The Twilight People (1972)

A kidnapped diver is taken to an island inhabited by a mad scientist and his half-animal, half-human creations.

Director:

Eddie Romero

Writers:

Eddie Romero, Jerome Small

Stars:

John Ashley, Pat Woodell, Jan Merlin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Ashley	...	Matt Farrell
Pat Woodell	...	Neva Gordon
Jan Merlin	...	Steinman
Charles Macaulay	...	Dr. Gordon
Pam Grier	...	Ayesa - the Panther Woman
Ken Metcalfe	...	Kuzma - the Antelope Man
Tony Gosalvez	...	Darmo - the Bat Man
Kim Ramos	...	Primo - the Ape Man
Mona Morena	...	Lupa - the Wolf Woman
Eddie Garcia	...	Juan Pereira
Angelo Ventura
Johnny Long
Andres Centenera
Letty Mirasol
Max Roio	...	(as Max Rojo)

Storyline

A scientist kidnaps a man and transports him to an island, intent on turning him into a super-being. The man obviously doesn't like this idea, so he tries to escape with the help of the scientist's daughter and a band of half-human, half-animal creatures.

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Plot Keywords:

jungle | blood | monster | creature feature | based on novel | 

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Taglines:

Animal desires... Human lust. Test Tube terrors... Half beast... all monster.

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Genres:

Adventure | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Philippines USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beasts

Filming Locations:

Philippines

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Four Associates Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In September 1972, Dimension Pictures was widely exhibiting this film on a double bill with The Doberman Gang (1972).

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Connections

Version of The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)

User Reviews

Antelope love wolves and apes love ladies

I thought this film was fun. It's astounding to see Pam Grier as Panther Woman when you're used to seeing her all glammed up and gorgeous. The noises her character makes I'm sure aren't her, but they are still great noises. I wonder if they actually recorded a real panther snarling.

People say that the makeup is really bad, but I thought it was really good. At least on the faces it was good. The rest of the body was pretty bad. For example, a wolf girl who is totally hairy all over her head and face, but has no hair anywhere else. The same goes for the ape man. I guess the costume designers were trying to show that they were actually half human/half beast. But it still looked a little hokey. Especially seeing Bat Man's wings were only attached to him at his shoulders and not anywhere on his sides or armpits. How does that work? I never took physics, but that just doesn't make sense.

The plot is pretty good, not too dull. I liked the first scene when the man is skin diving and gets reeled up by the ankles. It looks like it would have hurt a lot! It's not like he was wearing socks or anything.

I thought the militant, creepy, macho guy was a good character, especially since they hinted at him being attracted to men. The man appears to be incredibly masculine and macho, but he can't hide his attraction to men, though he denies it. I thought his character was a good stray from the stereotypical gay man. Why not have a gay character be ultra masculine for a change? Crush the stereotypes, I say. And did you see how straight and white his teeth were? Wow, that actor should have been in a Colgate commercial!

The daughter character sure gets thrown around a lot. It seems everyone wants to push her around. She's so skinny and frail, I was surprised she didn't get hurt more often. She had a cool face, though. Mysterious, pale with dark features. Not the best actress or character, but she had really nice hair, if that makes a difference...

Really the best parts of the movie begin well over half-way through it. You get to see the animal-people come out and strut their stuff. How the daughter isn't freaked out by these monsters, I don't know. I'd have been running through that jungle the second Pam Grier gave her first howl. Those beasts were pretty freaky looking! Plus, how often do antelope actually LIKE wolves? In reality, wolves eat antelope, don't they? All it takes is a little human blood to get those primal enemy feelings to go away, right?

If you want to see this movie, just fast forward through the first 45-55 minutes. It's not worth it. You'll be better off watching the last half hour and nothing else. Ape Man's disjointed moves and Panther Woman's licks and howls will be all you need to get this films best features.