HEMISPHERE HORRORS Blu-ray
THE BLOOD DRINKERS (1966), CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES (1970), BRAIN OF BLOOD (1971), THE BLACK CAT (1966), THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM (1967)
Directors: Gerardo de Leon, Al Adamson, Harold Hoffman, Harold Reinl
Severin Films

Hot off the heels of their “Blood Island Collection” Blu-ray set, Severin Films delights in further monsters from the Philippines (and more) with their “Hemisphere Horrors” Blu-ray set, a four-disc collection with the fourth disc being exclusive to this set.

In the mid 1960s, Hemisphere Pictures was an independent film company that was known primarily for a series of modestly successful war films shot in the Philippines, including THE WALLS OF HELL and THE RAVAGERS with John Saxon. Hemisphere had already done one horror title, TERROR IS A MAN (aka BLOOD CREATURE), directed by Gerardo de Leon (who, with Eddie Romero, would later explore similar territory with the "Blood Island" trilogy). By the time Hemisphere and de Leon tackled the subject of vampires with THE BLOOD DRINKERS, the company was a full-fledged horror production and distribution outlet.

Shot in 1964 as “Kulay dugo ang gabi”, THE BLOOD DRINKERS is one of the more unusual vampire films that you'll ever see. The story concerns Dr. Marco (Ronald Remy, THE MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND), a cursed vampire with a cloak, occasional wrap-around-shades, and a shaved head that gives him an incredible resemblance to Telly Savalas (especially during his stint as Blofeld). Dr. Marco has an entourage of weirdos: a mustached hunchback with an overbite, a somersaulting dwarf, and a kinky lady assistant named Tania. He arrives in a small village to try and save his dying lover in a plan to get the bleeding heart from her healthy twin sister. Amelia Fuentes (CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES) plays both sisters, wearing a blonde wig as the vampire's sickly mate.

On the surface, THE BLOOD DRINKERS looks like a cheap exploiter with such silly devices as an oversized phony bat that is scene a few times too often, but it actually has a very atmospheric, almost poetic quality to it. The film boasts some rather stunning visuals and lighting, and if you don't already know, it shifts from red and blue tinted scenes to full color. According to Sam Sherman's commentary, these scenes' tints were strategically placed rather than just randomly constructed (like Al Adamson's HORROR OF THE BLOOD MONSTERS which later used a process influenced by this film). They actually give a surreal quality to the proceedings, and a full color sequence where Marco and his love emerge in full daylight is quite extraordinary. Like de Leon's follow-up vampire picture, THE CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES, this is filled with themes of religion and corruption within a family.

In CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES, Leonore (Amalia Fuentes) and Eduardo Escudero (Eddie Garcia, BEAST OF BLOOD, THE TWILIGHT PEOPLE) are brother and sister, returning to their father's mansion on a small island town in the Philippines. They find their father (Johnny Monteiro, BACK DOOR TO HELL) ill and tormented, and learn that their mother (Mary Walter, THE BLOOD DRINKERS), whom they thought was dead for years, is being held prisoner in the basement. Mom is actually a vampire, and it is concluded that there is a curse upon the family. Eduardo visits his mother one evening, but she attacks him and bites him on the neck, turning him into a bloodsucker as well. Now completely overcome by evil, Eduardo puts the bite on a number of village girls, murders his own father (due to his staking of the mom), and devises the death of his sister's new spouse (Romeo Vasquez). He now wants to put the bite on his sister, who's overly grief-stricken from the loss of her mate, but the hubby returns as a spiritual ghost to protect her from her vampiric brother.

Shot in 1966 as “Ibulong mo sa hangin” and directed by Gerardo de Leon — the father of Philippine horror, starting with TERROR IS A MAN — CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES is an above average vampire flick with an extended amount of religious symbolism, a tight and disturbing conflict within the family unit, and a lot of nice turn-of-the-century atmosphere. Unlike the feature it was co-billed with (or co-buried with if you will), BEAST OF BLOOD — the final chapter of the "Blood Island" trilogy — the film thrives on style and story telling rather than blood and gore (not that blood and gore are a bad thing). Hemisphere Pictures also released the film in some circuits (and other territories such as the United Kingdom) as "Creatures of Evil."

