Director – Eddie Romero (Mad Doctor of Blood Island, Brides of Blood)
Starring – John Ashley (Invisible Mom, The A-Team), Pat Woodell (Class of ’74. The Woman Hunt), and Jan Merlin (Buried Alive, Dallas)
Release Date – 1972
Rating – 3/5
Blu Release – 2.5/5
Tagline – “Evolved from evil”
The last few days I have turned my focus on getting caught up on the blu releases of VCI Entertainment. I rarely seen them get brought up in blu groups and forums but they have released several often unheard of films in the realms of horror and cult cinema. After watching and reviewing Satan’s Cheerleaders, The Aftermath, and Ruby I went ahead and tossed in the drive-in staple, 1971’s The Twilight People. This was one I had always heard about but never had the chance to check it out until now. When the film hit blu my friends over at MVD was kind enough to send a copy my way.
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows a man who is kidnapped while scuba diving and taken to an island owned by an evil scientist who wants to use him in one of his experiments. He is experimenting on humans by combining them with animals resulting in power hybrids. The scientist’s daughter is also working with him and suspect that she is in the wrong. She turns on her father and tries to save the young man and by doing so she splits his creatures in half. Some follow her while others follow their creator resulting is an all out war on the island.**Spoiler alert**
Films like The Twilight People are not meant to be unforgettable but they were intended to be fun. Most of these were made for drive-in goers to attach itself to a second film for a fun double feature. The Twilight People was fun if you let it be.
The acting in this one is cheesy. The cast hams it up in almost every scene. They over do it which makes from some really campy performances which is one of the things I love about films from this era. The cast really gets into their roles and it brings a lot of fun to the film.
The story for this one is a b-movie take on The Island of Dr. Moreau. It was fun and worked for the budget and so forth. My biggest complaint about the film was that it was just too long. Several scenes drag on forever during the action portion which makes the action feel boring and repetitive. Several minutes could be trimmed from this one.
Finally, I love the creature effects in this one. The creatures look great and cheesy but if you are looking for gore you won’t find it here. Overall, The Twilight People is a fun watch late at night with some junk food and a few beers. Be sure to check it out on blu from VCI Entertainment.
Special Features:
Commentary
Interview
Trailer
TV Spots
