Back in the 70s director Eddie Romero made a number of horror films in his native country of the Philippines. They had a few things in common other than the location they were shot. They were all incredibly low budget movies. Almost all of them starred John Ashley as their leading man. Most played on double bills at drive-ins across the country. And some of them were actually pretty good.One of those movies was TWILIGHT PEOPLE. I can remember the first time I saw this movie. It was the opening film at the drive-in nearby that showed before the main feature THE DEVIL'S RAIN back in 1975. For some reason I either didn't have my license yet or a car and my friend, his mom and his aunt and I all went to see these two. I remember thinking it wasn't a bad movie. Since then I've had the chance to watch it, more often than not on some obscure Roku channel and not in the best shape. So when I heard VCI was going to release the film on blu-ray I was excited to hear it.Heavy duty plots were never the greatest in these films. This time around adventurer Matt Farrell (Ashley) is taken captive on the high seas by a group of henchmen led by Steinman (Jan Merlin), a pure blooded Nazi Aryan if there ever was one. In charge of kidnapping is Neva Gordon (Pat Woodell).Farrell is taken to a remote island in the Pacific where Steinman and Gordon march him to a castle while a watchful unseen presence keeps an eye on them from the jungle. Farrell is now the "guest" of mad scientist Dr. Gordon (Charles Macaulay), the father of Neva. He has plans for Farrell which can't be good but he doesn't provide details, merely talking about how he will make history and that he is the perfect specimen. Steinman would rather Farrell attempt an escape so he could hunt him down, his favorite past time.Farrell begins to investigate what's happening on the island and soon discovers that Dr. Gordon is creating a new species of man, a hybrid crossing various animals with human beings. An equal opportunist Dr. Gordon has transformed men and women both. On a side note and of particular interest is the fact that Ayesa the Panther Woman is played by none other than Pam Grier who later went on to fame in a number of higher profile films as well as several Blaxploitation films.It doesn't take long for Neva to fall in love with Farrell and attempt to stop her father from his plans to use him in his experiments. She drugs Steinman, releases Farrell from the cage he was placed in as well as the other hybrids and they head out to escape. When Steinman wakes he's glad for the opportunity he wanted all along, to track down and kill a worthy opponent.Made in 1972 the movie didn't have access to the CGI created monsters it would have had today. Instead it relies on practical effects and full on special effects make-up for each creature. Doing so on a miniscule budget you would think the end results would reek but in fact they're actually pretty good. Some are better than others. The standout is that of the bat-man hybrid, a full grown man with wings attached between his arms and body. He's shown flying towards the end of the film and it actually looks fairly decent.As I said before the script was never the biggest item worked on with these films. That being said they don't fall over the Ed Wood cliff and at least sound like conversations real people might actually have. Ashley does a fine job here though most of his role is to simply play the part of a handsome hero. Woodell is attractive and makes her part believable as well. And Merlin as Steinman is particularly villainous as he threatens Ashley.The movie was made for just $150,000 and there is little doubt that it made its cost back and more. It played on double and triple bills at drive-ins for years. The fact I saw it my first time three years after it was released shows that. But the film really doesn't have as low budget a feel about it as you would expect. Yes it's a bit cheezy at times but it's a fun movie as well.VCI has released the film before but this is the first time I've seen it released in blu-ray format. They're known for these forgotten treasures of the past and they've done well with this one. The picture is the cleanest I've seen and the sound well maintained. This version has been remastered to a 2K version from the original 35mm negative in widescreen. They're including several nice extras as well here with a full commentary track with film historian Toby Roan, a near hour long interview with director Eddie Romero and the original theatrical trailer.This is not the cream of the crop in horror movies but it never claims to be. What it does claim to be is a nice little horror film, a PG rated romp with a little bit of blood and a lot of ingenuity. For me after all these years I found it to still be an entertaining movie that I know I'll probably go back and watch again. Leave your expectations at the door and my guess is you'll have fun with it as well.

From director Eddie Romero (AKA Enrique Moreno), the Filipino exploitation filmmaker behind jungle classics like "Black Mama White Mama" and "Savage Sisters" comes this very silly, but very entertaining ripoff of H.G. Wells' "The Island of Dr. Moreau." A scuba diver is snatched out of the water and and finds himself on an island where a mad scientist has created monstrous half-man/half-animal creatures. The Moreau figure rules over his beasts with an iron fist, and as you'd expect, they rebel against him in a violent bloody fashion. It's all amateurishly made and certainly made on the cheap, but it is entertaining. To add to the enjoyment level of this nonsense is Pam Grier in a before-she-was-famous role as the "Panther Woman." Certainly not a good film, but I was entertained.