After the successful Philippines-shot "Blood Island" films had ceased production, Hemisphere Pictures was in need of a new horror programmer. Hemisphere associate Sam Sherman came up with an idea to make a bloody effort much in the mood of the aforementioned series. However, this film was shot in the U.S. and directed by Sherman's partner, the legendary Al Adamson. Recycling Tito Arévalo's unforgettable music from BEAST OF BLOOD and shooting in rather obscure West Coast locations, BRAIN OF BLOOD often looks and feels like one of those Philippines-lensed chillers.

BRAIN OF BLOOD has one of the best B-movie casts assembled for an Adamson picture, and many of the stars of his masterpiece DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN are here united. The plot is simple. A middle eastern ruler named Amir (Reed Hadley, I SHOT JESSE JAMES) is dying of cancer, so two of his cohorts, the kind Dr. Robert Nigserian (a longhaired Grant Williams of INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN and "Hawaiian Eye" fame) and the aptly named Mohammed (Zandor Vorkov, the Count in DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN) bring him to American scientist Dr. Lloyd Trenton for a solution (transplanting his brain to a healthy body). As expected, Dr. Trenton is quite mad, and he's played by the always reliable Kent Taylor (THE PHANTOM FROM 10,000 LEAGUES), who had just done BRIDES OF BLOOD for Hemisphere and was in many Adamson productions. He hams it up nicely in his lab which resembles a discount dentist's office. Since a proper body is not readily available for the great Amir, the mad doc transplants the dying leader's brain into a lumbering, mutated giant named Gor (John Bloom, the monster in DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN). How did "Gor" become mutated? In a flashback (which is also a highly memorable scene) we see Bloom as grown man with a mind of child in suspenders — much like his character in the same year's THE INCREDIBLE TWO-HEADED TRANSPLANT. After two beer-guzzling slobs (one played by the great Bruce Kimball, THE THING WITH TWO HEADS) steal his toy ray gun, Bloom gets violent and as a result gets hit over the head with a shovel and has a car's battery acid poured all over his face. Ouch! Ironically, Dr. Trenton later uses a slightly better-looking ray gun (which still resembles a child's toy) to control the hulking and mischievous Gor's mind.

Others in the cast include legendary dwarf actor Angelo Rossitto (SPOOKS RUN WILD) as Trenton's nasty assistant Dorro. Rossitto wears a floppy golf cap, teases women (such as Adamson regular Vicki Volante, BLOOD OF DRACULA’S CASTLE) in a basement torture chamber, and utters "wow" as he causes an automobile to explode. Regina Carrol (SATAN’S SADISTS) plays a sly bimbo who is up to no good, and Richard Smedley (the "zombie" from BLOOD OF GHASTLY HORROR) is a thug employed to run the good guys off the road. BRAIN OF BLOOD is PG-rated (well, GP at the time of release) though features a rather unsightly brain operation (courtesy of the local butcher) which was ironically left in the TV version shown as "The Creature's Revenge." Bloom's monster make-up is both gruesome and amateurish, as the actor's hair visibly crawls through the bottom of his bald cap! BRAIN OF BLOOD's fun drive-in antics make this a must for Adamson fans and bad movie addicts in general.

On Blu-ray, THE BLOOD DRINKERS, CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES and BRAIN OF BLOOD look significantly better than their previous standard def DVD incarnations, originally released some years ago by Image Entertainment. These are clean 1080p HD transfers with impressive colors and strong grain levels, with THE BLOOD DRINKERS being presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio and CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES and BRAIN OF BLOOD being presented full frame 1.33:1. Transferred from a 35mm print, THE BLOOD DRINKERS retains the original “Kulay dugo ang gabi” title , while CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES retains its original American title in its restored Bob LeBar credits (the previous Image DVD had it retitled to “Blood of the Vampires”). BRAIN OF BLOOD’s opening credits (also by LeBar) have also been properly restored, unlike the previous DVD release. All three titles offer serviceable English LPCM 2.0 audio tracks with clear dialog and no noticeable distortion. Optional English subtitles are provided for all three titles.

