THE TWILIGHT PEOPLE (1972)

This movie wastes no time with backstory as we jump right in with the kidnapping of adventure diver Matt (John Ashley) who is tied up underwater and pulled into a boat. The chief napper is Steinman who has a bright red-blond crew cut and an unwholesome aura, but it turns out he's working under the orders of Dr. Gordon. When Matt understandably objects to his situation, Gordon's voluptuous daughter Neva (Pat Woodell) retorts that her father is "one of the greatest, most dedicated scientific minds in the world," so Matt apparently should be happy that he's been kidnapped to help out in some unspecified way. On Gordon's private island, Matt soon discovers a lab filled with jars of glowing tissue (and one glowing human head) and it's not long before we realize that Gordon has been experimenting in human-animal mating. Among the creatures kept caged up in an underground chamber are a panther woman, an antelope man, and a man with the wings and face of a bat. Gordon wants Matt, as (supposedly) an exceptional specimen of humankind, to be the source of a new kind of superior species. Steinman, however, seems to be obsessed with Matt and wants him to escape so he can hunt him down. Eventually, Neva falls in love with Matt, and she helps him and the creatures escape, so Steinman gets his wish.

This B-film (sub-B, actually), based on H.G. Wells' Island of Dr. Moreau (with a little of The Most Dangerous Game thrown in) was one of a series made in the Philippines and co-produced by its star, former teen idol John Ashley, and directed by Eddie Romero.  You can feel the ambition to do something interesting, but the writing and editing and special effects can't live up to the director's intentions. The script could have used another draft, as many details (Matt's background, the how and why of the creatures) are glossed over or omitted altogether. I did like the odd intimation that Steinman (Jan Merlin) is gay; when he yells at Neva for getting "hot in the pants" for Matt, she replies, "I could say the same for you," implying that if Steinman can't have Matt, hunting him down will insure than no one else will, either. The movie is colorful but the direction is weak and there are frequent instances of choppy editing which, because the print I saw was in great shape, I blame on the original editing. The first half is fast-paced, but once the escape happens, the last half of the film bogs down with repetitious scenes of people making their way through the jungle. There is one great shot of a person with a gun, crouched and ready to fire at our hero, but it turns out that the would-be killer is already dead, frozen in position.

The creature makeup is fairly amateurish. Ayesa, the panther woman, is played by Pam Grier (the only one in the cast to go on to star status) and her makeup consists primarily of big teeth and hairy hands. Darmo, the bat man, must be seen to be believed (picture above left); he has what look like plastic trash bags taped to his arms for wings, and when he flies, he's clearly zipping along on wires—though I must admit he has a couple of effective scenes at the climax. Kuzma, the antelope boy, played by Ken Metcalfe (pictured top right), has a half-mask over his face with antelope horns. However, I appreciate Metcalfe's attempt at method acting when he tries to walk like a two-legged antelope. Honestly, even though he has no dialog, he is really the only appealing character in the movie; Ashley, the good guy, comes off a little woodenly, and Merlin, his antagonist, gives a more interesting performance. Woodell is sexy but a terrible actor. Charles Macauley as Dr. Gordon (who is referred to in a newspaper headline as Dr. Grimstead) should be rather manic but is so bland he practically vanishes before your eyes. I guess I had some fun with this one, but it's not one you need to track down unless you're a John Ashley completist. [TCM]