5.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Amir, the benevolent ruler of Kalid, is dying, but there is hope. Freshly deceased, he is flown to the United States where Dr. Trenton transplants his brain into the body of a simpleton in a classic "assistant got the wrong kind of body" plot line. Dr. Trenton has a few nefarious plot twists of his own in mind, and then there's the thing with the dwarf and the women chained in the basement. It's up to Amir's friend Bob and wife Tracey to try and salvage this tale..
Starring: Grant Williams, Kent Taylor, Regina Carrol, Reed Hadley, John Bloom (III)Horror | 100% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Note: This film is also available as part of The Hemisphere Box of Horrors and Al Adamson: The Masterpiece Collection.
For certain lovers of cult cinema, the name Hemisphere Pictures will most likely forever be linked to The Blood Island Collection, and perhaps more generally to Philippine shot outings in
general,
but as the movies collected in Hemishpere Box of Horrors make clear, this relatively small scale independent “studio” (if it could even be
called that) at least attempted to try a few (marginally?) different things through the years. The five films assembled for this set document an
approach that might be thought of as part Hammer, part Roger Corman (especially his Poe adaptations), but with a very peculiar, and some may
reasonably feel distinctive, air. Part of that is due to the features shot in the Philippines, but there’s a weirdly exotic feel to even the stateside
shot,
admittedly low budget and often generally lo-fi offerings. One of the fun supplements on some of the Blood Island Collection discs were
the
reminiscences of Hemisphere marketing guru Samuel S. Sherman, and Sherman is back with more background information here, helping to
explain
how Hemisphere was seeking some kind of identity on the grindhouse and/or drive-in circuit(s), finding some unexpected success along
the
way. There's little doubt that any, and indeed probably all, of these films fits rather snugly into the confines of "cult cinema", but even devoted
acolytes of this particular cult may need to temper expectations based on the source elements Severin was able to procure.
Brain of Blood is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. Severin's back cover lists this as "now featuring a new 2K CRI scan", and that CRI source accounts for what is probably the best overall color reproduction in this set, while also perhaps contributing to some slightly off kilter looking darker moments, where what is almost a scrim lake haze can hover over the image. The more brightly lit moments actually pop relatively well, even if contrast can look slightly askew. Blues and reds are especially vibrant in this presentation. Detail levels are still pretty highly variable, as with some of the other films in this set, though this element does not have the levels of damage seen in either The Blood Drinkers or Curse of the Vampires. Grain looks generally organic, but when combined with the haziness in the darkest sections, can seem slightly noisy.
Brain of Blood's DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track is probably the best sounding of the three films included in this set which are also available as standalone offerings. That said, there is a very noticeable boxiness to the presentation, with a somewhat muffled midrange and upper register. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly enough, and the score doesn't provoke the same overly bright ambience that I mentioned in our reviews of The Blood Drinkers and Curse of the Vampires.
This is yet another Al Adamson film that kind of wallows in its own peculiar gonzo proclivities. It's silly of course, and never really scary, but for those with a certain jaded sensibility, it will no doubt scratch a particular itch. This has the best overall technical presentation of the three "main" films in this set, but expectations should still probably be tempered. The supplements, while not bountiful, are also interesting.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Space Mission to the Lost Planet / Vampire Men of the Lost Planet
1970
1967
1969
Includes Brain of Blood
1971
1978
Grave Desires / Tomb of the Living Dead
1968
1969
2010
1958
1959
1956
1974
1961
1935
1945
1931
1943
1987
1990
1962