Extras on THE BLOOD DRINKERS include an impressive “partial” commentary (running a little under an hour, and carried over from the previous DVD) by Sam Sherman who was one of the driving forces behind Hemisphere during its heyday. Sherman uses the opportunity not only to discuss the merits of the film, but also to commence a history of Hemisphere Pictures. There’s a new audio commentary with film historians Nathaniel Thompson and Howard S. Berger who discuss the film’s serious tone, De Leon’s sense of style, the cast (especially the charisma of leading man Remy) and thoughts on the Universal horror films of the 1940s (as well as other horrors from around the world) having an influence on the movie. “Manong of the Philippines” (12:19) is a new interview with script supervisor and Gerry De Leon’s assistant director Dik Trofeo. Trofeo discusses with great fondness his working relationship with De Leon, the experimentation techniques he used in this film, and De Leon’s directorial collaborations with Eddie Romero. “Hemisphere Appreciation by Filmmaker David Decoteau” (4:25) has the cult director recalling being a projectionist in the mid 1970s and being introduced to Philippines-lensed exploitation and how it influenced his film BODY BLOW, which was shot in Manila. There’s a section of “deleted scenes” (26:42), actually outtakes and "trims" that are comprised of extended scenes of existing ones, as well as subplots that never made it into the final cut (this footage, presented full frame, is silent with no dialog). There are trailers for the film under THE BLOOD DRINKERS, as well as the re-release title VAMPIRE PEOPLE, and a radio spot for the film.

Extras on THE CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES disc include a “partial” commentary with Sherman which nearly lasts the entire duration of the film. Sherman had more involvement with this than any other titles in the "Blood Collection," as he concocted the story as well. As usual, Sherman has a lot of interesting stories about the cast and the production, and he also continues his history of Hemisphere Pictures. There’s a new commentary with Australian genre documentarian Andrew Leavold (producer/director of THE SEARCH FOR WENG WENG). Describing the family in the film as a political allegory of Filipino society, he notes the similarities to THE BLOOD DRINKERS (including a lot of the same cast members), discusses the career of De Leon, and overviews Filipino exploitation cinema in general. “The Market Of Hemisphere” (18:00) is an excellent new video interview with Sherman who tells of his meeting Kane W. Lynn and Irwin Pizor, the Americans who ran Hemisphere, and how he encouraged them to re-release TERROR AS MAN (as BLOOD CREATURE) even after had played on television. Sherman tells anecdotes about his time with Hemisphere, including his dislike for THE BLACK CAT (the co-feature of THE BLOOD DRINKERS), his meeting with Ronald Remy in New York (and that he wanted him cast in other pictures before his untimely death) and he tells of how Hemisphere eventually dissolved. “The Cursed Vampire” (4:43) is a new conversation with actor Eddie Garcia who talks about the film, director De Leon, and the film’s success in the Philippines. There’s a section of “deleted scenes” (8:42) here as well, bits of dialogue and other business that were cut from the U.S. version before release (the scenes are shown silent, as there’s not existing dialogue). The original trailer and a radio spot (with BEAST OF BLOOD as the top feature) round out the extras on this disc.

Extras on BRAIN OF BLOOD include a commentary with Sherman (carried over from the Image DVD) which runs nearly the entire duration of the film. Sherman had more involvement with this than any other Hemisphere title, as he concocted the story as well. As usual, Sherman has a lot of interesting stories about the cast and the production, and he also continues his history of Hemisphere Pictures. “Memories Of Blood” (7:29) is a fun featurette made up of edited outtakes from the forthcoming Severin Films documentary “The Life and Death of Al Adamson” (working titles), and features vintage interview footage of Adamson as well as new interviews with Sherman, associate producer J. P. Spohn, Zandor Vorkov, Sean Graver (son of cinematographer Gary Graver who plays a terrorized little boy in the film) and cult director Fred Olen Ray, a huge fan of Hemisphere who got to see the films first-run at a drive-in theater. Rounding out the extras on this disc are the original trailer and a radio spot.

