Get set for another exciting entry in Mr. Lobo's Cinema Insomnia DVD collection (as served by good ol' oldies.com): An American Werewolf in the Philippines, aka the Beast of the Yellow Night, starring the charismatic John Ashley.
This Eddie Romero epic was released in '71 and performs as a companion piece to Sam Sherman's Independent-International Pictures' Blood Island series, in which Romero and Ashley participated, but with Werewolf/Beast, Ashley plays the monster instead of the hero for a swell twist.
Ashley's metamorphosis manifests after he seals a body-swapping deal with the Devil (Vic Diaz of Daughters of Satan), thus becoming a mad, fuzzy minion who prowls the night, while his naive lady (Mary Charlotte Wilcox of Love Me Deadly) grows evermore estranged.
The Hyde-esque persona is, indeed, werewolf-ish, but one might also detect traces of the Incredible Hulk, Atom Age Vampire and Monster on the Campus in the creature's features. To boot, this film's Beast is an ideal successor to Blood Island's celebrated, craggy counterpart. (Incidentally, our antagonist's touching interaction with a welcoming blind bandit {Andres Centenera of Beyond Atlantis} is certain to delight all Frankenstein fans.)
Furthermore, it's important to note that the versatile Ashley gives perhaps his finest performance in this impassioned, drive-in thriller, channeling the great Lon Chaney Jr to mount heaps of murderous sympathy.
Mr. Lobo (accompanied by the lovely Jessie Seeherman and the menacing voice of GWAR's Don Drakulich) braces the ravenous (and sometimes cleverly censored) melodrama with "misunderstood" aptitude, conjuring Faustian foolishness and lycanthrope laughter to keep the presentation rolling at a howling clip.
Add this one to your collection at
https://www.oldies.com/product-view/1158D.html
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