain into Gor.
Needless to say, Amir is not too happy about taking on the appearance of a 7 foot oaf with a disfigured face, and subsequently breaks out of the lab and goes on a wrecking spree, leaving a trail of carnage in his wake across the Californian countryside. As Doctor Trenton and Amir's tarty looking wife Tracey (Regina Carrol) try and track him down with this bizarre ray-gun contraption.
Advertised as a follow up of sorts to the "Blood Island" movies, the movie really owes nothing to them, being set in California and all, and was really just one of many cash-ins the production company made with the word "Blood" in the title. Though it does feature Kent Taylor who had starred in one of the earlier "Blood Island" films, most of the principal cast were made up of people from Al Adamson's previous film "Dracula V Frankenstein".
As with the other films of this type made during the late 60s/early 70s, this is your typical low budget exploitation fare made for the drive-in movie crowd. It looks very dated nowadays and the gore is of the cheap and cheerful variety, so this film might not appeal to all types. But if you love these low budget drive-in movies, or your a fan of the Blood Island movies, then you might want to check it out.