The fourth Blu-ray is exclusive to this set and features a double feature of two horror flicks distributed theatrically in the U.S. by Hemisphere. THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM (directed by Harold Reinl) is also known as BLOOD DEMON and CASTLE OF THE WALKING DEAD, but the original German title is “Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel.” The evil Count Regula (Christopher Lee) is impaled with a spike mask, then drawn and quartered in public for the death of 12 virgins. Declaring that one day he will get revenge, some 35 years later, a quartet of travelers ends up at his ruined castle. Handsome blonde Roger von Marienberg (former Hollywood Tarzan Lex Barker) and beautiful brunette Baroness Lillian (Karin Dor, ASSIGNMENT TERROR) were mysteriously invited to the castle (they also happen to be the descendants of the individuals who condemned Regula to death), and they arrive with the Baroness’ servant Babette (Christiane Rücker, aka Christiane Royce from FRANKENSTEIN’S CASTLE OF FREAKS) and a priest named Fabian (a scene-stealing performance by Vladimir Medar) who’s not all he’s cracked up to be. Inside the castle’s walls, they encounter all sorts of gruesomeness, carried out by a sinister undead lackey named Anatol (Carl Lange) who plans to reanimate the Count with the blood of a new batch of stripped-down female sacrifices!

Although the storyline is fairly ordinary and predictable, director Reinl (who had previously helmed a number of trendy “Krimi” films) fills this period piece with ample doses of visual flair, paying homage to the 1960s cinema of Mario Bava and Hammer in a more exaggerated, surreal manner. The art direction and set design are so unique, as our courageous travelers are greeted to a smoky forest full of human limb-laden trees, then visit a rotting castle which hosts skull-aligned catacombs, deadly snake pits, naked maidens drained of blood, macabre oil paintings, and various medieval torture devices – namely a looming pendulum featured in a scene which gives similar antics in that famous Corman/Poe film a run for their money. Christopher Lee’s scenes are limited to the opening moments and his character’s revival in the final act, but as with most of his villainous screen personas, he bestows us with a striking sense of menace as the pasty-faced vampire-like Count.

Harold Hoffman’s THE BLACK CAT (1966) is one of the more faithful adaptations of the Poe story, even though it's set in sleazy mid-1960s suburbia. Filmed in Texas, it concerns a half-baked young man named Lou (Robert Frost) and the sweet, pretty wife (Robyn Baker) that puts up with all his nonsense. On their first anniversary, Lou's wife gives him a black cat as a gift. Lou gets toasted, assaults his wife, and just totally flips out, believing the animal is the reincarnation of the father he hated. After quoting a line from Poe's "The Tell Tale Heart," he gauges the poor thing's eye out in the film's first unsettling scene. The poor pussy then gets hung and electrocuted!

Later, his house burns down (an unconvincing doll house mansion is set to flames) and Lou attacks a man in an office after discovering that his father didn't have fire insurance on it. He's then committed to institution, is released, gets back with his wife, and befriends another black cat with a similar eye wound. Now he spends most of his time boozing at a go-go club where a hip band performs rock standards wearing pirate eye patches. Lou is tormented and haunted by the new cat, but in an attempt to belt it with a hatchet, he settles for his wife's head (ouch) in the film's second unsettling scene (a still photo of this appeared several times in the pages of Famous Monsters of Filmland). You probably know the rest of the story. Annabelle Weenick (DON’T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT) appears as a bar hussy and Larry Buchanan regular Bill Thurman (ZONTAR: THE THING FROM VENUS) can be seen as a bartender.

Released in the U.S. as BLOOD DEMON in 1969 (on a double bill with THE MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND), THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM (the on-screen title here and the title it was shown on TV under) has been mastered in 2k from two 16mm prints. Presented in 1080p HD and in an appropriate 1.66:1 aspect ratio, the film has a decent level of detail but the color fading on the original source prints occasionally gives it a washed out appearance and negatively effects skin tones more than anything. THE BLACK CAT has been mastered in 4k from a print source and is presented in 1080p HD in a 1.77:1 aspect ratio. As per an exclaimer at the beginning of the presentation, the print source was missing a few shots which had to be inserted from an inferior source, most significantly the prologue that was obviously tacked on from an inferior source bearing the "SWV" watermark in the right hand corner. Once the credits begin, the logo disappears and the black and white image becomes very sharp, and aside from some light emulsion scratches and other minor debris, it looks nice. The English LPCM 2.0 audio tracks are perfectly serviceable here. Optional English subtitles are provided for these two titles, as are their original American theatrical trailers. (George R. Reis)

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