To his Family, and Fans: I met Mr. Ashley in Hollywood 1971-72, not sure. I was totally impressed with him. A beautiful man and gentleman. I thoroughly enjoyed my meeting with him. He introduced me to Robert Conrad and I was blown away. Talk about beautiful men in my company.Just want to say after after 40 years my heart still remembers John in a positive way. He, to me was a wonderful actor/person/father. I treasure my memories of him.I just wish we could have met again, just for old times (whatever that means), I hear that phrase all the time so thought it was appropriate, excuse me for being so dramatic! The shock came when I learned he passed in 1997 on the set of Scared City in New York. I was devastated . . . John was to live forever.All good things do come to an end, and this was definitely one of those good things. John was the epitome of success, talent, and fortitude. He was brilliant as an actor, and stunning as an individual.To his family: Bless you for being a part of this wonderful human being: Entertainer, Singer, Actor, Husband, Father. Truly a God Send to all of us to learn from.Your Friend, Rita

For all fans of late-night TV and drive-in movies, "Twilight People" is a real joy to behold. It's the kind of movie you remember watching on an independent local TV station at 11pm (when 11pm was really late to be awake). Or else maybe you caught movies like "Twilight People" at the drive-in, probably playing second on the bill, and were amused by its low-budget Halloween-costume charms. Anybody else is going to think this movie sucks.Technically it does, on every level of imagination. The script is as bad as a script about half human-half animal mutations can get. As previously mentioned by another reviewer, this movie passes itself off as a cross between "Island of Lost Souls" and "The Most Dangerous Game". Actually it's more like a low-rent version of "Island of Dr. Moreau", although that film wasn't made until several years after this one (and with similarly laughable results, as well). But for all its shortcomings, "Twilight People" has a real sense of fun. I think anyone who was waiting for some believeable special effects was in the wrong place to being with. What the movie has going for it is an authentic feel of bonafide 70s drive-in delirium.Our hero is John Ashley, veteran of classic drive-in trash like the "Blood Island" movies. Here he plays Matt Farrell, not to be confused with the 'Jim Farrell' character from "Brides of Blood". Matt Farrell is apparently a noted adventurer who attracts the attention of our resident mad doctor, Dr. Gordon. Farrell is kidnapped and taken to Gordon's secluded isla, where he is to be used as a brain-transplant donor for Gordon's quintet of genetic freaks. The 'monsters' include a Bat Man, Antelope Man, Wolf Woman, Ape Man, and none other than Pam Grier as the "Panther Woman".Of course what would a trashy 70s flick be without sex, and there is plenty of sexual tension on this island, in the most surprising places. The doctor's daughter (who is conveniently beautiful in a 70s kind of way) is ripe for the picking, and Farrell is just the kind of stud to show her what a real man is. But Steinman, the Doc's hired goon, has designs of his own...he wants Farrell for himself! No kidding. Neva and Steinman even have a catfight over Farrell in one of the movie's best scenes. OK, Steinman wants Farrell so he can hunt him down and KILL him...but there's a definite undercurrent of lust in his lines with Farrell, from the minute they snatch him from his skin dive in the movie's opening scene.But no matter. Farrell only has eyes for Neva, and fortunately she chooses the moment of Farrell's arrival to turn against her father and run off with the freaks. It's at this point where the movie starts to veer off into the truly bizarre. We have a romance that develops between Antelope Man and Wolf Woman. We get to see Pam Grier rolling around on the ground and purring after a meal. And wow...that Bat Man is not to be missed. After a few failed attempts at flight, he really gets going by the time the movie's climax rolls around. And that's not even mentioning the 'surprise' mutation that crops up during the finale (if you can't figure it out ahead of time, you weren't really paying attention).I especially loved the sequence where the Panther Woman takes out a few of Gordon's henchmen, then suddenly turns on her own kind and tries to kill Antelope Man for no apparent reason. The animal people are mostly identifiable by the familiar animal-sounds on the soundtrack (the Wolf Woman's canine utterings are priceless), although I have to admit the Ape Man was more than a little disappointing (not to mention confusing), especially when he tries to rape the suddenly good-hearted Neva.The movie's big finish is also a little bit of a letdown, especially the unresolved tension between Steinman and Farrell. I was just a bit confused about their final scene---you'll know what I mean if you're adventurous enough to actually watch "Twilight People".Technically everything is done on the cheap, but since there was obviously such a low budget, I'm impressed that they managed to pull off the nice touches of the movie. I liked the sets they used for the interiors of Gordon's mansion, especially the dungeon and the prerequisite "secret passageway". I've never seen a more blatant disregard for continuity in regards to day-for-night filming, except maybe in "The Eye Creatures" (which, ironically, also featured John Ashley). Obviously sunny days are the background for scenes that are supposed to be taking place in the dead of night, like Farrell's escape from the mansion.There's also some amusing comic-book lighting going on here. Much of the interior scenes are tinged with red and green lights, and a few scenes in the laboratory feature a multi-domed contraption that houses orange brains underneath yellow plastic.The makeup of the animal people is so hokey that you can't help but be amused by it, and the performances are alternately zombified and deliciously over-the-top. Although it's obvious that nobody thought they were making great art with "Twilight People", they may have been aiming for B-movie greatness, and this movie has drive-in appeal in spades.