The Twilight People (1973)

Director:

Eddie Romero

Writers:

Eddie Romero (writer)
Jerome Small (writer)

Release Date:

January 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film | Based On Novel

Cast

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
Cenón González

Also Known As:

Beasts
Island of the Twilight People

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

Philippines | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG

Company:

Four Associates Ltd.

Trivia:

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

Movie Connections:

Edited into Out of this World Super Shock Show (2007) (V)

A real stinker of a low-budget genre flick.

Cruddy enough to at least deliver some good laughs, this unofficial "Island of Lost Souls" adaptation involves a skin-diving Matt Farrell (drive-in movie veteran John Ashley, pretty bland here), who picks the wrong ocean. For along come thugs who represent mad scientist Dr. Gordon (Charles Macaulay). Dr. Gordon, in his remote island paradise, has been trying to create a superior human being but has ended up with a menagerie of half-human / half- beast characters instead. Dr. Gordon's sexy daughter Neva (Pat Woodell) takes a shine to Matt and launches an escape along with the creatures.

"The Twilight People" isn't exactly well made, but most people reading this would surely already know that. It's never very exciting or suspenseful, yet as low-budget genre junk goes, it is mildly diverting. It's got pretty lousy "gore", crude yet interesting makeup effects on the creature performers (including an effectively animal-like Pam Grier), hilarious fun and funky library music, a lush tropical setting that at least looks good on film (like a number of other late 60's and early 70's features, this was filmed in the Philippines), and props that look like leftovers from the 50's. The creature characters themselves are kind of a hoot: there's a "bat boy", a "panther woman" (Grier), an "antelope man" (Ken Metcalfe, who did a number of these Filipino flicks), an "ape man", and a "wolf woman".

Macaulay, Ashley, and Woodell are definitely upstaged by Jan Merlin as smiling henchman Steinman. This is a genuinely amusing character; he's more than willing to let Matt "escape" for the pleasure of hunting him down, and one can easily sense that he's interested in Matt in more than one way.

Lovers of tacky B pictures might want to check this one out, if just for curiosity's sake.

Trivia alert: Grier and Woodell had previously appeared together in the Philippines-shot women-in-prison film "The Big Doll House".

5/10