Night of the Bloody Apes (1969) La horripilante bestia humana (original title)

Director:

René Cardona
(more)

Writers:

René Cardona Jr. (story)
René Cardona (story)

Release Date:

1972 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Half Man, Half Beast, ALL HORROR!

Plot:

This cheap Mexican horror film is a remake of Cardona's Doctor of Doom (1962), spiced with nudity, medical footage...

Plot Keywords:

Wrestling | Gorilla | Operation | Nudity | Remake

Cast

José Elías Moreno	...	Dr. Krallman
Carlos López Moctezuma	...	Goyo
Armando Silvestre	...	Lt. Arturo Martinez
Norma Lazareno	...	Lucy Ossorio
Agustín Martínez Solares	...	Julio Krallman (as Agustin Mtz. Solares)
Javier Rizo
Gerardo Zepeda		(as Gerardo Cepeda)
Noelia Noel	...	Elena Gomez
Gina Morett	...	Woman in shower
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anna Levine
Roger Park
Juan Fava	...	El Físico Nuclear (uncredited)
Nathanael León	...	Zoo security chief (uncredited)

Directed by
René Cardona
Jerald Intrator		(new footage for US version) (uncredited)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
René Cardona Jr.		story and adaptation
René Cardona		story and adaptation

Produced by
Guillermo Calderón	....	executive producer (as Guillermo Calderon Stell)
Alfredo Salazar	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Antonio Díaz Conde

Cinematography by
Raúl Martínez Solares

Film Editing by
Jorge Bustos

Production Design by
Javier Torres Torija

Set Decoration by
Carlos Arjona		(as Carlos Arjona M.)

Makeup Department
María del Castillo	....	makeup artist (as Ma. del Castillo)

Production Management
Fidel Pizarro	....	production chief
Alfredo Salazar	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Manuel Alcayde	....	assistant director
Valerio Olivo	....	sub-director

Sound Department
Eduardo Arjona	....	dialogue recordist
James L. Fields	....	sound supervisor
José Li-ho	....	sound editor (as Jose Liho)
Galdino R. Samperio	....	sound re-recordist (as Galdino Samperio)

Editorial Department
Joaquín Ceballos	....	assistant editor

Production Companies

• Cinematográfica Calderón S.A.

Distributors

• Azteca Films Inc. (1969) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Jerand Film Distributors (1972) (USA) (theatrical) (recut with added footage) (dubbed)
• Gorgon Video (198?) (USA) (VHS)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (1996) (USA) (VHS) (Frank Henenlotter's Sexy Shockers from the Vaults, Vol. 80)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (2002) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (2003) (USA) (DVD) (on "Beauties & Beasts Box Set")
• BCI Eclipse (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Deimos Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD) (on "Crypt of Terror, Vol. 1")
• Deimos Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD) (on "Crypt of Terror: Horror from South of the Border, Vol. 2")
• Nucleus Films (2010) (UK) (DVD)
• Iver Film Services (IFS) (????) (UK) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Estudios Churubusco Azteca S.A.  studios and laboratories
• Iga  electronic and medical apparatus
• Siemens AG  electronic and medical apparatus

Also Known As:

"La horripilante bestia humana" - Mexico (original title)

Runtime:

USA:83 min (dubbed version) | Mexico:81 min

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R | UK:(Banned) (1984-1999) | UK:18 (re-rating, uncut) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | Australia:R (1985)

Filming Locations:

Estudios Churubusco Azteca, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company:

Cinematográfica Calderón S.A.

Trivia:

Features footage of an actual human heart transplant operation in two separate scenes.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the girl is attacked in the park, the fake "grass" is accidently pushed aside, revealing the hard studio floor beneath.

Quotes:

Dr. Arturo Martinez:Prepare the gorilla.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape (2010) (V)

Terrible but fun.

I simply can't believe that "Night Of The Bloody Apes" was included in the notorious "Video Nasties" list. If you ever see it, you'll probably agree. This film is too stupid to be offensive. Oh, there is a lot of gore, to be sure, but most of the bloody sequences are so badly edited and inserted into the picture that either you don't even get a clear idea of what's going on (the heart transplant sequence, allegedly including real shots) or you simply laugh at the lame effects (the eye gouging). Terrible but fun picture, if you're in the right mood. (**)

P.S. There is also some brief but entertaining female wrestling footage.