BEAST OF THE YELLOW NIGHT (1971)
Director: Eddie Romero
Retromedia Entertainment

In the late 60s and early 70s, the star/director team of John Ashley and Eddie Romero made a series of exploitive horror films in the Philippines--most notably the "Blood Island" trilogy (BRIDES OF BLOOD (1968), MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND (1969), and BEAST OF BLOOD (1970)). In those efforts, Ashley played the hero, battling a crazed doctor and green chloroform monster. In this unrelated film, Ashley appears as a monster and he's unrecognizable under his wild makeup.

Ashley plays a cowardly deserter during World War II. He makes a pact with the devil (played none other than Vic Diaz) who makes a deal to take his soul, feeding him some bloody human remains in the meantime. Some 25 years later, Ashley appears to be immortal, inhabiting the body of a wealthy businessman who's thought to be dead. He acquires the man's problems, as well as his leggy blond wife, played by Mary Wilcox. Trash film fans will remember Wilcox as the hopeless corpse romancer in LOVE ME DEADLY and as the seductive nurse murdered by a showerhead in THE PSYCHIC KILLER.

Ashley periodically transforms into a scaly, werewolf-like creature with frizzy hair. This happens whenever he gets too emotional, such as an attempt to visit a chapel and during his awkward lovemaking. There's lots of carnage as the monster assaults a number of townsfolk, and the police chief (Eddie Garcia) is perplexed as the thing is unaffected by bullets. In a sort of nod to BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, the monster takes refuge with and trusts a blind man (Andrés Centenera), but the film also reminds one of later TV shows like "The Incredible Hulk" and "Quantum Leap," by way of cheap Filipino horror. Ashley's ugly makeup is pretty good, despite the fact that you can see the back of his white neck much of the time, and he plays a really ferocious monster.

For those of you disappointed by Retromedia's last attempt at a Philippines horror DVD (CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES), BEAST OF THE YELLOW NIGHT definitely is a vast improvement. Mastered from 35mm elements, the film is letterboxed in what appears to be a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, and the film print is in overall very good shape. The color starts out a bit dull, but after a short while shifts to a much stronger appearance and the picture remains sharp throughout. The audio track has pops and hiss throughout, but it's not really that distracting.

The disc is a special edition, with extras linked to its late star, John Ashley. First off, there's a documentary segment called "Remembering John Ashley" that features interviews with wife Pat Ashley, Andrew Stevens, Steve Stevens (who starred with Ashley in HIGH SCHOOL CAESAR), and Fred Olen Ray, who directed Ashley in his last film role. The interviews paint Ashley as a nice, friendly guy who was great at telling stories and loved talking about the movies that he was in.

Also included is a John Ashley photo and still gallery (accompanied by one of the actor's 50s rockabilly tunes), a trailer for BEAST, some drive-in promo films, and an introduction from Ray and his wife Miss Kim, sitting in a van parked at an imaginary outdoor theater. (George R. Reis)

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