BLOOD THIRST is an interesting and engaging little horror effort shot in the Philippines by a US crew. It was made in 1965 so it's short and in black and white, although it wasn't given a US release until six years later. I immediately lumped it in with the trashy shockers that Eddie Romero was shooting during the period (like the infamous MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND) but it's a much classier affair. Surprisingly, it has decent production values too, perhaps the best I've seen in a Filipino horror film.
The plot is simple enough, yet fun with it. Robert Winston is the imported American, a detective who goes undercover as a writer for reasons that remained obscure to me. He hangs out a lot at a nightclub full of dancing women while at the same time investigating a series of bizarre murders in which lone women are killed on the streets at night, their bodies found strung up and drained of blood. It turns out that a rubber-faced monster with links to the nightclub is responsible. The monster is cheap but cheerful and I personally loved the look of it.
BLOOD THIRST is well-shot and quite stylishly directed in places with a good sense of location. It borrows the same style as a Bond movie, with random attacks in hotel rooms, and has a Jess Franco vibe to it to boot. One of the most engaging things about the production is the inimitable Vic Diaz, that stalwart actor of Filipino cinema, getting a chance to play something other than a bad guy for once. Here he's a local cop and he does very well with the role too, bringing plenty of charisma to the part.
The plot is simple enough, yet fun with it. Robert Winston is the imported American, a detective who goes undercover as a writer for reasons that remained obscure to me. He hangs out a lot at a nightclub full of dancing women while at the same time investigating a series of bizarre murders in which lone women are killed on the streets at night, their bodies found strung up and drained of blood. It turns out that a rubber-faced monster with links to the nightclub is responsible. The monster is cheap but cheerful and I personally loved the look of it.
BLOOD THIRST is well-shot and quite stylishly directed in places with a good sense of location. It borrows the same style as a Bond movie, with random attacks in hotel rooms, and has a Jess Franco vibe to it to boot. One of the most engaging things about the production is the inimitable Vic Diaz, that stalwart actor of Filipino cinema, getting a chance to play something other than a bad guy for once. Here he's a local cop and he does very well with the role too, bringing plenty of charisma to the part.